Photo Story: To Be a Viking
Photo story by Zen Hill
In fall 2024, Chayse Flick-Williams will be coming to Western Washington University to play volleyball for her mother, Diane Flick-Williams, who coaches Western’s women’s volleyball team. Chayse is currently in her senior year at Bellingham High School where as a Bayhawk she has excelled in volleyball, softball, and track and field. See her journey to fulfilling her dream of competing for her hometown college below.
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“I started from day one. I loved being in an athletic environment and being around people who liked sports and being a competitor,” Chayse said. When Chayse was still a toddler, her mother Diane led Western to the Volleyball national title game where they would become Division II runner-ups. // Photo courtesy of Diane Flick-Williams
From a young age, “Chayse considered volleyball as coming to the gym, seeing the girls, having great mentors” and interacting with the players,” Diane said. Katie Robinson, a former setter for the Western women’s volleyball team, poses here with a young Chayse in front of the two NCAA trophies the 2007 volleyball team took home that season. // Photo courtesy of Diane Flick-Williams
In the fall of 2024, Chayse will make her debut at Western Washington University as a Viking. Recently, she revisited that same trophy she posed with as a toddler. She hopes to add a trophy of her own to the case. // Photo by Zen Hill on March 5, 2024
Chayse Flick-Williams is a two-time state champion for Bellingham High School in the 100m and the Long Jump. She is also a shortstop in softball and an outside hitter in volleyball. “There were a bunch of schools at the D3 level that were allowing her to do both [softball and volleyball],” her mother Diane said. // Photo courtesy of Jon Knutsen
“I never thought Western was going to be on the table,” Chayse said. It is a dream come true for her to be able to play for her mother on a court she grew up idolizing. // Photo by Zen Hill on March 5, 2024
Diane has coached Chayse ever since her U12 club season. Together, they have figured out a successful way to balance their mother-daughter relationship with their player-coach relationship. “I’m really happy she's here… I really like being around her,” Diane said. // Photo by Zen Hill on March 5, 2024
Long before she was a coach, Diane Flick-Williams was a player — an outside hitter at the University of Washington, to be specific. To this day, she’s top-10 for career assists in the UW record books. // Photo by Sol Sanchez
The Vikings women’s volleyball program has won 11 Conference titles and has 15 NCAA Tournament appearances under Diane’s coaching. Chayse will learn alongside some talented hitters on the current Vikings squad as she attempts to add to the legacy of volleyball success at Western. // Photo by Zen Hill on March 5, 2024
“The success of the program” was one of the major reasons Chayse felt so honored to be recruited by Western. Competition is a core part of Chayse’s being, and she strives to be a player who brings wins to whatever team she is on. // Photo by Zen Hill on March 5, 2024
It can be hard to be a student-athlete, and even harder when you’re the coach's daughter. “I just hope she has the experience she's supposed to have,” Diane said. // Photo by Zen Hill on March 5, 2024