Crook County volleyball: Building a dynasty

Six state titles in the past six years: that’s the resume of the Crook County volleyball team.

So how have they built such a dynasty?

The term dynasty is thrown around loosely in sports these days.

But the Cowgirls volleyball team is the definition of one, winning six straight state titles.

But you won’t hear that word used among the Cowgirls.

“We just put in the work. We talk about a culture and the way we do things here,” Head Coach Rosie Honl said this week.

So how have they created their dynasty?

If you ask the players, the answer is easy: Honl.

She’s coached at Crook County for the past 17 years and coaches the 10-, 12- and 14-year-olds in the offseason the exact same concepts she’s teaching at the varsity level.

“Rosie is not just a coach, but she’s also a student,” senior Makayla Lindburg said. “She believes every day that she can learn more, so she’s constantly going to coaching clinics and camps all around the country and learning more, and always teaching us new things.”

Honl said, “I call them the rules of volleyball. There’s certain things we do, and we want it that way every single time.”

Junior Hannah Troutman said., “Repetition, going over and over with passing drills, the same drills you did when you were 10 years old and moving it up. It makes us better passers as we go on.”

With those six straight titles, the Cowgirls have a large target on their backs, game in and game out. But they say they try to just play their best each game.

“We try not to think about pressure,” Lindburg said. “We understand what our expectations are, but we try not to make it seem that we have to do it for the title. We have to do it for the confidence and pride in ourselves.”

Each year, the team has had a slogan in their drive for another state title.

This year’s?

“7-Up. Enjoy Cowgirl volleyball: It’s the real thing.”

“They really don’t want to be the team that doesn’t do it,” Honl said with a laugh. “That’s what we they talk about: We cannot be the team that doesn’t fulfill the year.”

Lindburg said, “I would love to leave with four in a row. That’s every senior’s dream, to leave with a state championship.”