Team Captains:
On every team there are two or three girls selected by teammates, coaches, or both. These girls have a job to lead, communicate, take on responsibilities, and bring their team to success. On our Hayward varsity team, our captains are Grace Schmidt and Melody Isham. Grace said that she believes team captains have a responsibility to be leaders and positive role models on and off the court. She said that a captain also has to be able to communicate not only with teammates but with coaches on all things regarding the team. Grace continued, “I try to help my team in any way that I can. Whether it’s helping with schoolwork, talking about things outside of volleyball, or even just checking in after a long day or tough practice.”
Melody Isham feels that being a captain comes with many different roles and responsibilities. A few obvious examples are leadership, motivation skills, and the ability to stay neutral and uplifting no matter the situation. These are qualities you’d want to show, not only on the court but off the court as well. Melody said, “To me, being a captain means that I am always being watched, there will always be someone looking up to me. Personally, I believe my role as a whole on the volleyball team is to lead by example, and I make sure to carry that into my day to day life.”
What is a Libero?
Who is the girl on the court in a different colored jersey? Well she is called the libero. HHS varsity has had a couple of liberos this year: Lainey Duffy and Colby Sprenger. So what is a libero? Lainey stated, “A libero is a person specialized in defense and focusing on serve receive and digging hard driven balls.” A libero is one of the most important positions in volleyball. A libero’s main job is to not let the ball hit the floor. The libero is typically the best passer on the team, and they help maintain an accurate pass to the setter, which leads the offense to run a fast tempo offense. As a libero, one must have quick reflexes, because after digging a ball, they have to be ready for the next play. Lainey continued, “The biggest thing a libero needs to do is communicate, you should always be the loudest on the court. You also can help your offense by calling out what is open on the court.”
Student Section
Everyone loves a great, loud, high energy student section right?? We love to hype up our teams and dress up in fun outfits. As we all know our seniors are in the front rows leading everyone. One of our biggest student section seniors is John Peterson. His favorite dress up theme is Jersey night. His favorite cheer is “That’s embarrassing!!” and calling our opponents out for funny mistakes. His favorite thing about the game is being loud, hanging with his friends, and getting in the other team’s head to take the win!
Season Highlights
During the season, we have a game dedicated to our seniors. This game is for the appreciation towards all the hard work they have put into the program over the years. Usually an underclassman makes a speech to read aloud and then they give each senior a basket of goodies. Also the seniors and their parents decorate a board to put in the commons to honor and celebrate them.
Hayward also has a game dedicated to breast cancer awareness (as October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month). In our Play for Pink- Canes Against Cancer night, we wear pink to school, decorate our gym, and even wear pink jerseys during the game. Our girls get together and create cute and unique posters to hang up around the gym. We play this game in hopes all women who have suffered or are suffering with breast cancer, receive some recognition. This year, the Hayward Volleyball Program partnered with Tamarack Health to raise $500 in support of the HMC Infusion Oncology Department.
Injury Issues
In contact sports injuries are at a higher risk, but just because volleyball isn’t a contact sport doesn’t mean you aren’t at risk for an injury. In volleyball, players at the net are middle blockers, outside hitters, opposite hitters, and setters who have to jump in order to hit and block the ball from the opposing team. When jumping at the net, the opposing team also has to block the ball as well, so you can land on another player’s foot or even land incorrectly. This can cause sprained or broken ankles, or even torn ACLs and MCLs.
The impact of an injury at a varsity level can affect the whole team. When a starter is hurt (or even a substitute), the whole momentum of the team can be thrown off. Coaches and players have to adapt to this or even create a new line up. A player on the Hayward Hurricanes varsity team who has recently been injured is Ila Seiling. Ila said, “Becoming injured mid-way through the season was a very tough setback, not only for me but the entire team. We had to create a new lineup and people had to switch positions, making everything thrown off balance. I struggled and always wanted to get back on the court, so watching from the sidelines unable to help was very hard for me.”
Pre-Game
Before games, sometimes people have a routine or do something before for good luck. Here are some of our volleyball players’ pregame activities! Hailey Wolf’s favorite activity is listening to music while doing hair. Kordelia Geissler’s favorite activity is listening to music with her teammates before a game. Abby Laird’s favorite pregame activity is getting food with her team and bonding with them.
