Persistence helps Flowers turn college volleyball dream into reality

Isaac Flowers never let the fact New Brockton High School doesn't have a boy's volleyball team change his dream to play at the next level, which will be reality when he takes the court for Hilbert College.

"It feels great," Flowers said of knowing he will play college volleyball. "All of the hard work finally paid off. I knew I wanted to play in college years ago so it's kind of paying off now. It's exciting."

The journey Flowers took toward college volleyball began when he watched his younger sister practice.

"One day, I just jumped in," he said. "I just really got the hang of it. That's really when I started to like it."

Flowers developed a love for the game, which eventually grew into a role on former New Brockton volleyball coach Jennifer Graham's team.

"Isaac has been a part of the New Brockton volleyball team for four years, not only as an outstanding manager, but what I and the team referred to him as our 12th man," Graham said. "He practiced and traveled with us. It became very obvious he had the natural ability to compete, we just had to teach him some ball control."

Soon, Graham knew Flowers had what it took to compete as a volleyball player.

"(It was) just his knack to get better, his perseverance," she said. "He wanted to practice every day, all day long. I couldn't kick him out of the gym. I knew there he had the athleticism and he loved the game. All we had to do was teach the skill."

The coach began to teach, and Flowers began to learn the nuances of the game.

"He started picking it up fast," Graham said. "We kept doing higher-level stuff. The boy's net is higher than the girl's net so we would occasionally put the net up for him and just let him practice."

When Flowers practiced, he made the Graham's Lady Gamecocks better as well.

"He really was our 12th man, because we always had 11 (players)," she said. "He practiced that 12th position, and we needed a 12th person. Because of his ability to block and stuff like that, it challenged our hitters. It was great. It would help the girls with jumping and blocking and stuff like that. It was a win-win."

As Flowers' ability grew, he worked with Graham to further his dream.

"Last year around this time, he and I sat down," Graham said. "We watched different colleges and videos, and looked at some of the opportunities he might have. I told him it was going to be up to him to do the legwork of calling schools and sending these skill videos we had made, because recruiters aren't coming to Alabama for (men's) volleyball."

Flowers made videos to send to college coaches and demonstrate his skills.

"He called a lot of schools," Graham said. "Some schools said, 'Who do you play club (volleyball) for?' He (said), 'You don't understand. We don't have volleyball here. I just (practice with) the girls team.' We were a competitive team, and when he showed them the videos that helped them understand a little bit more. We didn't have the resources for him to play here."

The fact Flowers could never play volleyball in high school didn't dissuade Hilbert College, a Division III school located in Hamburg, New York.

"They just really helped me, and they've really been supportive the whole time," Flowers said. "Any time I needed something, they really understood I was really far away. They've been really helpful."

Flowers said he has had a wide range of support during his quest to make his dream of college volleyball a reality.

"The volleyball team has really helped me a lot," he said. "They've been really supportive. My mom and sisters have really helped me a lot. I've had a really good support system. That really has been what's really helped me get here, and Coach Graham."

When Graham embarked on the next step in her coaching career in 2016, Flowers continued his role with the Lady Gamecocks on current NBHS volleyball coach Lacy Ward's team.

"When Coach Graham left, he could have said, 'That's it for me' and left it at that, but he didn't," Ward said. "He just kept working. We worked and we videoed and we fixed and we tweaked. We stayed late (to practice). Some of the girls stayed late (to practice) with him. He just kept persevering to get to what he wanted to get to. He had a goal and a mindset he wasn't going to settle for anything less."

New Brockton returned to the state tournament last year, and Ward said Flowers played a big role in the Lady Gamecocks' preparation.

"Some of the competition we faced, we wouldn't have done as well against if we had not had him hitting to us the day before," she said. "He prepared us for going to the next level of play as far as going to super regionals and going to state. He prepared us for that in a way a lot of teams can't be prepared, because they just don't have somebody who can hit that hard to them consistently."

On the court during practices, Flowers demonstrated the same tenacity which has hallmarked his journey to play college volleyball.

"As a player, he's just relentless," Ward said. "He never backs down. He never gives up. He never gets frustrated. He has a 'Don't quit' attitude."

The persistent attitude Flowers showed has affected the NBHS volleyball program down to Ward's youngest players.

"My seventh graders really see the sky is the limit," Ward said. "It doesn't matter if you're male or female. That doesn't matter in volleyball. You still work hard. You still achieve what you set out to achieve. It shows if you're willing to go that extra mile and you're willing to give that extra effort, good things will come of it. Isaac's been that person."

The path to find a college team after he couldn't play volleyball for his high school team has taught Flowers valuable lessons.

"(It's taught me) just to not give up, just to push through everything, through all of the criticism and everything," he said. "For me, being the only guy on the whole girls team, it was kind of hard but I just pushed through it and made it the best."

Though he had plenty of support, Graham said Flowers made his dream come true.

"He did this all on his own," she said. "I guess that's what I'm most proud of. It's not initially he's going to play volleyball, which makes me extremely proud, but the fact he followed through. He could have easily just let it be a dream and not a reality."

Since his work has paid off, Flowers looked back on the point when he knew letting the dream die was not an option.

"It means so much," he said. "I was kind of iffy about it a while back, but then I just decided I really wanted to do it and I wasn't going to let anything get in my way. Just don't give up on your dreams."

The senior hopes his journey has opened the door for other male students at New Brockton who may be interested in volleyball.

"I just hope the next guy (who) comes through will do as good as I did, if not better," he said. "Hopefully, I started something new for the guys. I know there are some other guys (who) like volleyball, too. Hopefully, they'll want to play now, or do what I did."

Throughout his journey to make his dream to play volleyball come true, Flowers showed Graham he has what it takes to succeed at the next level.

"He is a standout in the classroom and on the court," she said. "He has also taken on the responsibility to protect the citizens of this country as an active reservist. This young man has such a bright future ahead of him. We know Hilbert College has gained a great athlete and a scholar. We wish you the very best, and we know you'll make this community proud."