By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
ASHWAUBENON – Not many high school athletes can say they had both of their parents as head coaches and one as a teacher.
Ashwaubenon senior Kally VanLaanen is one of them.
VanLaanen recently completed her basketball season with her mom, Nicky, roaming the sidelines, and her dad, Shannon, was her softball coach before this season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It came with its challenges, but looking back, I’m grateful I had both of my parents as my head coaches,” said the 5-foot-1 VanLaanen, who will be heading to UW-Stevens Point this fall to play softball and study education. “They pushed me to be my best. It presented me with lots of opportunities – I could go to the gym or diamond whenever I wanted.”
VanLaanen said she had a solution for discussions at home.
“During basketball season, there were times my mom and I had a tough practice,” she said. “When I got home, I’d be more with my dad. During softball season, I’d go more with my mom. We always made it work.”
VanLaanen’s mom won a Golden Apple Award this year for her work as a social studies teacher at Ashwaubenon.
“I had her as a teacher twice last year,” said VanLaanen, who describes herself as hard-working, outgoing and competitive. “It was a little weird at first, but I got used to it. I just acted like she was my teacher. She’s passionate about her job and loves it. I got to see her on the court, in the classroom and at home.”
Small in stature, but big in heart, VanLaanen is known as a scrappy player who gives her all.
“I wish I was a few inches taller, but I can’t control that,” she said. “I’ve had to find different ways to play, especially in basketball. I probably won’t play my normal shortstop position at Point, but I’ll play second or the outfield because I’m a bit shorter.”
VanLaanen was a Fox River Classic Conference honorable-mention choice in basketball this spring and first team in softball last year.
With the WIAA recently granting 30 days of summer contact between coaches and players beginning July 1, there’s still a chance local teams can play games against other schools this summer.
“A bunch of things have to happen for us to play this summer, so it’s hard to get too excited about it right now,” VanLaanen said. “There’s also club softball in the summer, so we will see.”
Her most memorable moment came in a regular-season game last year against Pulaski.
“We were down going into the last inning, and I drove in the winning run,” VanLaanen said. “Our victory over Bay Port in the 2018 regional final game was also exciting. The game lasted 59 minutes, and we won 1-0.”
She said her most embarrassing moment occurred in a summer game last year when she was stealing second, and halfway there, she tripped and got tagged out.
VanLaanen has a younger sister, Korrin, who is a junior at Ashwaubenon, while her mom graduated from Green Bay Preble and her dad from Ashwaubenon.
“That was the toughest thing about the softball season getting canceled – not getting to play one more year with my sister,” said VanLaanen. “We are very close. I wouldn’t have imagined I’d end my high school career like this. Even though I’ll be playing college softball, I still wanted to finish out the season with my sister and friends.”
VanLaanen’s family has always been active in sports.
“Korrin also plays tennis, my dad played baseball at St. Norbert College and my mom played softball and basketball at St. Norbert,” she said.
Besides sports, VanLaanen likes fishing, watching Netflix, going to the family cabin, basketball player Kobe Bryant, dolphins, M&M’s, the Fourth of July and Snapchat.