Harding Athletic Highlights 8/23-8/27
Varsity Volleyball Loses First Game, But Won In Other Ways
After weeks of working together in camps and pre-season, our first game brought a lot of new situations for the girls that both coaches believe they adapted to tremendously well. We worked hard on developing the personal foundational skills that will continue to make collaboration on the court easier for the team! There were a few moments of struggle primarily with rotations and our places on the court, but they took huge leaps towards improvement that will only continue to get easier and more intuitive for them throughout the season.
We had some great leadership skills from every single teammate! Emerson Smith and Tessa Stankiewicz did great as the floor captains for the first game and stayed positive and helpful for everyone else on and off the court. Emerson really did great on defense and serve receive, and Tessa had particularly great swings on the outside! We had some great moments from Oliva Zanetti, one of the newest members of the team, who brought some skills and intelligence into play- particularly some 'setter dump' moments that resulted in points! Helen Rich as a newly trained setter and in her first year on varsity really is growing into the setter position. She is smart and engaging, knowing where she needs to be and what her role is- and if she doesn't know, she askes! That is a great attitude to have as a setter. We had a great moment between Helen and Stella Frisbee, who are our youngest members on the team, where Helen set Stella, and Stella had a great arm swing that led to a kill!! As coaches, we were extremely excited to see that type of play coming from our youngest and newest players. Stella returned to the team only this past Tuesday, and in the two days of practice had to learn the rotations and transitions as a Middle Blocker- Not an easy feat! She did a great job and we can see her improvements happening so fast! Maddie White as her first year on varsity brings so much positivity and care into our team and on the court. She is a fast learner and really excels in any position we put her in. Although she struggled with overhand serving, she very quickly and confidently made an in-game adjustment to underhand serving that brought us a great run of 5 points in a row! Lela George is a very versatile player and we are excited to see where she develops. We are currently training her in Outside hitter and as a setter, which are two very different positions! This past game she played outside, and gave the team some really great serves and energy! Lexie Lampka has the right kind of energy and attitude that excels at being a Defensive Specialist and Libero, where she brought those skills into the game subbing in the back row for Lela. Every day she comes to practice happy and eager to learn so we noticed a lot of great improvement in her specialized position of last night's game. Like Lexie, Gracie Meriwether also has that right type of attitude that excels at being a DS and Libero. Our first game had her in the Libero position and she really is coming into her own as a true leader of the back row. There were a few moments when our team got confused by the lines on the court at Valor, as they are different places than they are in our gym. I mentioned this to Gracie once and she made adjustments, adapted, and got in the right position, then proceeded to help others around her be in the right position too. I can really see her continuing to do very well in the Libero position! Overall as a team, we did great at communicating and hustling towards each ball in each play. This aspect of the game alone will continue to grow the team and each player succeed. As coaches, we recognize why and how we 'lost', and understand how we can turn our next meeting with Valor into a WIN!
Varsity Volleyball vs. Brentwood Academy
Back
After weeks of working together in camps and pre-season, our first game brought a lot of new situations for the girls that both coaches believe they adapted to tremendously well. We worked hard on developing the personal foundational skills that will continue to make collaboration on the court easier for the team! There were a few moments of struggle primarily with rotations and our places on the court, but they took huge leaps towards improvement that will only continue to get easier and more intuitive for them throughout the season.
We had some great leadership skills from every single teammate! Emerson Smith and Tessa Stankiewicz did great as the floor captains for the first game and stayed positive and helpful for everyone else on and off the court. Emerson really did great on defense and serve receive, and Tessa had particularly great swings on the outside! We had some great moments from Oliva Zanetti, one of the newest members of the team, who brought some skills and intelligence into play- particularly some 'setter dump' moments that resulted in points! Helen Rich as a newly trained setter and in her first year on varsity really is growing into the setter position. She is smart and engaging, knowing where she needs to be and what her role is- and if she doesn't know, she askes! That is a great attitude to have as a setter. We had a great moment between Helen and Stella Frisbee, who are our youngest members on the team, where Helen set Stella, and Stella had a great arm swing that led to a kill!! As coaches, we were extremely excited to see that type of play coming from our youngest and newest players. Stella returned to the team only this past Tuesday, and in the two days of practice had to learn the rotations and transitions as a Middle Blocker- Not an easy feat! She did a great job and we can see her improvements happening so fast! Maddie White as her first year on varsity brings so much positivity and care into our team and on the court. She is a fast learner and really excels in any position we put her in. Although she struggled with overhand serving, she very quickly and confidently made an in-game adjustment to underhand serving that brought us a great run of 5 points in a row! Lela George is a very versatile player and we are excited to see where she develops. We are currently training her in Outside hitter and as a setter, which are two very different positions! This past game she played outside, and gave the team some really great serves and energy! Lexie Lampka has the right kind of energy and attitude that excels at being a Defensive Specialist and Libero, where she brought those skills into the game subbing in the back row for Lela. Every day she comes to practice happy and eager to learn so we noticed a lot of great improvement in her specialized position of last night's game. Like Lexie, Gracie Meriwether also has that right type of attitude that excels at being a DS and Libero. Our first game had her in the Libero position and she really is coming into her own as a true leader of the back row. There were a few moments when our team got confused by the lines on the court at Valor, as they are different places than they are in our gym. I mentioned this to Gracie once and she made adjustments, adapted, and got in the right position, then proceeded to help others around her be in the right position too. I can really see her continuing to do very well in the Libero position! Overall as a team, we did great at communicating and hustling towards each ball in each play. This aspect of the game alone will continue to grow the team and each player succeed. As coaches, we recognize why and how we 'lost', and understand how we can turn our next meeting with Valor into a WIN!
Varsity Volleyball vs. Brentwood Academy
The loss to Brentwood Academy resulted in many great lessons learned. The Varsity coaches are both extremely proud of how well the team came together and made playable balls that threw Brentwood Academy off-guard from the very beginning of the match. We came out strong in serve receive and in defense, most notably with Gracie Meriwether making a fantastic dig against BA's strong outside hitter. I certainly jumped up and down on the sideline after that play! Our lineup changes for this game included Maddie White in the Middle Blocker position during game 2.
Maddie is an adaptable player, and she did quite well with learning a new position while in a match. We had some great plays and particularly, a block from Emerson Smith that really excited the team! Lela George and Tessa Stankiewicz are great outside hitters and have been working really hard to make plays in those positions. Lela had some great tough serves at the end of the 2nd match! Tessa plays great defense and serve receive that sets the tone for the rest of the play in a positive direction! Lexi Lampka goes after every ball in full hustle! She is not afraid to dive on the floor for anything and she brings great energy to the team on and off the court. Helen Rich is working really hard in her newly developed Setter position. Helen proved HA was there to play until the end with a great serve late in the game. Stella Frisbee is the youngest on the team, and is one of the fastest improving! She has been playing the middle blocker position and is adapting extremely well there. Olivia Zanetti, our setter, is also an extremely adaptable player. She can set, but also play back row very well! She excelled at her serving this match. Overall, the girls did great staying positive and focused during this match against a team that they knew was going to be tough. We are very proud of this team and gained a lot as a team from the strong competition on the other side of the net! Cannot wait to see them again later in the season!
5th Grade Football Takes On CPA
While it was a rough start for the 5th grade Harding football team, you could see them making progress with every snap of game one. The second half was a completely different story than the first. Ben Lucas, Van Peterson and Holden Thomas did their best sliding into the QB spot at the last minute. They had extremely limited or no work at all at that position but when asked, stepped right up and gave it their best! As the second half rolled on we saw a couple guys make some splash plays on defense. Mattia Zanetti, Avin Burditt, Thomas Freeman and Brody Maddox all found their way to the ball and made some nice open field tackles. The Hawks followed up Tuesday's game by having their best practice of the year. They were excited to come in and hit and tackle at a whole new level. You could definitely feel them picking up their game! It was a joy to see them all start to figure it out. It’s exciting as a fan and a coach to witness that and probably the reason I continue to coach youth football. The fans and parents continue to offer tremendous support and I know the Hawks are anxious to get back out on the field to compete. See you at the next game! GO HAWKS!!
5th Grade Football Takes On CPA
While it was a rough start for the 5th grade Harding football team, you could see them making progress with every snap of game one. The second half was a completely different story than the first. Ben Lucas, Van Peterson and Holden Thomas did their best sliding into the QB spot at the last minute. They had extremely limited or no work at all at that position but when asked, stepped right up and gave it their best! As the second half rolled on we saw a couple guys make some splash plays on defense. Mattia Zanetti, Avin Burditt, Thomas Freeman and Brody Maddox all found their way to the ball and made some nice open field tackles. The Hawks followed up Tuesday's game by having their best practice of the year. They were excited to come in and hit and tackle at a whole new level. You could definitely feel them picking up their game! It was a joy to see them all start to figure it out. It’s exciting as a fan and a coach to witness that and probably the reason I continue to coach youth football. The fans and parents continue to offer tremendous support and I know the Hawks are anxious to get back out on the field to compete. See you at the next game! GO HAWKS!!
Inspiring The Mind • Nurturing The Spirit