The first game of our North Park Senior Girls volleyball team’s first ROPSSAA game was against Turner Fenton at North Park gymnasium.
The girls had a very busy morning with another tournament and were all very tired. They still held on, however, and gave an outstanding performance at their first home game. There were many exciting moments like the team’s digs from the other teams’ spikes. One of the team members, Ashley Berretty, stated, “personally for me my highlight was getting a ‘kill’ from a spike I did.” This is very impressive considering her busy morning.
We interviewed some of the team members and they had great things to say. Ashley Berretty who plays as the outside hitter position and wears jersey number one said, “I chose volleyball because it’s my passion and I’ve been in love with it since I was young. I like pushing my potential and I find volleyball makes me work hard to get where I want to be as a player.” It seems that for Ashley volleyball is very competitive. She plays with her whole heart when on the court. She also mentions, “ joining the school team would allow me to continue having fun and improve as a volleyball player.”
Maryrose Rimando, another interviewee, plays as the setter position and wears jersey number 12. She spoke of her her love for volleyball: “I’ve been playing volleyball since middle school and it’s just something that stuck with me. I play other sports like badminton and transfer my skills where I see fit.” Sports and teams make great bonds of friendship. As Maryrose mentions, “I’ve also fallen in love with the friendships and bonds made during our season. We play from the end of November to late February, so we all have a chance to grow and persevere as a team.”
Whether you play professionally or as a hobby, it would be different for everyone. Rimando says, “I personally play it as a hobby. I would like to continue playing post secondary in some type of intramural team. However, I don’t think I would play it competitively.”
Berretty says, “For me it is just a hobby and as much as I want to, I would not play professionally because I have a different career pathway in mind.”
The students talk about how they learned a lot from their tournament and what improvements they would make for their next games. Some of these being better communicators, learning new formations and just getting back into the flow of things. They have not given up hope and are excited to be back. They are proud and are still in good spirits for the upcoming tournaments.
THE NORTH STAR 