With this fall being my first year at Montrose, I decided not to overload with too many activities. This meant that I would be part of the middle school musical and not an official sport. Since middle school teams only meet twice a week, I decided to join the Montrose Middle School Volleyball team.
At first, I did not know what to think about the team. I did not really know the people on it too well, since I was just meeting them for the first time after coming to Montrose. I didn’t know what we’d actually be doing during the sessions. I soon learned that we’d be doing stretches and warm-ups, then practice, practice, practice!
Soon I was learning different ways to hit the ball, and I was able to successfully do an overhand serve, something I’d never really gotten the hang of. Since I was busy, I could not make all of the meetings; yet, I still was welcomed into a positive environment, where I was able to grow as not only a volleyball player, but also as a friend. It was also a comfortable place, where I could mess up without shame and keep trying with lots of practice.
Another fun part of the Middle School Volleyball team was that we sometimes combined practices with the Middle School Soccer team. Either they would do some volleyball scrimmages with us, or we would join them out on the field. This was nice; it was a chance for us to learn a bit of soccer, and we could show some volleyball skills to them.
Being on the team gave many of us the courage and confidence to try out for the JV team next year! Lastly, I want to give a big shout-out to our amazing coach, Katy Hogan. Thank you for such a wonderful experience!
Overall, the team was very impactful both in an athletic and character sense. If you’re looking for an athletic experience that does not require lots of time commitment, I would strongly recommend this training session. I cannot wait for winter sports and many more fun experiences just around the corner.
By Gabri Ottaviani ‘30, Staff Writer
