By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
With each addition to the family, it’s gotten a little tougher for Lynn Adams to get to West Windsor-Plainsboro South girls volleyball games.
She still felt a draw to make many of the Pirates’ home games this fall, with all four kids in tow to watch their father, WW-P South head coach Michael Adams, and the girls team he has coached for nine seasons.
”It’s like they’re an extension of our family,” said Lynn, a former volleyball assistant coach at East Brunswick. “He cares so much about them. That makes it easier to go to the games.”
Even with four children under 8 years old, it was not a season to miss. The Pirates won their first South Jersey Group III state championship and made the Group III state final while putting together an 18-3 record.
”It’s kind of sad the season ended for me,” Michael said. “They’re such great kids.”
And great role models for the Adams children. Michael and Lynn have three girls and a boy. Mikayla is 7, Ashleigh is 6, the lone boy Logan is 3, and Kinley is 15 months old.
”My girls get to know them,” Michael said. “It’s nice. You have babysitters when you need it. They’re just good kids that you can trust.”
After games, the Adams children take to the court, sometimes passing the volleyball off a wall to themselves, sometimes kicking a ball around or just burning off some energy. The Adams children are exploring all their potential.
”I’m trying to introduce them to a little of everything,” Michael said. “Gymnastics, soccer, tennis, basketball, dance, Brownies, CCD, they do everything. They’re doing it all. Whatever they want to try, we’re going to let them do it.”
They even accompany Michael on the school ski trip, this year to Loon Mountain, N.H. There’s no volleyball league for 6- and 7-year-olds, and certainly not for 3-year-olds, but the oldest three Adams children show a keen interest in the sport.
”They love it,” Lynn said. “He’s taught them and I’ve taught them the form. They go through the mechanics. It’s funny how much they love it. When they’re on the beach, they pass back and forth. It’s funny seeing how much they want to do it. They definitely love volleyball. And Logan is all boy. He’s definitely into it too.”
While they may not end up playing volleyball, the Adams children will be athletes if they follow mom and dad. Lynn, the eighth of 10 children in her family, was a standout at East Brunswick High who earned a Division I basketball scholarship to Long Island University, then transferred to The College of New Jersey when city life didn’t fit her personality.
The move worked out well when she met Michael, a Toms River North High graduate who went on to play for the TCNJ men’s soccer team. Both were on the physical education track when they met and started dating.
”We knew that was it,” Lynn said. Less than two years later, they were married.
At East Brunswick, Lynn started as cheerleading coaching for six years, though she had no experience with it, and also started coaching volleyball under Scott Arnauer, whom both she and Michael credit for being a big influence.
”She coached volleyball before she played it up at East Brunswick,” Michael said.
He did the same thing at WW-P South. Hired right out of TCNJ, Michael was the JV boys soccer coach in the fall, an assistant coach for the swim team in the winter and coached the boys volleyball team in the spring. He had played some beach volleyball in high school, but never had time for it in college.
”It wasn’t until I graduated from college that I picked up volleyball for fun,” Michael said. “I started coaching before I started playing it. I thought it was important if I was going to be coaching it, I better know what it was like to play it. Playing it put things in perspective and sped up my learning curve.”
The Adams even were on opposing benches in a couple of matchups, but the rest of their time was spent together. In the summer, they took trips, going across the country in seven weeks one summer and hiking around Europe for eight weeks another summer. Lynn taught seven years at East Brunswick before she resigned to start a family.
”We originally wanted six kids,” Michael said. “We realized that we’re getting older and Mother Nature isn’t cooperating with us. Four is enough.”
It’s a happy handful for Lynn, who is home during the day with the two kids who are not in school yet, then ferrying the oldest two to various daily activities after school while also serving as Michael’s “walking calendar.” Michael continues to coach and teach physical education and driver’s education at WW-P South.
”I miss the teaching staff, the phys ed department at East Brunswick,” Lynn said. “Just being able to have conversations with adults throughout the day, that’s lacking in my routine. They were a phenomenal staff. I miss coaching. I taught high school as well.
”I wouldn’t change the decision that we made for me to stay home,” she added. “Once all my kids are in school full day, I’d think about going back.”
Michael also sacrificed some coaching three years ago. He gave up coaching swimming and boys volleyball to be with his first family.
”I was coaching three sports since I started teaching in the 1996-97 season,” Michael said. “Eventually that was too much. I have my own kids playing sports. I’m coaching my kid’s travel soccer team. Something had to give. I’ve been coaching everyone else’s kids for so long, I thought I should give my own kids some time. I had to make that choice. It was worth it.”
Said Lynn: “I coached. I appreciate coaching. I understood that aspect of it. But ever since he gave up coaching two sports, our life has been better. The kids love having him around here, and I love having him here. We’re very blessed, that’s for sure.”
Lynn makes sure that the Adams children realize how good they have it. On Tuesday, she took Mikayla and Ashleigh to the rough and tumble Kensington section in Philadelphia, where they delivered 18 boxes of donated books, winter gloves and stuffed animals to kindergartners and kids in the Head Start program in an overwhelming response to a teacher’s request.
”It was nice for our kids to see and appreciate what they get,” Lynn said. “They loved it. They thought it was so great. It was a great experience. They told me that night they appreciate what they have. I hope they do.
”We’ll definitely continue to do it every single year, whether for there or another inner city school.”
There have been many blessings for the Pirate girls volleyball program since Adams took over. He has overseen the growth of the program that he jumped at the opportunity to coach almost a decade ago, giving up soccer in the process though he had more background in it than any other sport.
”I was playing at such a high level and after all that time and getting phenomenal coaching and learning so much about the sport, I jumped to volleyball,” Michael said. “That’s just the way it happened.”
Each year, he’s seen better turnouts for the girls team tryouts and increased dedication. He’s also been encouraged by the rapid growth of his West Windsor Volleyball Club, a club that Adams has had to limit only because of the lack of high-quality coaches available.
”I kept coaching the girls for a few reasons,” Michael said. “They’re great kids and they seem to be pretty dedicated to the sport. In the offseason, they’re so willing to still play and just give you everything. Because of that, you can see how good they can get. Making the state finals is a huge accomplishment for a school that doesn’t even have a conference.”
Lynn saw a little more sparkle in Michael’s eye throughout this fall season. He watched college volleyball games more intently at home while trying to pick up the nuances that his talented team could implement.
”It was easy for him to be there and be into it,” Lynn said. “This year, he was probably a little more focused and saw the talent in this team. He’s always focused, but they made him so proud. It was definitely a wonderful group of girls. I think he could see that this year was going to be a great one.
”All the hard work paid off,” she added. “And the payoff was great.”
As 2010 comes to a close, it’s easy for Michael to count his blessings in this holiday season. They truly have enriched every aspect of his life.
”Things have been going great,” he said. “Family is great. Teaching is great. Coaching is fantastic.”
It’s all one big happy family.
