First of all, Jiear is one of those "quiet but deadly" types. She's all the appearance of reservedness but has no difficulty asserting herself when necessary or delivering the most witty one-liners that only those within earshot will ever pick up on. To top it off, she'll giggled herself into a dimpled smile over her own joke before you even have time to really convince yourself you just heard what you thought you just heard.
It almost pains me know how beautifully the sun shone on this year's West Plains section because in 2008, this was not the case. As the snow blanketed all weekend in a feathery dusting, the ground promised a layout sensation like a hockey puck to a frozen lake. Specifically, I for a fact wore hiking shoes with four pairs of socks. This is NO exaggeration.
Leave it to Jiear in her rookie year in the ugliest of tournament weather to still carry a smile, a chuckle and a lighthearted go-get-em attitude. As we played our older players during the final game that weekend, Jiear was having little playtime and probably freezing on the sideline. When Coach Derscheid was forced to sub a player performing poorly, Coach yelled out for Jiear to sub in. Upon hearing her name and realizing she was finally being asked to perform, Jiear lit up like charcoal grill, a full can of lighter fluid and a match. I will never forget that look as Jiear ripped off her outermost jacket, ran from out of the shelter of our pitiful sideline tent and half yelled between gritted teeth... "IT'S JIEAR TIME!" I don't know how many of us were able to hear that moment but I'll never forget it!
That moment pretty much sums up Jiear Vang for me. She never quits. She's always consistently improved since day one and for me, it's a thing of beauty to watch her handle for Woman Scorned. I know of no other teammate who can pivot and move their mark as well as she does. She also has developed a keen eye for seeing the whole field and moving the disc well laterally. She's such a solid handler in an endzone offense that I would have no problem putting my entire trust in her when she's forced upwind on a stiff crosswind zone on the opposing teams endzone line. She'll make it happen. It's also comforting to know that this girl knows how to sacrifice her body when it comes down to the layout bid on defense. I have also never seen someone pick up so much crap swill in games. Just when you think no one will even get a piece of a disc on either team, Jiear bids and makes it happen.
She's a force to be reckoned with that Viper. Don't forget her, she'll be the one moving the disc right around you before you know it. I can only hope that when she graduates with her Architecture diploma in hand, joins a major firm and starts building things, she'll walk into a huge executive meeting one day and say between gritted teeth: "It's Jiear Time!"
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