FRUITPORT – True leadership in sports means playing hard and keeping the team positive and focused, through good times and bad.

Fruitport senior volleyball standout Sadie Haase knows all about that.

When she arrived on the varsity scene as a tall and talented freshman, people were buzzing about how good she was going to be, and how strong the team would be in the coming years.

The first prediction came true, because the power-hitting Haase became a two-time All-Conference player for the Trojans.

The second part took some time, because the Trojans struggled for the past few years, particularly during the regular season, when they competed in the super tough O-K Blue conference.

The Trojans were a dismal 5-23 in conference play from 2021-23. That included an 0-9 mark last year.

There were a few good moments, like when Fruitport shocked everyone in the 2022 postseason by winning a Division 2 district championship and advancing to regionals, but for the most part there was a lot of losing.

The slow growth of the team required Haase to become a patient leader, which she has done in her own quiet way.

“She’s a lead-by-example kid,” said Fruitport head coach Nicole Bayle about Haase, a six-foot middle hitter. “She’s a very intense competitor. She might not always be the rah-rah cheerleader, but she does things behind the scenes to help the younger players or keep the team together.”

A career milestone, and now the team is winning!

Now it looks like the time for patient leadership has passed, because the Trojans are winning, just in time for Haase to get the most out of her final year of varsity volleyball.

The promising season took a few weeks to develop.

Fruitport started out rough, going 1-3 at the season-opening Traverse City West Tournament and posting a 3-5 record after eight matches.

“I just had some mental stuff I had to get over,” Haase said about the not-so-great early matches this season. “I think I was just putting too much pressure on myself, expecting to be the best. My attitude wasn’t where it normally was, and I think it was just from self-pressure.”

But that slow start turned out to be deceiving, because heading into this weekend’s competition the Trojans have been hot, winning their last four matches, and eight of their last nine.

It helps that Fruitport is in a new conference this season – the O-K Silver – with all new opponents. The Trojans are currently at the top of the standings with a 3-0 conference record.

Haase has been very much a part of the resurgence, leading her team in kills every match and also turning in strong defensive numbers.

Overall she has 217 kills to lead the offense, and 89 digs and 30 blocks on the defensive side.

On Sept. 5 against NorthPointe Christian, in Fruitport’s very first match in its new conference, Haase achieved an impressive milestone by reaching the 1,000 career kill mark.

She’s mostly excited about the team’s success, however.

“We know we have a chance now,” she said. “We have more confidence, which gives us more energy and helps with the pressure. We know we all have each other’s back, too, and that one play or point won’t cost us everything.

“It’s been so much fun. I think every day in practice we’re joking around and laughing more. We’re just having fun.”

Fun is something that Haase has always had on the volleyball court, even during the tough years.

“I really started to fall in love with it,” said Haase about the period between eighth and ninth grade, just before she joined the varsity. “I also realized I was kind of good.”

Haase hopes her team earns a parade!

With her height, a lot of people probably expected Haased to be a basketball player, but she never went in that direction.

As a youngster, in fact, her plan was to be part of Fruitport’s competitive cheer team in high school.

“I was a competitive cheerleader for 12 years,” Haase said. “I really thought I’d do that in college, but I stopped at the end of eighth grade, which was the COVID year.

“I would get approached all the time about basketball, but I’m not very good at it. I come from a big basketball family. but it’s just not something for me.”

While people tend to be enamored with Haase’s height, she’s actually a little small for a volleyball middle hitter.

“I’m told I’m undersized, so I have to focus on the details of speed and agility,” she said. “It’s kind of funny that being six foot still isn’t enough for sports.”

Learning how to be an effective hitter, and pound the ball past overwhelmed opponents, is not as easy as it looks, according to Hasse.

“I think it’s been learning how to adapt with the setter,” she said. “Like every set you get might not be perfect, because none of us are perfect. I might not even hit it the best. It’s just learning how to adapt and overcome those challenges every time.”

Bayle believes Haase’s footwork has become her biggest strength over four years on varsity.

“Middle hitter is a very technique-based skill,” the coach said. “It’s a lot of footwork and timingm along with trust in the blockers and setters. Her biggest development is that she’s really learned to embrace the monotony of being a middle by understanding the footwork patterns and getting to the right spot to be successful.”

When the season ultimately ends later this fall, Haase has two goals on her mind before taking her volleyball talents to Grand Valley State University.

“One of our biggest goals is to get a parade at the school,” Haase said about what would happen if Fruitport were to win a regional title. “We were so close my sophomore year by making it to regionals. But we also want to win a conference. We want to come for that after going 0-9 last year, so we’re really striving for it.”