Ready, position, serve! The JV Lady Bulldogs volleyball team ended their season with many unforgettable experiences. Many people might think that volleyball is just another sport, but if they could spend a full season at Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, their opinion would soon change.
Before the season commenced, there was mandatory conditioning in which girls had to attend before try outs. It started late August and a lot of girls showed up, sacrificing time from their summer vacation. A couple of girls basically confessed that their reasons to come were: “Didn’t go to Mexico” or “Nothing else to do.” I personally joined because I wanted to show I was good enough for the team. No matter what the reasons were, plenty of girls still showed up.
The JV coach, Mr. Antzis, would always say, “Being on the volleyball team isn’t an honor, but a privilege.” He made us understand since the beginning that we had to give it all we had, show what we could bring and never slack off. Girls had fun but many couldn’t handle the conditioning part. There was fast running throughout the halls and gym, push ups, sit ups, invisible chairs, stretching and much more. This would last five days a week. Many of us grew extremely sore with pain all over our bodies. You would be surprised how many girls didn’t show up the second day. Only the strong ones stayed until the end.
The JV team didn’t have many victories throughout the season, but we learned so much. We were a little weak at first, but we all learned fast. When we made mistakes, we noticed. If not our own teammates would let each other know what we were doing wrong. It was interesting how fast we all got along. You would notice our behaviors not only during practices but also in games. Out on the court, whatever attitude one of us had, everyone shared it as the team we were. Coach always reminded us to have a smile on our faces no matter what. Also to cheer each other up and not let us forget we were there for one another. Some of us cried because of frustration and anger. Sometimes girls felt no need in coming into practice. However, to get to the end, all the hard work made it worth the effort. After all of that stress, we cried of joy when we won our final game.
Our team went through tough times, but we always did what our coach taught us. We were there for each team mate. When one cried, we shared that sadness. We applauded each other when we did a terrific serve, pass, set, block, kill or simply a good try. During this season we learned to earn, give and receive trust from the people on the team. It really was a privilege to be on the volleyball team and an honor to represent Schurz High School. To be sure, girls who want to be a part of this experience for next season should definitely check us out!