Over this fall, there have been many sports events. Sports are a great way to form new connections and make new friends as well as being active and learning how to play as a team. An amazing example of this would be the past volleyball season.
“We became friends with each other so we got more comfortable so that’s how we played well as a team,” said freshman and C team player Hannah Nguyen. A lot of work was put into their games, but no one is perfect so they all have something they need to work on. Another C team player Beni Yeheyes agreed, saying the girls could’ve worked on communication when going for the ball. There’s a lot of excitement going on in the crowd during the games that causes nerves to get to the players. Luckily, for Nguyen, the crowd didn’t affect them much. Other than the distraction here and there, there was no negative effect towards the players. One thing that could bring them down however is losing a game. We all know that losing isn’t fun. However, when it came to their first loss, they remained positive.
“It wasn’t the worst feeling in the world. As long as the team did good and no one was upset, we used it as a way to see what we needed to improve on to help us win the next game,” Nguyen stated. This was agreed upon across all teams. If they had fun, it was okay if they lost. One highlight for varsity player and freshman Lia Brown was winning against Cascade High school as their last game. It was good to end the season on a good note.
“I felt like it was the ending of our season that we all needed,” Lia said. A highlight for varsity player and senior Shady Mayer, were the theme nights. These nights were a big deal to the coaches. The coaches were extremely important to the team and all the members liked being around them.
“They were all nice and super fun to be around; some of them are strict but they are all really sweet,” said Nguyen.
With a lot of the volleyball games ending at night, some players may experience difficulty balancing the commitment to the teams and their responsibility to do homework. The way Mayer handles it is she likes to take naps afterschool so she can stay up later and do homework.
“If I could cram homework, then I wouldn’t be as exhausted,” she said. Another big thing for her was, if she had the time to go to cafes so she could have a peaceful environment to work at. At times, the younger players could see people on the varsity team as role models. Players on the varsity team were happy to play this role and generally didn’t mind it.
“I kind of expected it. I helped coach the middle school so having the freshmen come in this year and a lot of them being familiar faces was kinda nice. I knew I was going to come in as a role model and that’s what I wanted to do.” The leader role can also help in terms of crowds. If any of them were nervous because of it, having that leadership can be very helpful. Injuries occur throughout every sport.
Thankfully there were no ankle injuries this season. However, some of the middles did get jammed fingers, but it was an easy fix with some taping and a little bit of time. For many of the seniors on the varsity team, graduating gives them a bittersweet ending. On one hand they get to move on to another chapter in their life. But on the other hand, they have to be leaving the team they connected with and had a big role in.
Mayer says that because the season was a little stressful for her, it was a relief that it was done but she did have a good time. She plans on doing club volleyball and even continue doing it in college. This volleyball season wasn’t just about the wins and losses but about turning losses into learning experiences, perseverance, friendship, and school spirit.
