If you have been to recent sporting events, you may have recognized a few familiar faces who have been active in Paoli Athletics: 2020 graduates Kinley Block and Aron Busick, 2022 graduate Carson Little, and 2024 graduate Gracie Brown. These four have returned to coach where it all began.
Former PHS volleyball player Kinley Block has just begun her first year as the Head Coach of the varsity volleyball team. During her high school season, Block played for the volleyball team as a defensive specialist. After high school, Block attended Lincoln Trail and played as a middle blocker. She then transferred to Texas to play for Texas A&M University Texarkana. While Block was in her final couple weeks of college, she saw the head coaching position here at PHS and was immediately interested, and has been working to improve the Paoli volleyball program ever since.
“As a team, we have a lot of mental game to work on just as much as we do physically. I learned late in my athletic career the utter importance of your mental game and how much it helps or hurts your gameplay, so it has been something we have discussed nearly every day since I stepped in,” said Block.
Former PHS football player Aron Busick is also in his first season as a coach for Paoli, as a new defensive back coach for the varsity Rams team. In high school, Busick played as a defensive back, and after graduation, attended Indiana Tech to play baseball and later transferred to Oakland City, where he also played on their baseball team.
“I expect to see the players improve each week and get better and better as the season goes on,” said Busick.
Former PHS football player Carson Little is in his third season as the Head Coach of the junior high football team. Little led the offense as the quarterback for Paoli while in high school, and is now a special education staff member.
Little realized his love for the game had not left, so he returned to PHS as a teacher and as a coach.
“Because I graduated, I am unable to continue playing, so I decided to come back and help coach to share my knowledge with the younger generation,” said Little.
Former PHS volleyball player Gracie Brown has also begun her first year as a coach. Brown took the coaching position for the eighth grade volleyball team this fall. During her high school years, Brown played as the libero for the varsity team. She is currently enrolled in Ivy Tech Online for Elementary Education.
“As I approached graduating, I realized I wasn’t quite ready to leave it all behind and with my decision to stay home and do college online, the decision to coach was super easy,” said Brown.
These four graduates from PHS have returned to coach their once-played sport in hopes of positively impacting their sport. As their seasons come to an end, they hope to come back in the future to return back to coaching. You may continue to see more familiar faces as new PHS graduates come back to their roots.