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Coach Rose Leads With The Character of a Champion

By: By Joshua Peacock
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Women's Volleyball | 9/23/2020 5:15:00 PM

Savannah State Head Volleyball Coach Roselidah Obunaga, or Coach Rose as she is affectionately called, has faced an uphill climb since joining the program in 2019 but has found ways to be successful at every turn using her experience and positive mindset to guide her.
 
Early in July, following the lead of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), Savannah State suspended all fall sports and practices due to the ongoing pandemic created by COVID-19 leaving the volleyball program without their normal August and September schedule.
 
Just ahead of her first season as the head coach and with her first batch of recruits, Coach Rose was left again adjusting to a course correction due to outside forces.
 
Exactly one year ago, she was in a similar situation.
 
The first game of the 2019 season was postponed due to Hurricane Dorian. While evacuating, two Savannah State student-athletes, junior hitter Karissa Tatum and senior libero Liz Ortiz, were involved in a car crash after their vehicle hydroplaned during the heavy rains. Tatum later passed away at Memorial Hospital while Ortiz was rendered unable to play for the season.
 
Coach Rose, an interim head coach at the time, adjusted to the tragedy. She rallied the shorthanded team to honor the memory of their teammate by playing on.
 
In their first year of competition within the SIAC, the Lady Tigers finished 9-18 overall, an improvement on the previous year's 3-21 record.
 
They earned six conference wins, enough to garner a spot in the SIAC Championship as the No. 4 seed from the East Division. They earned the program's first SIAC Championship win with a 3-2 victory over Central State that sent them to the semifinals.
 
All the while, they honored Tatum's memory. Throughout the season, they decorated her spot on the bench with her jersey. During the Championship, they wrote "Do It For KG" on their shoes as a reminder of their loss and as fuel to fight on.
 
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Coach Rose was hired as the head volleyball coach in February and announced the signing of five new recruits to round out her team.
 
"This was an easy decision," Director of Athletics Opio Mashariki said. "She stepped in and did an outstanding job managing our student-athletes while keeping them motivated to be successful in our new division and conference."
 
Growing up in her native Kenya, Coach Rose learned how to adjust to whatever situation she needed to. With her siblings and extended family, they would string up a clothes line as a volleyball net or they would tie together three sticks for a high jump, landing in the grass.
 
The first time she visited a gym, she couldn't wear shoes because she was so used to playing sports barefoot outside.
 
"I know how that lifestyle works," Coach Rose said. "Even here in America, we play grass volleyball just for fun. I've been able to adjust. It's really easy for me to think outside the box for things I can do and how we can play outside. That's how I started volleyball and it was so entertaining I never knew I could play on a net! After a few years, I got a net."
 
When she returns to Kenya, she always takes balls and nets to donate to the schools in her native village.
 
Coach Rose is the only Olympic athlete coaching at Savannah State.
 
She captained the Kenya National team at one point and made appearances representing her country in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She also played college volleyball for Missouri State University and later Columbia College.
 
From playing in the grass to the world stage, Coach Rose has developed the mental attitude of a champion with a relentlessly positive and determined approach.
 
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During this unprecedented fall season, Coach Rose has had her team focusing on three things: academics, staying healthy and staying focused on volleyball.
 
She's held study hall for them and virtual team meetings where she encourages them to keep a positive mindset. She finds YouTube videos of volleyball matches for them to watch and learn from.
 
"I always wanted coaches to butter me up," Coach Rose recalled. "But 90 percent of the work I needed to do I had to do before they told me to do it."
 
As a player, Coach Rose spent her off season training. She would run or work to strengthen her shoulders and feet. She would Google exercises, or remember the ones her coach had given her. Even now, as a coach, she tries to work out every morning. Sometimes she just walks. When she can, she runs. She stays disciplined when it comes to her health even though she doesn't need a scholarship to motivate her.
 
 "That's what I try to teach them, it's not about the scholarship," she said. "It's not about just playing volleyball. Generally, if you look, it's about welfare as a big picture. I try to encourage them in that aspect because the time, even if we were in-season, the time we have with them is really short.
 
"I am trying to make sure we're all coming together and sharing a bond. When the time comes for us to walk out, we're already one bond and we share things and share jokes, but at the same time be series and work on the things we're supposed to work on."
 
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This week, Coach Rose returned to practice.
 
The SIAC opened up to teams within the conference to start working out and holding practices. Internally, the Savannah State Athletics Administration had each head coach present a plan for practice and workouts that includes regular COVID-19 testing, the use of masks within practices and workouts, and social distancing tactics used during activities.
 
For volleyball, that has meant wearing masks during practice, using a single net and keeping distance from each other. Volleyball is adjusting to the new format.  
 
There is still no 2020-21 volleyball schedule in sight. But Coach Rose isn't in the least bit concerned about the future. She instead focuses on her day-to-day duties and preparing her team the best she can for whenever they'll be allowed to return to regular game play.
 
"I am sure we'll catch up no matter what," she said. "We don't need to over think. If we're going to play in the spring, we'll have enough time to work out later this season. Then, if need be, we have to come back early so we can start working out when COVID is gone. If it was not meant to be, then we'll just be back for next year. It's completely out of our hands."
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Karissa Tatum

#11 Karissa Tatum

RS
5' 9"
Freshman
Liz Ortiz

#1 Liz Ortiz

L/OH
5' 8"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Karissa Tatum

#11 Karissa Tatum

5' 9"
Freshman
RS
Liz Ortiz

#1 Liz Ortiz

5' 8"
Senior
L/OH