Middle School Green and White Volleyball teams absolutely dominated on the court this year and led successful seasons. Catherine Zidow, the middle school head of the volleyball program and Green team coach said that this season was led by an “Enormously talented program with the 8th-grade crew, and the 7th graders were definitely above average.” Every player had about equal time on the court, and every single girl by the end showed improvement.
The Green team held their own with 7 losses and 12 wins. They won more than lost and everyone played well. On the other side, the White team held a 17-2 record. They held their own most of the season.
Both teams practice four days a week and have games almost every week or weekend. They compete both in tournaments and normal games. Zidow said that the most challenging of these by far would be the Saturday tournaments, where they play for eight hours or more. We have three Saturdays where we have to leave Westminster in the early morning hours and we play those days until 4, 5, or 6 o’clock in the evening. One time we met at 5:15 am, an ungodly hour.” They also play Tri Matches, which are described by Zidow as “three schools in one night,” where the team plays two out of three matches and stays at a school up until 9:00 pm. These Tri Matches are especially important in Zidow’s eyes to prepare the girls for high school volleyball. “That’s how the high school runs a lot of their regional matches, and so we try to mimic that so that girls who go to JV and Varsity have some idea of what that time constraint is like because its a late night and you’re playing for 4-5 hours after school,” she says.
Many volleyball players grew in skill and in friends. 8th-grade Green team volleyball player Evelyn Wood says that she has been able to meet a lot of new people she would have never talked to if it wasn’t for the team. “I thought it was really fun to connect with my teammates and there were a lot of opportunities to have fun,” she says. “Our record was about half and half, but we finished 3rd in the state championship, and I met a lot of people I wouldn’t have met if I didn’t do it.” Annie Wirth, a player on the White team agrees. “Getting to know the people on my team that I didn’t really know before was one of my favorite things,” she says.
White team coach Mike Rondeau was pleased with the team’s progress. “I was able to do a lot more with them than I have been in past years because the volleyball IQ of that group was really high,” he says. “I was able to push them further and quicker than I have done in the past.” Many girls learned a lot and valued the time that Coach Rondeau spent coaching them.
White team player Nikke Shoyoye said that both teams were very supportive and encouraging to each other. “The White team is really nice and supportive to each other, and I felt super comfortable on the team overall,” she says. Green team player Juliet Dwyer agrees with her. “I really enjoy playing games and having practices because my team made it fun and everyone was inclusive.”
Zidow describes volleyball as her “true love,” and adores the way the game forces athletes to play as a team. Zidow led the team this year with a simple mantra: “Iron sharpens iron.” In her opinion, this piece of advice really helped the girls. “You’re only as good as the person next to you, and your spirit really matters,” she says. “I love seeing—and I think this year especially—the girls’ realizing it’s true.”
Overall the teams had great seasons, and both coaches were proud of how the players played and how much they learned.