Women's Volleyball Mac Moore, KSHSAA Covered

True Blue Student of the Week: F.L. Schlagle's Aleah Netherland turned various efforts to stay busy into multiple college scholarships

Aleah Netherland never really bowled that much before high school. 

She enjoyed the sport whenever she would hit the lanes for some random social gathering or just a fun day away from home, although she never really played competitively. Still, when she learned freshman year that her high school had a bowling team, Netherland decided to join with little hesitation.

"I was like, 'OK, that would be cool and that would keep me busy,'" Netherland said.

Now four years later, the F.L. Schlagle senior — and this week's Capitol Federal True Blue Student of the Week — is not only planning a return to the state bowling tournament this year, she's planning to keep throwing strikes at the college level. 

Netherland has already received a full-ride scholarship to Baker University for academics. She sits at the top of her high school class with a chance to be valedictorian, which may be a trend she started in her family. Her younger sister Victoria, who is also in position to earn valedictorian in her class, will need to acquire an athletic scholarship to match her though. The elder Netherland sister will compete for Baker's bowling team on a partial scholarship.

"It's really amazing because I was not expecting to actually be able to bowl in college," Netherland said. "The coach at Baker, she emailed me one day and she just offered me a scholarship. I took it, of course."

Netherland said she's excited to continue a sport that she's gained a passion for over the last four years. She was the only member of the Schlagle girls team to advance to state last season. It was an experience she relishes, but also one that felt a little bittersweet.

"I got to spend a night in a hotel down in Wichita, that was cool," Netherland said. "Now the bowling part, that's a different story."

Netherland walked away impressed with the size of the Northrock Lanes in Wichita, but she did not feel the same about the oil patterns that she encountered.

"I did not do very well," she said. "The oil patterns were terrible, but overall it was fun."

Netherland plans to return to state this year and has dedicated herself to improving upon her performance. If the dedication she has shown for all her other extracurricular activities are any indication, she is likely to accomplish just that. 

Bowling is actually Netherland's second love when it comes to sports. She is also on the volleyball team, which she started playing in seventh grade. 

Schlagle volleyball head coach LaVonne Williams describes Netherland as a natural leader who constantly made Williams' job easier. She said Netherland would regularly pull freshman or sophomore players aside and offer to teach them proper technique for serves, spikes or any other drill.

"She was one of my captains and go-to people, before they even brought (something) to my attention," Williams said. "She is one of those young ladies who can solve a problem before I had to get involved, which is rare."

Williams recalls a moment during the season when Netherland showed that assertiveness in the middle of live action as well. Netherland shared the middle blocker position with another player this season, but she opted out of the planned rotation when the team needed a spark.

"Aleah kept the middle and I mean, she killed that ball," Williams said.

Netherland did not really boast afterward. She just went to her standard celebration of shooting a smile toward her team on the bench. Williams said that reaction encapsulates how Netherland conducts herself most of the time in her long list of academic and athletic achievements: calm, direct and humble.

"She's one of those students who is an excellent role model," Williams said. "She is outgoing, she's into everything. She's just that model student, model daughter, student, kid. Period."

For Netherland, the chance to be a leader is one of her favorite parts of playing volleyball and participating in other activities.

"Showing that leadership and knowing that other people, younger people, look up to me in that way. … I don't know, it's just really cool to know that," Netherland said. "I have this mentality that I just want to help people get better."

Netherland knows from experience how much the right instruction from skilled leaders can help someone grow into their potential. 

She started competing in athletics in first grade when she joined the DMD Dance studio in Kansas City. The team performs in tap, jazz, ballet and hip-hop dance competitions. Netherland took the rhythm and timing she learned there and began applying it to her musical talents.

"I've always liked music and singing, that's always been one of my passions," Netherland said. "I found out that I could play violin, so I started playing that when I was in fourth grade."

Netherland said that one of her inspirations was Lindsey Stirling, a commercially successful violinist, songwriter and dancer who launched her career by using her multi-hyphenate talents to impress judges on the TV show America's Got Talent in 2010. 

In addition to watching the high energy performances of Stirling, Netherland said she just always felt like the violin stood out above other options of instruments to learn how to play, like the bass or the cello.

"If you listen to Mozart, or just when you hear a big orchestra (play classical music), you always hear the violin," Netherland said. "It has the melody part and it's like they almost have the most important part."

Netherland quickly fell in love with the violin as she learned how to play it and continues to play violin in orchestra competitions to this day. Since eighth grade, she's auditioned for the Northeast Kansas Music Educators Association high school orchestra convention in her district. She received a certificate in December 2021 for being a three-year participant and making all-district this year.

Netherland said the audition process for state can be a really stressful experience, with the chosen pieces of music becoming more challenging to learn and perform. 

"It's very challenging and you learn a lot in just one day," Netherland said.

But she said the stress of auditioning is worth it. 

Netherland describes the sessions as an awesome experience. She gets the chance to collaborate with other talented musicians her age, while also having professional clinicians and conductors giving her direct instruction, which is a benefit she has not regularly received.

"Knowing that I can do it and knowing that I can be as good as other people who have private lessons when I don't," Netherland said.

She is still hoping she can add orchestra scholarship along with the bowling scholarship, but Netherland will likely find a way to stay busy when she heads off to college. 

For now though, she'll continue with her many responsibilities at Schlagle, including her role as the vice president of the National Honor Society. She jumped into that commitment at the recommendation of multiple teachers. She said the organization gives her the opportunity to do community service work and it helps students prepare themselves for plans after high school.

Netherland plans to major in sports psychology at Baker. She said she's been interested in psychology for a while now, but recently started exploring the ways psychology comes into play for athletes.

"Being an athlete, I feel like I kind of know how an athlete's mind works and how their mind will affect their performance," Netherland said.

She wants to explore how the demeanor of a coach could impact players as well. Netherland said great teachers and coaches, such as she had with Williams in volleyball, have had a huge impact on her.

"(Williams) really believed in all of us," Netherland said. "She always said that we were a sisterhood. We're all family. 

"To have that type of coach that wants all of us to be able to talk to our teammates and come to them with any type of problem that we have … that was her main thing and that's what I really like about her."

Netherland and Williams had the opportunity to work together in a different setting this year than just the volleyball court. For the last two years, Williams has performed with students in a school play called "A Black News Play," penned by Schlagle English teacher Rachel Leonard. 

Netherland auditioned this year and landed the part of Grammy Award winning R&B singer Shirley Brown. The role gave Netherland a chance to show off her singing talents with the song "Woman to Woman" and bring her dance choreography talents to the production.

Williams said she was excited to work with Netherland on that this year. She said Netherland's endurance shows through in the dedication and performance she gives in whatever activity she takes on. Every time she sees Netherland's effort, Williams walks away impressed yet never surprised.

"We need to clone her," Williams said. "She's an amazing young lady. I can't wait to see what she gives the world."
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