Mike Krause is a master of many things. He is well spoken and knowledgeable about many sports, helping him as a TV personality for Service Electric. But his main gift is in the sport of volleyball and his knack for teaching.

Following another standout season for his Parkland High School girls volleyball team, Krause was voted a Region 2 Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. He is one of just 38 head coaches nationwide to achieve the honor.

“It is quite an honor and humbling to receive recognition in a region that consists of multiple states,” said Krause. “It is a credit to my assistant coaches (Taylor and Kristin Krause, Kelly Robertson, Jesse Krasley and Leah Brunnabend) and the athletes themselves. I believe it is a team honor.

“It recognizes the effort by our assistants giving their time to help teach and develop individual players to mold into an unselfish group of players to committing themselves to work collectively to pursue their dreams. And it is a credit to the athletes that work hard every day to improve themselves individually to collectively strengthen the team.”

In 2021, the Trojans won all but one match, including winning the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 4A titles. It is a team that Krause will have a special place for.

“This team took on every challenge,” Krause said. “We went through the regular and tournament seasons undefeated. We never went five sets all year. The goal of the team from start to finish is to be competitively consistent. We had fun at practice, but we also worked hard to challenge the girls to improve every day.

“Everyone had a contribution and accepted the role they earned to prepare for every challenge before we entered competition. They are a very unselfish group who celebrated and cheered the success of their teammate’s accomplishments. We had great leadership by our five seniors both on and off the court. Also, our team GPA is a 4.0. That is very rewarding.”

So what makes the 65-year old continue to come back year after year and coach one of the top programs in the state and have the passion and motivation to make everyone around him better?

“The athletes are the motivating factor,” said Krause. “When you have young people that are willing to develop traits needed to work in a team environment, it inspires me to help them develop as athletes, students and people. There are a lot of negative things happening in our society, surrounding yourself with positive people that want to make a great contribution to their society keeps me challenged on how I could possibly provide guidance in their growth.

“I have role models on our coaching staff willing to give up their time to help young people. I have a very supportive administration, training staff, custodians and teachers in the high school that believe in kids’ opportunities. We have a feeling of community among their fellow athletes and classroom peers.”

Krause and his returning team is eagerly awaiting next season already, coming just one victory shy of a state championship. They are ready to get back and accomplish the goal.

“I am interested to see how the returning players respond to being so close to winning a state championship,” Krause said. “We will have new leaders who will now write their own story of their high school volleyball experience. We will develop a new team personality.

“The team is driven by our senior leadership. The graduating seniors from this season laid a framework to provide direction for our upcoming seniors. We have athletes willing to put the time in to grow in their skills, develop further in their ability and in their physical strength. Our upcoming seniors have been patiently waiting for their turn to lead, and I think they are ready.”