SVCA's Ambrose returns to court after dad's death -- By David Trinko
The door to the Ambrose home would slowly open, and the same conversation would begin.
Bob Ambrose would sit in a chair in his living room, suffering but savoring the conversation with his youngest daughter, Artea, about her most recent volleyball feats for Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy.
"As soon as I walked in the door — he wouldn't even see my face; he'd just see the door open — he'd say, 'How'd you do?' I'd tell him all the details," Artea Ambrose said. "That was great."
Last Monday, Artea Ambrose walked through the front door, but the response was different. It was silent. On Sept. 21, just one day earlier, her beloved 61-year-old father had died after a lengthy struggle with several ailments.
"I miss walking in the door and seeing him," Artea Ambrose said. "It's kind of weird because sometimes I still wait for him to come home."
Daddy's little girl
Artea Ambrose is the youngest of nine Ambrose children, and she's the seventh to come through Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy.
She smiled as comparisons were made with her sister, Kelly Lane Braun-Duin of Richmond, who was also a star outside hitter for the Patriots' volleyball team, albeit six years earlier.
More than anything, though, she appreciated comparisons to her father.
"He was my world," she said. "I was daddy's little girl, the baby of the family."
Many people in Frederick County had a chance to see her father in action as a cook for Enrico's Pizza Shop.
"My dad, a lot of people know him as Bob Ambrose, the Enrico's man," she said. "He worked there at the sub shop. I remember going to work with him a lot of times. I'd help him out a little bit, doing dishes or something."
In return, she learned life-long lessons.
"He taught me to be honest," she said. "I remember one night we were working, and he punched out the time clock even though I knew we had a couple more hours' work to be done.
"I said, 'Dad, you can get paid for these hours you're still going to work.' He said, 'Yeah, but my boss is good to me, and I'm going to do something for him.' He did those kinds of things. He was a great man, and I learned a lot from him.'"
A positive person
Other girls like to play volleyball with Artea Ambrose. Her encouraging words and lighthearted attitude make them happy to share the ball to the Patriots' leading hitter, passer and server.
"She cares about everybody so much," said setter Laura Anderson. "She has such a kind heart. She never says a bad word about anybody."
Co-coach Donna Nieman added, "She's very positive to the girls, therefore they play well for her because she's so positive."
Ambrose built an impressive set of skills since moving up to the varsity as a freshman.
Now, as a senior, she works with a new set of more inexperienced players.
The fact most of the players got along off the court helped everyone develop the kind of chemistry a championship team required.
"The team had a really good chemistry this year," said Jennifer Ruckman, an outside hitter starting for her first season. "I'm really excited to finally be able to not sit the bench."
The results have been phenomenal. The Patriots are 10-2, 9-0 in the Delaney Athletic Conference. Ambrose has a lot to do with that.
"She's awesome," Anderson said. "No matter if my footing's off or something, I can set her anything, and she'll get it and kill the ball. It doesn't have to be a perfect set every time."
No pain, just peace
Artea Ambrose tried to remember the better days, like those working with him at Enrico's Pizza Shop, instead of his pained days at the end. He spent much time in that chair in the living room because he couldn't climb the stairs anymore.
"He had a lot of hard times walking, and he was bedridden a lot," she said. "My mom [Debra] had to take care of him. It was hard there at the end. At the same time, there are all those good memories of him."
Artea Ambrose still thought about her father, as everyone would after losing a loved one. Her faith made her focus on his comfort and not her own.
"I know my dad was in a lot of pain, and he had so many different things wrong with him," she said. "I know now he's not in pain anymore. That's helped me out a lot."
Face it and move on
"My dad died Sunday afternoon, and we had a game Monday night," Artea Ambrose said. "It was hard at first, but I knew that was what Dad would want me to do. He'd want me to keep on going. I know the team does depend on me a lot."
Her teammates and coaches were shocked to see her come to the school for the match, a fairly meaningless three-game win against Spring Creek Christian.
"I told her not to come," said Nieman, her coach and also one of Ambrose's cousins. "When she did come, I said, 'Artea, I told you not to come.' Her response was, 'I'll have to face it someday. I'd rather it be today. I don't want to put it off.'
"I thought that was a good response. One day you're going to have to face it and move on."
Her teammates knew Ambrose must have hurt inside, but she didn't want to let them down.
"She's just strong that way," said Anderson, the Patriots' setter. "I really admire her for that. I can't even imagine losing someone that close."
Ruckman added, "It motivated us to want to play for her. Well, for God too, of course."
That's our goal
The Patriots want to win a title — two of them, in fact.
"We have a saying: '83, '93," Ambrose said, glancing at banners in the SVCA gymnasium. "The reason we say that is if you look up at that wall, our volleyball team won nationals in 1983, and they won nationals in 1993. Now it's 2003. It's a decade thing.
"That's our goal. We really want to win nationals and keep the tradition going."
The players realized the 10-year progression a few weeks ago, and it motivated them to do something in the National Association of Christian Athletes tournament in Tennessee in November.
"It's time. It's something we realized a couple weeks ago," Anderson said. "We're like, 'We've got to do it!' It'd be really cool."
For Artea Ambrose, it'd be one more thing the devout Christian can tell her dad about the next time she looks into his eyes.
"I know I will see him again, some day," she said. "I'm at peace with it."
