Slinger Girls’ Volleyball: “Right Here, Right Now”

Post date: Sep 26, 2019 7:39:15 PM

By: Abby Walter, Staff Writer

Posted, September 26th, 2019

The Slinger Girls’ Volleyball season is in full swing (pun intended), now that the teams are four games into conference play. The varsity team, headed by Coach Colleen Hasse and Coach Sarah Hansen, started off strong with a victory against Slinger’s rivals, the Hartford Orioles, in an intense five-set match.

While the JV1 and JV2 teams didn’t quite pull through in Hartford, both teams have made tremendous improvements, securing numerous victories. Headed by Coach Natalie Geidel, the JV1 team proved victorious over Port Washington and Nicolet, and they’ve successfully played in two quad matches.

All three teams have proven themselves on the court, but not all of their success comes from their tremendous talent alone. Not only does each team practice to sharpen their physical skills, but they also work hard to improve their mindsets. The varsity team starts each week with mindset training, to remind them that, like all sports, volleyball is a mind game, and it takes both a sense of confidence and humility to make a team successful. The main focus of this training is to improve the players’ responses to every situation, both positive and negative, on and off the court. The varsity players also take turns writing inspirational words and character traits on the inside of their wrists before practice, reminding themselves to keep a strong mentality whenever they play.

JV1 players take their own spin on mindset training when they start each practice with an inspirational quote provided by a player. The team then takes time to elaborate on the quote and discuss how they can apply it in a game. Coach Vicky Umhoefer of the JV2 team also has a note-worthy method of building up her players' confidence and team cohesion: she’s chosen some “Supergirl Cape Players of the Game” as a way to recognize her dedicated, talented players.

All of the focus on positive mentality definitely paid off for the volleyball program, as seen through the teams’ impressive records. The varsity team, led by seniors Alyse Drifka, Jessie Umhoefer, Hannah Murray, Erin Gillen, Riley Weix, and Anna Schneeberger, is currently 4-0. JV1 and JV2 are following close behind with records of 2-2 and 1-3. JV1 Coach, Natalie Geidel, perfectly described the current status of the season for her team and the entire program when she said, “We have a lot of talent and potential on this team, and we are working hard and getting better every day we step on the court! I’m looking forward to seeing our progression throughout the season!”

On the bus ride home from the recent Nicolet match, Coach Colleen Hasse reminded the JV1 and JV2 teams how much the support of a student section fuels the varsity team, saying, “These guys feed off of that.” With plenty of matches up ahead, please come and cheer on your Slinger girls’ volleyball teams with all the support they need to finish the season even stronger than they started it.