By Kaylissa Elenes
The 2023 season has begun for our Miners varsity girls volleyball team. They are so excited for what’s to come this season and to build closer relationships with new players and other teammates they have played with for years.
Senior team captains Haley Wells and Mckenna Steele declared their favorite parts about being on the volleyball team are “The team work and the friendships we’ve made over the years, we are really great friends with everyone on the volleyball team and hope to make amazing memories with them this season for our final year as seniors.”
Both girls love to encourage their team and communicate with them as much as possible. They find that their greatest responsibility is to keep the team as encouraged and confident as possible. These girls have also shared with me their favorite tradition told by Steele, “Between the dance room and the gym, there’s a little tunnel where we take time to huddle and give words of encouragement to each other, and when we exit the tunnel we touch the top of it that says play like a champion today, before each game.” This act gives them motivation before each home game and it brings them the strength to play well.
Coach Ken Clyburne’s hopes for this season are clear. He wants his team to find confidence within themselves and be able to push through their mental blocks as players.
He truly believes that they can achieve this confidence and he wants the girls to know “They can do it and to [they need to] believe in themselves more.”
Along with Clyburne’s hopes for his team come his plans for his team. He states that he wants to “Find players’ strengths and put players into positions to be successful, and with that, confidence will grow and positive results will show.”
He wants nothing but the best for his girls and it truly showed in his interview, all great things and praises about them. The bond this team has is unbreakable and wait to see what this season brings for these girls.