Crawford coaches, Carey captains; girls’ VB stacking up some wins

The ARHS girls’ volleyball team is a force to be reckoned with this season. The team is made up of 14 girls: five seniors, six juniors, two sophomores, and one freshman, and their season in late September was 7-4. The process of making the team is a hard one, with ARHS only having a JV and a varsity team. 

The spots are limited, and tryouts are rigorous, aimed at finding the most skilled athletes. Captain Ava Carey is one of the returning seniors to the team, back for her second year as captain. Carey said that some were surprised that people were cut during tryouts this year, because in previous years, there haven’t been cuts. However, she noted that other schools do cut at the JV level.

The team has a new head coach–ARHS guidance counselor Kody Crawford. He decided to choose one captain, rather than two or three, someone he thought best to lead the team. Carey admitted that it sometimes feels hard to hold this title by herself, and she would have loved to collaborate with a co-captain. But Crawford had faith in her solo leadership. “Carey holds a great balance of knowing when to use her voice and when to sit back,” said Crawford. 

Crawford has a background in volleyball, having played in his high school years. His teaching style involves giving feedback from a technical standpoint.  “A lot of my approach is about self-reflection and holding yourself accountable,” said Crawford. The girls’ team is a team of experienced players, so the amount of editing or critiquing that Crawford has to do is limited. “The girls know what to do; it’s just up to them to execute it,” he said.

The team started off strong this season. They won their first game of the season against Frontier, and kept up that streak for the next 4 games, only falling to Longmeadow. Their record continues climbing.

Carey said the team is working on communicating their needs to their new coach and strengthening themselves as a unit. When not at practice, the girls enjoy stepping away from their sport for moments together, with activities like going out to eat or getting ice cream, and they are working to organize a team sleepover. 

Carey said that most recently, they painted pumpkins at her house this weekend as a fall team bonding activity.