Volleyball girls are some of the strongest female athletes you’ll ever meet; both physically and mentally. The sport depends on not only physical strength but also mental toughness and strategic thinking. Girls’ volleyball at Pahrump Valley High School has many challenges and difficult practices, however, the harder they practice the better they get on the court. As players advance their skills, there will always be good and bad days on the court, both in games and practice. PVHS volleyball girls get pushed hard in high school, so they are ready when varsity comes up. Many injuries happen throughout their freshmen and sophomore years on the B-team and JV. Your well-being and mental state are really important when it comes to playing a physically demanding sport such as volleyball.
 During freshman year on the B-team and JV, many girls would get in their heads and it would affect their playing time on the court. When even one player’s energy drops, it takes the whole team down with them and that has been the biggest issue. Learning how to handle your stress and developing a positive mindset can help athletes be more confident and play better during games. Communication is key when you’re on the court; it helps you get better rallies and it makes your work ethic with your teammates better. During many games last year, some girls on the team wouldn’t communicate on the court so it made it hard to keep the ball up. They also struggled with their negative mindsets, which can weaken their typical strength on the court. If left untouched, this can create tension between teammates and weaken the entire group as a whole. Communicating with your teammates on the court helps them understand your weaknesses and strengths. It also builds trust on the court and it makes it easy to read the game. Volleyball requires a large amount of skill and determination. It requires a unique combination of speed, agility, strength, and endurance. Players on the court must have a variety of skills, including serving, passing, setting, hitting, blocking, and digging. Footwork is a big deal when you’re playing front row and back row. Having good footwork helps have better blocks, it makes it easier to not shank ball from a simple pass, and it also makes spikes look way better and not sloppy or too high up. The JV team this year still has some things to work on and improve but they are getting better day by day. The way they practice is how they play in games.  When current volleyball player, Evealenne Armendariz, was questioned about the team; she stated, “Though we’ve lost some precious players due to injury, we continue to grow the upcoming girls, getting them ready for the environment they’re going to enter.” The team has many things they need to improve such as players continuing to work hard at practices and not give up despite whatever hardships they face. The girls need to believe and have trust in one another. Girls volleyball can be a hard sport on some athletes which skyrockets their improvement. Throughout the years, the current JV team has improved nicely and is getting ready for their Varsity year. If you see them at one of their home games, make sure to go cheer on your JV Trojans Volleyball team. |
