Sports! A topic that can start a debate, friendship and enemy all with one sentence. Here at Tuscarora, students are offered a variety of sports. Some of those sports are field hockey, wrestling, flag football and volleyball. In this article, you’ll see what it’s like to be in one of those sports. Volleyball to be exact. It doesn’t seem like a sport many people would be interested in, but it is actually very common.
How did you get started with playing volleyball?
Chloe-“I started volleyball after COVID happened. It was an easy sport for me to join because I did dance before and that previous studio closed. So I thought maybe I’ll try this out. Erin influenced that a lot. She told me to join.”
Erin-”I started volleyball when I decided to quit soccer since I didn’t like soccer anymore. I played with my cousin and then I started going to volleyball one day.”
Volleyball is a sport that is played with a net in between two teams made up of six players. The job is to toss the ball around without it hitting the ground. There are different positions that have to be played in order to ensure that the team is successfully on track and is able to win.
What are the positions that you play?
Chloe– “I’m a setter. I really enjoy it, it’s really fun. I set the ball to the hitters.”
Erin-”I’m an outside hitter so I receive her sets and passes too.”
Yet volleyball isn’t only about just tossing a ball around. There are a lot of aspects that go on in the court, but what about the things outside of the game? Things such as skills, training and preparation?
Are there any skills, communication wise, that you picked up from this sport that you apply to other aspects of your life?
Chloe– “The teamwork aspect of volleyball is definitely a main thing you have to have. If you can’t communicate with your teammate(s) then you can’t really make a play. You also have to have a positive attitude because if one person’s attitude is down then the team won’t work out, or the game will go bad.”
Erin– “Volleyball has definitely helped me become more outgoing. I was so different in sixth grade so being on a team where you had to communicate and meet a new set of people every year, helped me build confidence in volleyball and in life.”
What’s the most challenging part about being captain?
Erin– “There’s pressure that comes with it. Including keeping positivity. I don’t want to come across as rude when I’m telling people what to do. So I change my words to fix things in the moment because a lot of times when you say things right in the moment it comes out wrong.”
There are very many aspects to being a student athlete. Some may say you have to focus on your work more than your sport or you get a lot of things expected from you while playing and that can be very stressful. Though that didn’t stop these two. Here’s some advice:
Chloe-”Just go for it. When I first tried out, I didn’t make the team that I wanted. I ended up making another team that was able to help me get to where I am now. Just keep being positive, don’t bring yourself down and you just gotta know that you’ll meet your goal if you try hard enough.”
Erin-”Don’t lose determination. If you don’t make the team you want, work really hard so that they see you next time when you make it. Don’t stop if you think you wont be good at anything. Everyone is there as a person to help you.”
