Side Effects Of Being An Athlete

There are many stresses and things that could go wrong being an athlete. The biggest thing for me is the time management. I have practices every day along with the homework and family priorities. I often find myself very busy with little free time to relax or do activities. This is the worst during the busiest part of school season and the busiest part of club season when we are gone for days at a time. When you miss school, you have to do all the make up work along with all the current work. It can get very tiring and annoying. Also, it is VERY hard not to get distracted by your phone or other devices, especially after a game day or tournament, when you want to check what people said about the game.
Another stressful thing about playing a sport is being frustrated about being in a rough patch. Sometimes, when you are working at things and trying to get better, you feel like you're getting worse before you get better. There are a lot of failures before success, but eventually you get it. Also, people get frustrated when they are  not doing so well in practice or in a game. In volleyball this is easy to do, and because so much of the game is mental, one mistake could affect the next play and sometimes the one after that if you get mad, upset, or let it bother you. We just have to remember that it is okay to make mistakes and that you learn from them. 

Another problem with some athletes is getting tired of your sport. If someone is constantly practicing and playing with no breaks, they might get burnt out and not enjoy playing or not want to play anymore. This is probably more likely to happen if the practices seem repetitive, like they're doing the same things all the time in practice. Some people will get burnt out, but some who really enjoy the game won't. It just depends on the person. Some ways to prevent this from happening is to take a break from it, or in your free time do things non sports related, so you're not always thinking about it and you're not always with the same people all the time. Sometimes it's not always the sport you get tired of, but the people. 

In sports, it's important to have good team chemistry. It is important for the team to get along so they can play well together, and when they don't it can be frustrating. That is another tough thing about playing sports; getting along with your teammates and how to deal with it if you don't. When people don't get along or if players have bad attitudes it can affect the whole team, even if it is just a couple people from the team because it can make the game not fun to play. 

All these things are very hard to deal with, but as athletes we have to push through it because that is what happens in sports, and if you love the sport enough it won't matter what you have to deal with to play it.

Setters

How do the hitters know what to run? Who decides? This would be the setter. The setter is one of the leaders on the court who is constantly communicating with everyone on the court. They decide what plays the hitters run and when. The setters are the ones who take the second ball almost every time and "set" it up for the hitters to hit. The only times that the setter doesn't take the second ball is when the setter takes the first ball in defense, and when it is out of system. When the setter digs the ball on defense, they are trained to dig it to the middle of the court and the libero or left back takes the second ball. They usually will set a nice, high ball to the outside. Most teams have the libero take the second ball out of system, but some do it differently, for example they  would have the right front take the second ball instead of the libero. The other way to be out of system is to have a pass not to target. Setters can get to a lot of our of system balls, but they will not have all three hitting options, or they might not be able to run the tempo that they would on a good pass. If the pass is far enough away and the setter can not get to it, then a different player, usually who ever is the closest to the ball, will take it. 

In system passes, however, are different. You can run all three options, or two options if the setter is front row, plus any back row attacks. A lot of coaches teach tempo, which is setting at a faster pace. Tempo is harder for the other team to defend, and can fake the other team out if the setter sets something else. A team can run combination plays, where the hitters run different tempo sets. These plays are run on 3 passes(perfect/great passes) and on serve receive. They can throw another team off, and open up spots for certain hitter to score. For example if the middle runs a slide, they might pull the other middle blocker with them, leaving the outside hitter with only one blocker to hit around. The setters are the ones who come up with the plays that the hitters run. There are many things they take into consideration when deciding which plays to run and who to set: the other team's defense(open spots), their blockers(if they cheat one way or are weak or strong), hot hitter, match ups, setter back or front row, what plays work well together, and when to run them. It is important to have a smart setter who knows how to look at the match ups, the other team, and makes smart setting decisions. 

Anybody Can Play Sports

I believe anyone should have the chance to play sports. No matter what your talent is, there should never be a restriction on playing a sport. Sports are activities that bring different kinds of people together to start friendships. Its not all about the talents you have or the winning of the games, its about getting people involved in something that is good for the body and social life. Yes there are times and a level where its competitive and where its not all about friendship, but that is not always true.

In high school there is a level that is called Varsity. The Varsity level is for the athletes that are advanced in their skills are competitive at the sport they play. These girls are more likely to have been playing the sport since they were little. These girls don't have to be taught how to play, they already know how to, its just coaching them to become better players at that particular sport. To play at this level you have to know what you are doing, and you can't be out for the sport for fun or to hangout and meet new friends.

Any other level at a high school, people can play and go out for the sport. Doesn't matter what your talents are or the reasoning why you are going out, you just can be going out to meet people. I believe that sports should start to encourage kids with special needs to go out for certain sports and be involved with kids that they see throughout the school day. This could make them feel more appreciated and feel like they are apart of something like every other regular kid. I think this would extremely cool and would have a huge impact on the high school overall. It would show that we are more than just a winning or athletic school, but that we are apart of something bigger than that.

Free Throws

Free throws are simple, you close your eyes and shoot the ball. No I am just kidding you don't close your eyes when you shoot a free throw. Keys to winning a basketball game is making your free throws, so by closing your eyes to shoot one is not going to be very successful towards winning the game.

To get to the free throw line, you have to make a move that will cause the other team to foul in some way when you were shooting the ball. This will allow you to go to the free throw line to either shoot one or two. If you make the shot then it goes to one free throw if you miss the shot you are given two free throws to shoot. Free throws are basically a free shot given to the team. This is why so many teams practice free throws, because they are given points. There are a lot of pressure involved with them too. If the game is tight and you have to knock down the free throws to either be in the lead or to keep your lead, it can bring tons of pressure to the shooter.

Some athletes have a routine before they shoot and some do not. Coaches always say, "imagine the ball coming off your palms and it going softly in the basket." This could be a way of helping you nail your free throws every time you get to the line. If you are so used to doing a certain routine before shooting the free throw, and then all of a sudden you don't do your routine you have a higher chance of missing your free throw.

The more free throws you make the higher the chance your team will win the ball game. Its hard to beat a team that makes all of their free throws.

Pep Assembly

Pep assembly's require athletic ability, social skills, brain games and musical skills. Pep assembly's is a great way to have a chance to talk and hang with friends. It is a great way to have some friendly competition between each class. There is no way someone can get hurt or attempt to fight during these assemblies.

Pep assemblies are to get the student body excited for the next season of sports. They are also for recaps of the previous season to recognize the teams that have fought hard for where they finished. These assemblies connect the student body together to all be supportive for the same thing. These assemblies aren't just for recognizing the teams, but to also make a friendly competition between each grade at Kennedy high school.

Mr. Stecker the athletic director runs these assemblies, because he is the one that is in charge of all the athletics. He makes these events fun and exciting for each upcoming sport. First he will talk about and let the past season sport teams come out on the floor and speak about their season. If they were lucky enough to receive a banner of some sort they will share it and give it over to the school. After this part the dance team, cheerleaders and flag team will perform for the student body. During this time the students are sitting on the floor all dressed in green and gold to receive a spirt point. Once all of this is completed, the competitions begin.

This part of the assembly is the reason why so many people have fun and go all out. Students will buy confedee, silly string, clappers, balloons, etc. Mr. Stecker will ask which class has the most green and gold and this will be determined by three judges that are teachers at Kennedy. The class will scream and throw things in the air to make them seem like the most class with the school spirit or green and gold. Then he will ask for each class that has the best school cheer. Each class will have a different cheer to chant. This is also not only judged by the cheer, it is judged by how loud, how creative, and cool it looks. This will have to be won by the class that has the most props and will be the loudest class. Each class will get their chance to chant their cheer, but once each class has gone, they will repeat their cheer until the judges decide which class one.

Mr. Stecker has a list of questions to ask the student body. Usually they are, "the class that has the best hair style. The class that has the best freestyle. The class that has the best rely team that can shoot, play volleyball and run. Looking for the class that has the best class selfi." There are tons more questions that Mr. Stecker has asked before. This part of the assembly isn't about just people that have athletic talents, but are about having the student body come together to send the person they think has the best talent for that question. After each grade has gone, usually that particular grade will chant the persons name competing for the spirit point or the name of the grade.

There is also a section where captains of that season sport will come out onto the court and play a game; whether that is twister, rely, ninja etc. This is a friendly game for the rest of that sport to cheer on their captains. This gets the rest of the student body especially the younger grades to know who people are to feel like they know some people in older grades. These games do not count towards a spirit point, because they are usually all seniors that will go out onto the floor instead of someone from each class.

Our school could go into a national wide contest for the class with the best pep assembly's. Honestly I do not think any school in America could compete with our school. Every single student at Kennedy high school gets into the assembly and wants to win the spirit stick for bragging rights around school. This is something that not many people in the United State can say they went to high school with this much school spirit and unity together. It is pretty cool to say that I have been apart of something like this environment.

U.S. Cellular Center

 The US Cellular Center. What is it you might ask? It's the end of the road for most volleyball teams, it's the sweet, sweet smell of victory. Only 8 teams, the best of the best, get the honor of playing on the perfectly laid down sport court in the middle of hundreds of cheering fans. The electrifying energy of the US Cellular Center is something you can't explain, you can only experience.
       The "Cell Center" as some call it, is the sanctuary of state volleyball. 5a, 4a, 3a, 2a, 1a, it doesn't matter how big or small the team is, as long as you win the regional games, you will have the honor to play at the Cell Center. In previous years, the State Volleyball tournament was played at the Ice Arena, down the street from the Cell Center, which was under construction, and when they made the announcement last year that the Tournament was being held at Cell Center again, everyone was excited that they once again will have the chance to play under the bright LED lights of the Cell Center.
     But don't get me wrong, even though playing at the Cell Center is such a magical experience, every team ends their season in heart break except for one, the State Champion. Only a handful of teams can describe the feeling of being State Champions. During the state tournament, there are two courts squeezed into the arena floor, but for the championship game, overnight the two courts are morphed into one and the real fun begins. Not only do family and friends come to support the championship game, but teams from all over Iowa, news stations, newspaper reporters, maybe even Ashton Kutcher or Chris Soules make an appearance to watch the battle of all battles.
       And this year, it is our year. Kennedy Highschool Volleyball. We have had three years of heartbreaking losses in the regional final, but this year we finally made it, and we are NOT letting our chance slide away from us. This year, we have all the weapons we need to finally snatch a state title for our school, we have the DRIVE. Something about the Kennedy Highschool Volleyball Team, we are like conductors of the electricity running through the air, we love it, we want more, we yearn to play for big crowds. We have been preparing for this Tuesday for years. This Tuesday we will make history, this Tuesday we will make The US Cellular Center our home. The Cell Center is calling our name, and we will come running, because this year, The Cell Center is ours.

Liberos

For starters, liberos are the ones with the different color jersey. That is usually the most popular question about volleyball. They wear a different color jersey because they are the only ones who can go in for someone without using up a substitution. You usually use a libero for a certain position the whole time, and not just once in a while. They know for sure that the libero will be going in all of the time for the same two people every time, but you can change who they go in for. The reason why they can go in without using a substitution is because they are constantly going in and out so they would take up a ton of subs. This would be a problem because you get a limited amount of substitutions. Even though they can just run in without using a sub, that doesn't mean they can just do whatever they want. There are rules to being a libero, and there is even a designated ref called the libero tracker keeping track of when and who the libero for each team goes in for. One of the rules is that when the libero goes in for someone, that same person has to go back in for the libero when the libero comes out. Another rule is that the libero can only serve for one person, for example if she served for the first middle, she cannot also serve for the second middle. There is another rule about the libero setting, and it's kind of complicated. If the libero sets a hitter, she must be behind the ten foot line when she sets the ball, otherwise the hitter can't jump and hit it. If she does hit it when the libero sets in front of the ten foot line, then the ref calls, but if the hitter sees that the libero set in front of he ten foot line, the could stay down(not jump) and hit it over. Another option, and one that a lot of liberos do, is to just pass set the ball with their platform instead of actually setting, that way they don't have to worry about being in front of the ten foot line. The liberos are suppose to be the best passer on the team, which makes sense because they usually on the court all the time. They are the defensive leaders who also should be one of the ones who communicate the most on the court. 

Off Season

Sports are a fun way to keep busy during the school year and make new friends, but it's not always just to stay busy. A lot of athletes are extremely committed to the sports they play and are looking to pursue a career in college. These athletes probably have become extremely good at what they do because they work hard in and out of season. The off-season is just as important, if not more, than the regular season.

During your off-season it is extremely important to lift weights and eat healthy. Basically you must stay in shape so that what came easy to you in-season stays easy to you in your off-season. No one likes to come back to their sport and not be in shape enough to do their drills. Yes, it will take some getting used to, but staying fit will help you get in the groove faster. Eating healthy can impact your performance greatly, but remember everything is good in moderation.

Some off-season activities might include running, stretching, and lifting regularly. It is also important you do some of your sports activities as well. Go to open gym or pass a ball around every once in a while. Skill level depends on how much time you are willing to invest. More time is spent off-season than in-season. Lifting can also contribute a ton to your individual performance. Every athlete could use a little more muscle or a little more quickness. Lifting will help athletes become stronger, but can only help if you are lifting the correct way. It is extremely important to have good form when lifting. If you lift properly, your body will benefit extremely.

While off-season activities are extremely important, I understand that some athletes choose to participate in club sports. This is a good way to stay busy as well and know you are preparing for school season. Club is basically a substitute for off-season training. Taking this into consideration, between your club season and school season you should still be attending open gyms or exercising as much as you can to get in school mode.

I cannot exaggerate the importance of staying in shape in your off-season. It is important to continue exercising and practicing healthy choices when not involved in sports. Not making the most of your time will catch up to you in the long run. Keep working hard and setting goals. They are waiting to be achieved.