22-year-old cancer survivor returns to high school as volleyball coach

ANOTHER CHAPTER. HERE’S KCCI. SHANNON EARHART. YOU WOULDN’T KNOW IT BY LOOKING GOOD. SWING. NICE SET. BUT THE HUMBOLDT VARSITY VOLLEYBALL COACH IS 22 YEARS OLD. GO JUMP IN. A CANCER SURVIVOR. WHAT’S IT LIKE COACHING WITH YOUR DAUGHTER. IT’S PRETTY EMOTIONAL. YOU MAY RECOGNIZE ASHLAND CLARKE FROM THIS PITCH. SWUNG ON, HIT TO RIGHT GOING BACK AT THE WALL. IT’S GONE. A TWO RUN HOME RUN FOR ASHLEY AND CLARKE. THE CALL AND CELEBRATION FROM HER FIRST HOME RUN WHILE SHE WAS BATTLING CANCER THROUGH A HOME RUN TO RIGHT FIELD. IF IT’S A RIGHT SIDE HIT TODAY, HERE FOR ASHLAND IS TWO AND A HALF YEARS IN REMISSION. IN WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW YOUR TALK IS THAT SOFTBALL TOOK A BACK SEAT TO THIS QUEEN OF THE COURT AFTER I WAS DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL, I WAS GOING TO GO PLAY VOLLEYBALL. YOU KNOW, I HAD LOVED SOFTBALL. THAT WAS KIND OF MY GETAWAY WHEN I WAS SICK. BUT I LOVED VOLLEYBALL. CLARK’S DREAMS OF A COLLEGE CAREER WERE CRUSHED BENEATH THE WEIGHT OF STAGE FOUR NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA. IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE HER IN A FEW WORDS. RESILIENT TO COME TO THE REALIZATION THAT AFTER I WAS SICK, IT’S BEEN FOUR YEARS OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ANYMORE. SO SHE CONTROLLED THE CONTROLLABLES. SHE PERSEVERES WHEN YOU GET KNOCKED DOWN, SHE GETS RIGHT BACK UP. I’VE TOLD THE GIRLS I WOULD TAKE YOUR SPOT ANY TIME, ANY TIME OF THE WEEK. I WOULD LOVE TO GO BACK AND PLAY AGAIN, BUT THAT I CAN’T I’M NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU ALL MY KNOWLEDGE, EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE TO BE THE BEST COACH FOR YOU GUYS. SO IF YOU’RE LEFT HANDED, THAT MAKES SENSE TO JUST GO. AS AN OUTSIDE HITTER IN HIGH SCHOOL, SHE PLAYED THE ROLE OF AN INCREDIBLY CONFIDENT SCORER. THOUGH HER ROLES HAVE CHANGED, HER ANGLE STAYS THE SAME. YES, VOLLEYBALL IS IMPORTANT, BUT THERE’S MORE TO IT. LIKE WE’RE JUST KIDS. WE’RE MORE WORRIED ABOUT WHO WHO THE PERSON THAT YOU’RE GOING TO BECOME. AND AFTER HAVING ALREADY WON THE FIGHT FOR HER LIFE, COACH ASHLAND CLARK HAS NOTHING TO LOSE. SOME OF THESE GIRLS, THEY THINK THAT CONFERENCE IS A BIG STAGE. I WANT TO GO BIGGER. I WANT TO MAKE A NAME FOR OURSELVES THAT I WANT TO BE A STATE COMPETITOR TEAM EVERY SINGLE YEAR FOR SHANNON EARHART. KCCI. ONE, TWO, THREE OF IOWA’S SPORTS LEADER. OH, THAT’S AWESOME TO SEE YOU NOW. ASHLAND GRADUATED FROM IOWA CENTRAL IN 2022 WITH HER ASSOCIATE DEGREE, AND NOW SHE’S TAKING ONLINE CLASSES AT U. AND I FOR A DEGREE IN EDUCATION. AND YEAH, BOOM RECENTL