The start of the new school year can be filled with many opportunities and chances to improve and grow. Despite the late start to the year, athletes got a head start to the season. The volleyball team kicked off the season with five-day a week practices in the month of August. Consistent practices allow players to not only perfect their skills, but create lasting bonds with one another. After six seniors graduated, the team quickly recovered with six new players joining. All six of these freshmen have played volleyball in the past. This past experience will be useful when learning the ins and outs of high school volleyball from the older players.
“I’m looking forward to getting along with the people that I will move up with and getting to know them better, ” freshman Kamryn Haskey said.
Leading the team, seniors Cassidy Harris and Jenna Haskey took on the role of captains. The team has had various wins in the past month. They have a 3-4 record so far this year. Recently, on Sept. 14, the team played against the Sto-Rox Raiders, and defeated them 3-0. Working hard as the team captains, Jenna Haskey and Harris work on making the team better, and helping the underclassman.
“Our strengths are our hits because once we get a really good hit we can get a kill off of it. I would say our weaknesses would be our passing, but we are still getting better. The biggest part of volleyball is to be a good teammate and not discourage each other and lift one-another up,” Harris said.
The volleyball players are striving to continue to improve and win this year. The team has gained some new talent through this year’s freshmen. With some hard work and good communication, the lady bulldogs have the opportunity for a promising season ahead of them.
“I hope to accomplish getting player of the week, I think it would be a great thing to go out with a bang with,” Harris said.
Along with new players, the team gained a new assistant coach. Jocelyn Craker joined Freedom this year, but she has years of prior experience. Craker has been a coach for six years and has played volleyball since she was eight years old. With all of the younger players, she is looking forward to the future of the team. Craker has a strong passion for the sport and hopes the team learns what she wished she learned while playing.
“Playing together is what matters. Obviously, winning is great, and my goal is for them to be winners, but looking back I’ve played a lot of successful volleyball teams and that doesn’t really matter. I had the most fun and the most friends then and I’ll never get that time back,” Craker said.
Serving as head coach alongside Craker is coach George Bellinger. Bellinger has been the volleyball coach for several years. With high hopes for the season, both coaches are looking forward to seeing how the season plays out. In the meantime, the players will continue to give it their all and work together to achieve their goals.