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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 26, Digital 4

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VOLUME 26, ISSUE 4 71 F our divisions, nearly 800 schools. It's quite a feat to win a high school state championship in Ohio, being the best among 200 teams. So when Julie Els' Albany Al- exander High School completed an incredible 28-1 run to win the Divi- sion III volleyball championship in 2008, it was a big deal. After immediately sharing the joy with teammates and coaches on the court, she turned to the stands and saw beaming faces of mom Jane and siblings Bo and Taylor. But someone important was miss- ing. Ross Els was in his fourth sea- son as linebackers coach for Ohio University, and the Bobcats had a 2 p.m. kickoff with Bowling Green on the day of Julie's 5 p.m. title match. So Ross Els had to settle for switch- ing a TV on during a postgame re- cruiting visit to catch a glimpse and then hear all the glorious details of the match and post-match celebra- tion much later that night, waiting for her return to the high school at nearly 2 a.m. "What father does that?" Ross Els said. "It shouldn't happen that way. That's not what you should be doing as a dad. One of the things you miss in this profession is you miss your kids growing up." So when Els got an opportunity for a do-over, in a sense, after be- ing fired at Nebraska in 2014, even though it was one borne out of dif- ficult circumstance, he had no ques- tion what the right choice would be. He didn't want to miss more mo- ments. His twins Bo and Taylor were go- Tom Campbell After spending a season coaching high school football to be able to spend more time with son Bo and daughter Taylor, Ross Els was ready to get back into college coaching. Mission Matters Els' year away points to purpose BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com

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