Former volleyball champion and coach helps PCHS players to create community

The PCHS girls volleyball team poses with Caroline "CK" Knop. Photo: Bill Ciraco

PARK CITY, Utah — Members of the Park City High School (PCHS) girl’s varsity volleyball teams had the opportunity to train with  Caroline “CK” Knop last week, and learn valuable life lessons for both on and off the court.

Knop played volleyball for the University of Michigan and the University of Florida, as well as the United States women’s volleyball team. She moved on to assistant coach for three seasons at the College of Charleston before taking the position of volunteer assistant coach at her Florida alma mater in 2022.

This is the second year that Knop has traveled to Park City to work with the volleyball players as they gear up for a new season and school year. During the two-day camp Knop and the girls ran drills, scrimmaged, and even spent time by the pool.

“I think it’s really cool to see the different views she has on volleyball,” said Lucy Terwillegar, a volleyball player entering her senior year at PCHS.

“We just loved her immediately, she has such a great attitude and is so good at building culture,” said Camden Goodman, a volleyball player entering her senior year at PCHS. “It’s so inspiring hearing about her story and how amazing she was.”

“It’s really eye opening because it puts a different perspective on what your goals are and how to reach them,” said Annabella Ciraco, a volleyball player entering her senior year at PCHS. “Having someone with do many different experiences who has gone through so much, it’s so great for our team, because she shows us that obviously you have to have some skill in volleyball, but a lot of it is really good teamwork and being a great teammate.”

The players also had the opportunity to participate in a team building activity at the National Ability Center (NAC) Challenge Course. The girls would like to thank the NAC for allowing them to use the facility.

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The camp was facilitated by Annabella’s father Bill Ciraco. A former college athlete, Bill brought Knop to Park City to help inspire his daughter and her teammates to dream big and consider a future in college athletics .

“Both my wife and I were athletes in college, and we really feel like it really benefited us in life,” Bill said. “So we’re just trying to provide a little bit of inspiration to the girls to reach a little bit, and think about how athletics can help them through the rest of their lives and college, then after they graduate from college and in the workforce.”

Knop’s philosophy is that she doesn’t want to just prepare the team for their next high school volleyball season and college tryouts, but also for life off of the court.

“The connections that you make and the lessons that you’ve learned in sport are so vital to your success as people in life,” Knop said. “Even though you might not want to continue to play after, all the lessons that you learn playing a sport, like the idea of team, being a great human being, being supportive… all of those things in the matter to whatever you’re going to do next.”

During the camp Knop, emphasized the importance of being a good teammate, and creating a positive community and culture within the team. During activities the players would help facilitate each others reps, tying their successes and failures together, and reinforcing their trust in one another.

“So that when you’re in those big moments you’re not looking around like, ‘I don’t believe in her, or I don’t trust her,'” Knop said. “It now becomes, ‘I understand that we have done all this work. I understand that together, we have been in this… coaching is just choosing where you’re putting your time and energy, but to me, it’s way more valuable to put your time and energy into the connection between the student athletes.”

“Anything I can learn from her I am taking in,” said Ellis Gloor, a volleyball player entering her senior year at PCHS. “She knows how to create a community, which is the goal of volleyball.”

“She doesn’t really care about how you’re playing volleyball,” said Henley Madsen, a volleyball player entering her junior year at PCHS. “Instead, she’s really big on being a good teammate and making sure that it’s energy in energy out.”

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