Small community. Big city.
Emma Shaddix is hoping it could be just the perfect fit.
Shaddix has joined the Seattle Pacific volleyball program as the lead assistant to head coach
Jason Rhine.
The 24-year-old Shaddix competed collegiately at Florida Southern (often among the national top 25) and last fall at Colorado Mesa, which reached the NCAA Tournament South Central Regionals. A 6-footer who played on the right side, she spent four years with the Moccasins while earning her degree in exercise science and her master's in business administration.
With one year of eligibility remaining because of the pandemic shutdown in 2020, Shaddix joined Mesa last year while pursuing a master's in sports management. She had 208 kills (2.36 per set) on .311 hitting and was an All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference second-team selection.
She then started serving the Mavericks as a graduate assistant coach before coming to SPU.
"At Southern, I really got into club volleyball and helping with the local club I coached there for two years," Shaddix said. "I knew then that I wanted to go into coaching. I definitely had the call, and I really enjoyed it."
Becoming the grad assistant at Colorado Mesa after her playing days concluded was her next step.
"Going from player to grad assistant, I really had a connection with the girls," Shaddix said. "I was like their outlet, their middleman for them and the (other) coaches. It was a good relationship there, and I want to continue that here."
Moving up the coaching ladder is just part of the story for Shaddix. Another part for this native of Jupiter, Florida (current population 61,000) is moving to Seattle.
"I've never lived in a big city before, so it was definitely a big step," she said. "But I knew when I visited campus, I knew it was a good community (at SPU). I really enjoy the smaller community. It makes the bigger city feel a little smaller."