Ms. Celia, or Jaime Celia is a visual art teacher here at Colonia High School. She began working here last year, teaching art and making fun sculptures and paintings with her students. Most people wouldn’t know that when Ms. Celia was in college, she played Division II volleyball. Division II volleyball is a big deal, especially because college volleyball is very hard to get into.
Right when Ms. Celia started walking, she was introduced to the game of volleyball; both her parents had played and taught her and her sister when they were very little. From there, she learned the game, and learned to love it as well. She had given up softball and sacrificed her time and her social life for the game of volleyball, and she enjoyed every second of her experience as a volleyball player.
Growing up in a town in Pennsylvania in the “middle of nowhere,” she played for a club team called Export until she was 16 years old. She was a setter, which is one of the most difficult positions to play. The setter has to be sort of the quarterback of the team, and they have to show full leadership on the court. When she was 17, she moved to Norlanco Volleyball Club which is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She won silver brackets with this club team, and had a blast playing during club season.
Her high school seasons, were very different, but she still loved them and the girls on her team endlessly. She was one of three girls who played club volleyball at Daniel Boone High school, but her senior year, her team went undefeated. Ms. Celia achieved many things throughout her high school career, including All County Honorable Mention her freshman year, All Division her sophomore and junior year, and All county, and her senior, she was All County, All District First Team and All State First Team. She remembers the day she got call from her mother that she had also been named County MVP. “My mom called me while I was in school and told me to go the bathroom. She told me that I was County MVP, and I was beyond happy. It made every practice worth it.”
It is every club volleyball player’s dream to play in college. But “you have to be realistic”, Ms. Celia told me. “Of course, I wanted to play at Penn State, who doesn’t? But I knew I wouldn’t have the same role on that team. I wanted to become a key player on whatever team I picked”. She decided to play at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is one out of 312 Division II colleges throughout 45 states. Kutztown University is apart of the PSAC, or the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and their mascot is the Golden Bears. “I ended up choosing Kutztown because not only was it the best decision for me with being a key player on the team, but it is a great school for art as well.”
As a freshman and sophomore she played as a setter, and when she was a junior, she became a libero. Ms. Celia played as libero, her senior year as well, and fell in love with the position even though she had set her whole life. She had many amazing achievements and milestones at Kutztown and still holds records today. She is on the Kutztown Leaderboard for Career Digs, digs in a season, assists per season, career assists, she holds the record for single season aces and holds the record for career aces. Also, she was named Defensive Player Of The Year for Division II schools and 6th in the nation for Aces Per Set. These are very big accomplishments, and Ms. Celia worked very hard to achieve these things.
When Ms. Celia started teaching at Colonia High School, and heard about the volleyball team, she knew she wanted to be apart of the program. So she joined this year, and became the Junior Varsity coach. “I joined because I want to make sure all the girls have a good time and help them to love the game as much as I do.”
Sophia Wintonick, a freshman at Colonia High School played her first year of high school volleyball this year. Her first practice, Ms. Celia called her over to correct her on something that she had been doing wrong with passing.
“She helped me to change how I was swinging my arms when I was passing. Coach Celia helped me to not feel so much pressure while I was playing varsity as a freshman, and to get out of my head when I wasn’t playing my best. She’s on me for laziness and it really helps me to put effort into every ball that comes to me.
— Sophia Wintonick, Freshman
This year wasn’t Ms. Celia’s first season coaching, but she says, “It still feels strange not to be on the volleyball court, especially at tournaments. You live and die with the girls, for every point.” Courtney Scott, a sophomore at Colonia High, really appreciates having a coach that has experience with being in a game. “She is able to answer my questions very easily, not only because she has played in college but because she has played that certain position. She is able to realize and correct what I am doing right when it happens. It is great to have someone that truly knows the game.”
Sophia Wintonick, Courtney Scott, and many other girls on the team look up to her. “It is amazing that she was able to play in college. It is a goal of mine, and she shows me that if you work hard enough, if you put all your effort into every ball, if you are a leader, and if you truly love the game, you can make it. She is a great coach, and I am grateful that I have met her. She tells us to appreciate every point/set/match/tournament of club and high school volleyball because it goes so quickly.”
Ms. Celia says that she will continue to coach for as long as she can. She truly loves the game, and loves coaching as well. She is a role model for many volleyball players, and helps girls to really have fun and love the game that they are playing.
