Faith volleyball is a prime fall sport, filled with dedication and competition, but it all starts with the tryouts. Whether you are an upperclassman or just an incoming freshman, tryouts create great amounts of pressure. Athletes either excel under this pressure or break.

This year is no exception, given the fact that they are now coming off of a state championship. Some athletes believe that the recent championship will only make them work harder to achieve the new set goals of next season. Returning varsity players, are “setting goals to prepare themselves for next season and working on improving their skills over the summer,” said Jordyn Dunseath.

Athletes prepare for future tryouts by going to camps at many numerous colleges. Some of these colleges include “Michigan, UNLV, and Stanford University,” said Emily Ho and Hailey O’Donnell. Weights are also very important for preparing for the new season. Over the summer, weight training helps athletes “get conditioned for the season ahead,” said O’Donnell.

Some athletes work out and prepare on their own time. Over the summer Logan VanReken “will be coached by [her] friend who is a D1 athlete, and will be playing sand volleyball.” By choosing to attend the majority of summer workouts, it makes players exempt from hell week. Hell week is a week of morning workouts, which begin at around seven am and involves conditioning such as running. This occurs after tryouts, and the main focus for many players is to prepare them in the way they see fit, whether it be through summer weights or working on their own.

At Faith many options are available. Much of this information is new to incoming freshman. For example, Emily Ho believes that  “high school volleyball will be more intense and the competition will be higher. But [she] also believes it will be more fun and [she] will meet tons of new people.”

For all athletes, including upperclassman and even incoming freshman, this new season seems hopeful, filled with opportunity to succeed. There is no doubt that Faith Lutheran’s varsity volleyball team will be major competitors in our division, and have a chance to compete at state once again with their motivation and hard work already coming into play this summer.