The Penn Stater Magazine

My Kid Needs a New Best Friend

January 22, 2009 at 4:21 pm Ryan Jones 4 comments

My four-year-old son is fairly obsessed with superheroes, and that obsession fairly dictates how he spends most of his free time — and, being four, pretty much everything outside of sleeping constitutes free time. That obsession also helped determine his closest playmate at the wonderful daycare he has attended for the past two years: another four-year-old who shares his love of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man and all the capital-M guys who dominate their thoughts. They are, as much as four-year-olds can be, best friends, to the extent that one usually pouts when the other is picked up first in the afternoons, and that my son occasionally looks sad in the morning at the thought that his buddy MIGHT not be at school that day.

So I was really, really bummed when one of my many Google News Alerts, assigned to tell me anytime “Penn State” appears on the Web, informed me that Salima Rockwell ’94 was leaving her job as an assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team to take a similar position at the University of Texas. Salima (then Davidson) was an All-American setter during her playing days, and we were in school at roughly the same time. A few years ago, Salima came back to Happy Valley to join Russ Rose’s staff; she helped guide the team to the past two NCAA championships, including 2008′s remarkable unbeaten run.

Did I mention Salima’s little boy is my son’s best friend?

I can only wish Salima and her family the best of luck—but she really should’ve run this by my son first.

Ryan Jones, senior editor

Entry filed under: Penn State alumni, Penn State women's volleyball. Tags: Russ Rose, Salima Rockwell, women's volleyball.