Well, the 7th grade volleyball season has come to an end. It was a good – no GREAT – season. There were 17 girls on the team. They had a new coach (Coach P). And they grew so much!
It was incredible to watch how the season started to how the season ended. We were bumping the ball over the net on pass one almost every time at the beginning of the season. In the middle we were aiming for three hits on our side. By the end, we were seeing some pass, set, and hit! They got better with their serves. Some that started off with not being able to get an underhand over advanced to overhands. And some became a steady force with the consistency of their serve (over or underhand).
The coach did a great job letting them try what they were comfortable with and building their self-confidence. Her strategy for creating teams – two evenly skilled teams – led to players feeling worth no matter if they played in the first set or second set. It was so good for them. We did not have a winning record (7 wins, 9 loses… I think). But as a parent, I didn’t care. The girls grew, felt needed, and supported each other as a team.
I was too busy cheering to take as many pictures as I would have hoped to. But here are a few from game time:
The girls were introduced at a varsity volleyball game, which I think was pretty cool.
On the morning of their tournament (which was held at Dalton!), they had a team breakfast. We hosted.
Other parents contributed food which made it easy. Doughnuts, muffins, breakfast casserole, hash browns, cereal, yogurt, fruit, orange juice, apple juice, milk – it was quite the spread! It was so fun to have all of them in the basement. To hear their laughter. To listen to the calm as they shared words of encouragement to each other and/or the coach. To know they were building positive experiences together with each other.
Then, they were off to play. They first match was against Norwayne (#5 seed); we were #4 seed. They had beat Norwayne both times this season, but the second time took three games. It was their best game of the season! Or maybe it just felt like that when they won in 2!! Madison was the “lucky” one to serve the final 5 points. She did a great job under pressure and got them all over.
From that match, we moved from the middle school gym to the high school to take on Smithville (#1 seed). We had lost both rounds with them this season. They were good, but we had given them a run for it the second time we had played. Unfortunately, we were not at our best for this one. It was a hard loss for that reason – and because it was the last game of the season. The girls were pretty sad at the end.
Coached livened things up when she went outside to follow up on a promise she had made – she would color her hair orange if they won the first round (color half black if they won the second round, and have water dumped on her if they won it all).
Her consistency in serving has been a highlight this season. She has also shown a lot of growth on getting to the ball and pushing the ball to the setter. Her attitude and enthusiasm never waned. She was so fun to watch. We are so proud of her grit and determination throughout the season. I’ll end with the note coach gave her at the end of the season.
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