Goodman Overcomes Personal Pain To Excel On Court

HARRISONBURG — The first thing most people notice about Janey Goodman is her smile.

No matter if her team is playing well or having its worst match of the season, Goodman continues to be a positive influence on the people around her with her grin. She’s always encouraging her teammates between points, staying upbeat about her team’s chances of winning, even when James Madison did not find early success against the rest of the Colonial Athletic Association.

“If you watch her on the court and watch her with her teammates, you never would think that she was frustrated,” her mother, Joanne, said. “She always smiles, claps, cheers people on and always gives it 100 percent every time.”

Underneath that warm, reassuring smile, however, is a level of pain.

There were many weekends during her first two years at JMU when Goodman, the 2015 and 2016 CAA Player of the Year, would find herself in tears because of the lengths her older brother, Josh, would go through to satisfy his drug habit. Josh was stealing from their parents, Janey said, selling the Christmas gifts relatives gave him and more to find his fix.

Through all of the turmoil away from Sinclair Gymnasium, Janey’s on-court performance never suffered while she led the Dukes in kills as both a freshman and a sophomore.

“[My situation at home] had a big impact on my freshman and sophomore year because it was hard to deal with,” she said. “I had to do my very best to let it go and not let it affect me. ... I could not have gotten through without volleyball. It’s my escape. I can go out and just be myself.”

Janey and Josh were nearly inseparable when they were younger — mostly the doing of a sister idolizing her older brother. Janey went to some extreme lengths to mirror her brother, including cutting her hair to mimic Josh’s hairstyle.

“I was the biggest tomboy you’d ever meet growing up because I wanted to be like him,” Janey said.

Their relationship began to change when Janey was 12, her mother said, as Josh began to dabble in drugs and was rarely home to interact with his family. Janey described his descent as the classic drug addict’s story of constant upheaval.

Joanne Goodman said from the beginning she told her son that drugs would not be allowed in her home. Josh’s issues eventually forced him into that same constant state of flux, moving in and out of the Goodmans’ home in Powhatan.

It was during this time that Janey first discovered volleyball as an awkward high school freshman who only attended the tryout because her friend wanted to go. Goodman was clueless enough about the sport that when Clark Menger, then the volleyball coach at Powhatan High School, asked if anyone was left-handed, Janey thought she was in trouble when she raised her hand.

Except by raising her hand in that instance, she set the course for a volleyball career that will include a distinct place in the JMU record book.

“Ever since that moment, [Menger has] been there for me,” Janey said. “He kind of used that as a way to take me under his wing. If I had any questions about footwork or my arm swing or anything, I went to him.”

Menger became an important person in Goodman’s life as both her high school and club volleyball coach. The two would spend a lot of time together driving the hour between Powhatan and Richmond, where Janey played for U-Turn Sports Performance Academy.

Menger said Goodman was in Richmond five to six times per week either playing, practicing or in the weight room, putting in the work to find a better path for herself.

“Janey understood that she was going to binge on something and volleyball was a better binge,” Menger said. “She recognized that in herself and made herself very, very busy all the time so that she could stay true to what she wanted to do with her life. Sometimes being really busy is the best way to stay away from life’s distractions.”

The coach was also an important aid in helping the Goodmans understand the gift Janey possessed as a left-handed outside hitter, a rarity in the sport. Neither of Goodman’s parents attended college and were trying to keep pace with Janey, who had thrust herself into the recruiting process.

During Janey’s official visit to JMU as a sophomore, Joanne reminded her daughter that this was just the first of hopefully many schools the two would visit. Instead, Goodman committed on the spot to the Dukes.

“I was so stoked when she committed,” JMU volleyball coach Lauren Steinbrecher said last month, “and she has not disappointed.”

In almost four complete seasons at JMU, Goodman has placed herself in the discussion for the best player to ever suit up for the Dukes. She is second all-time in career kills, is on pace to finish second in kills per set and is four kills shy of setting the single-season mark.

After her first two seasons, Goodman was on pace to reach some if not all of these accolades, but even Janey said she realizes she has raised her level of play the past two seasons. Although some of that can be attributed to natural improvement, the senior could not deny that her decision to cut off all ties with her brother prior to her junior year at JMU has impacted her performance in a positive way.

“This year, it’s sad, but it’s been my best year because he’s not affecting me. He’s not affecting my family,” Goodman said. “It’s helped me even on the court to be mentally tough and mentally strong.

“I made it a thing not to make it a thing. Every single day I woke up and I said ‘Hey, be strong today. Don’t let anything bring you down. You’re not what your family is.’”

In the eight years that Goodman has been playing volleyball, she said she believes Josh has only attended one match, but is not even sure if that’s true. He hasn’t visited her at JMU since she enrolled either, something Goodman said was “sad.”

The only contact the two of them had in recent years were the phone calls from the Piedmont Regional Jail, where Josh is currently incarcerated. Janey said she doesn’t answer those calls, which has allowed her to keep her mind focused on what is happening in her own life.

“She knows when to leave it at the door,” Joanne said. “She doesn’t bring any drama onto the court, she’s there to win. And that’s probably really hard to do.”

On JMU’s senior night last Saturday against Towson, Goodman closed out a remarkable stretch of eight matches during which she averaged 22.75 kills per game and led the Dukes to eight straight victories. JMU rocketed up the standings from sixth, four losses behind the conference leader, to being the outright champions for the first time since 1999.

The Dukes will open the CAA tournament in Wilmington, N.C., on Saturday against the winner of the game between Hofstra and Towson, needing to likely win the tournament to prolong Janey’s career and let her showcase her skills in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

But even if her career does end this weekend, Janey Goodman has accomplished everything she set out to do while a member of the Dukes — she’s etched her place in the record book and she’s made her mother proud.

“When she plays her last match she can be really proud that she reached her potential,” Steinbrecher said. “She is definitely absolutely what the biggest vision I had for her in her four years. ... She’s been, in my opinion, the best player this program has ever had.”

“From the ninth-grade girl that was tall and awkward and clumsy to the athlete she has become, it’s astonishing.” Joanne Goodman said. “I’m really surprised with how far she’s come, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”