GLENVILLE &045; As a young girl, Lisa Ziebell didn’t necessarily choose to be an athlete.

She didn’t have much choice.

The fourth in a family of five, three of them older brothers very much into sports, Ziebell was regularly recruited to compete with and against her siblings &045; whether she liked it or not.

&uot;In order to make the teams even, I had to play,&uot; she said. &uot;When I was little, though, my parents wouldn’t let them tackle me. They had to play flag football with me.&uot;

Basketball, however, was full-contact, and though Ziebell was too young to remember it all, she’s heard the stories.

&uot;We had a full basketball court in the hay loft of our barn, and my mom told me I’d come in bawling, with a bloody nose,&uot; said Ziebell. &uot;She’d say, ‘Well then, stay in the house.’ Ten minutes later, I’d be back out there. I was always a tomboy. It was all sports.&uot;

For the most part, it still is.

Ziebell is raising her own family of athletes in her home town, Glenville, and she had two of her brothers, Craig and Jeff Rayman, have been an integral part of sports at Glenville and Glenville-Emmons High School for nearly two decades.

After serving as an assistant volleyball coach under Craig for 17 years, Ziebell became head girls’ basketball coach two years ago and, this spring, took over the reins of the softball program.

Expectations were not high for the Wolverines, but they finished 7-7, and it means Ziebell is the Tribune’s Softball Coach of the Year for 2003.

While Ziebell said it was one of her goals to be recognized as a successful coach in the area, she’s somewhat surprised it happened so soon. And she said it wouldn’t happen at all if not for the players.

&uot;I have to say, if not for the kids, you wouldn’t be talking to me now,&uot; said Ziebell. &uot;The kids got me here.&uot;

And that was rather unexpected, at least for some people, including Ziebell’s predecessor, Bob Staska, who resigned to take a teaching and coaching position in northern Minnesota.

&uot;He said it would be a tough couple of years coming up,&uot; said Ziebell. &uot;I just thought, ‘You know, maybe it will, maybe it won’t. I knew there was talent there, and there was a want there.&uot;

And that, according to Ziebell, is something she’s learned to gauge in every team she coaches.

&uot;Every year is different,&uot; she said. &uot;You’ve got to take what the kids give you. If they want to make something out of it, you go out and roll. If they want to just go out and have fun and don’t have the desire to be real competitive, that’s what you do. I used to think, as a coach, you just push, push, push. I’ve come to realize it’s how much they want it. I think you just kind of roll with the personality of the kids and what they want out of the season.&uot;

And what did Ziebell expect out of the 2003 season?

&uot;At the beginning of the year, I was just hoping to win a few games, have a good time and not get beat up too bad,&uot; said Ziebell. &uot;Things worked out pretty good.&uot;