University of Georgia Athletics
Match Day Update: Family Ties
September 24, 2014 | Volleyball
The Georgia Bulldogs are taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Southeastern Conference opener tonight in Stegeman Coliseum, and although every SEC match is highly competitive, for a couple of the Bulldogs this one hits a little closer to home.
Before eventually becoming Georgia's Associate Head Coach, Josh Lauer was previously the assistant coach for the Crimson Tide. During his time there he coached current Georgia freshman Cassidy Anderson's sister, Kelsey Anderson, for two years until he joined the Bulldog staff in the spring of 2010. Although Kelsey has graduated from the program at Alabama, this match still stirs up some sibling rivalry for Cassidy.
The Anderson sisters are Louisville, Ky., natives, however Cassidy explained that during her recruiting process that her "first goal was to play for a school in the SEC. My family loves the SEC."
When asked about wanting to follow in her sister's footstep to Alabama she said "no I wanted to go somewhere different." While she maintains that there has always been some sibling rivalry between her and Kelsey, it has always been with good intentions and "when it got serious we knew we were each others biggest fans."
Coach Josh Lauer weighed in on his experiences coaching each of the sisters.
"Cassidy is a little more introverted and has a very calm confidence, while Kelsey was more extroverted. Both of them share a fiery internal competiveness."
He then remarked that the girls' style of play on the court showed much more similarities in that both girls were fast learners and natural athletes. Impressed by Cassidy's court IQ and her rapidly developing skills, he draws parallels to her older sisters progress at Alabama.
Lauer expressed what a positive overall experience it has been for him coaching each sister and getting to see Cassidy grow over the years from her days tagging along with her parents at Kelsey's matches, to becoming the player and person she is now.
He notes there is only tough thing he's been faced with so far while coaching Cassidy.
"During preseason practices, in the heat of a drill, I caught myself calling Cassidy Kelsey a couple of times."
With that being his biggest obstacle with Cassidy, he anticipates a bright future for her at Georgia. Tonight will mark Cassidy's first opportunity to play in a SEC match and although Kelsey will not be able to make it, there will still be that element of sibling rivalry there and will make it that much more highly anticipated for Cassidy.
