The fate of the Vero Beach High volleyball team in the district tournament this week depended largely on the mental toughness the girls have been encouraged to develop since training camp.
It’s an interesting approach, considering the talent is often on a par when good high school teams meet. These girls play hard and play to win. Most teams have players to cover the specialties required; e.g. digs, sets, passes and kills. Mental toughness just might make a difference.
A classic case in point occurred in the regular-season finale on Senior Night vs. Okeechobee. Vero lost in straight sets but the last two could have gone either way. They fell short (25-22) after a stirring comeback in set two and then let a big lead slip away in set three (25-23). Notably, the Brahmans made slightly fewer errors.
“When we started workouts and preseason conditioning this summer, we realized that we had a lot of team bonding to do, and a lot of work to do on defense,” head coach Jessica Singewald said. “We went to the University of Florida camp and the IRSC team camp. We made huge gains this summer, which set us up very nicely for this season.
“We’ve been working on our mental state. We have a very talented group of girls. It was just a matter of honing in on those talents and believing in ourselves, knowing that we can do it.
“At the beginning of the season I had each girl write down how they wanted to be remembered 20 years down the road. Would it be as a hard worker and a good teammate, or as an individual who cared only about herself?
“That was an eye-opener for them. Throughout the season we would pull out those papers and look at them. Then we looked at all of the things that could hold us back such as lack of self-confidence or fear of failure. We’ve been working on those things to try not to deal with them anymore. I believe we have made huge gains.
“We became a very positive team. We weren’t really picking each other up and now we are. That was huge and it helped the girls with self-esteem and to better appreciate what we were trying to do. And they actually told me that.
“If anything comes up we don’t brush it under the rug. We address it immediately. We talk about it as a family because that’s what we are.”
Now we will see how well this translated onto the court in the district tournament. Two regional playoff berths were at stake. During the regular season Vero was 1-1 vs. Centennial, 1-1 vs FP Central, 0-2 vs. Martin County and 2-0 (one forfeit) vs. Treasure Coast. Overall Vero finished 6-7.
The two seniors on the team, Kyndal Rock and Kristen Fessler, certainly wanted the season to be extended. Junior Taylor Story, sophomore Catie Jacobs, and the rest of their teammates obviously felt the same way.
“I’m the libero, the defensive specialist or, as a lot of people like to call it, the player with the different colored jersey,” Rock explained. “Being a senior is really one of the coolest things about being on the team. You are the leader of the team and head family member.
“It’s was a bittersweet feeling going into Senior Night because it was my last home game. I’m coming to the realization that we are almost near the end of it. … The friendships and memories will last a lifetime.”
Another way to spot Rock aside from her jersey is to look on the floor – literally. That’s where she spends a great deal of time digging out spikes. She mentioned UF and USF as possible college destinations. Fessler also wants to stay in Florida after graduation and is looking at UF and FSU.
“I started as the right-side hitter, but now I’m the outside hitter,” Fessler said. “Actually I play all around. Volleyball is really a mental game because you have to read what the players on the other team are doing, specifically the setters and hitters.”
Story plays the middle and collects numerous kills. Jacobs is the setter and speaking captain.
“We’ve had some setbacks but I feel like we are more of a family than a team right now,” Story told us. “We’ve gotten better through team bonding and we are a lot more encouraging and helpful with each other. That’s really important.”
The speaking captain handles all issues with the ref. Beyond that, Jacobs said, “my job is to encourage and influence the other players to stay positive.
“This season one of our main things was to hold each other accountable for our actions. We’ve had our ups-and-downs, but now we trust each other more and we have become a team – and a family.”
