Having been offered the chance to observe and aid in the development of two daughters on the volleyball court this fall was undoubtedly special to Melanie Seibel.

But she’d be the first to declare, and did so Aug 15 after practice: “I’m here to help all of them as a team.”

Replacing Molly Malarsie as Ignacio’s JV mentor, Seibel became the next in her immediate household (following husband Shane and son Trae) to accept a bench-leadership position in IHS Athletics, and said getting her name out for consideration was an easy decision.

“I coached at the junior-high level here, and then I had some time off,” she said. “And coach [Thad Cano] was looking for a coach, and I knew there was a need there, so I went ahead and said ‘Hey, I’ll be there to help out.’

“We all have a vision and it’s similar,” she said. “And we’re here for the girls; we’re here to empower them to be the best that they can, with the tools that we have. … There’s no complacency in it; we challenge ’em just as we challenge ourselves: Work hard, a lot of commitment, effort, dedication. … We as coaches have that and we, in turn, help them with that.”

Especially if the program’s 2012 success is to be replicated in years to come.

“I continue to push them to go forward,” Seibel said, “and there’s no backing down.  We take ’em as far as we can take ’em, and just always continue forward.”