With the fall season for sports coming to a close, it is important for athletes to reflect on their performance. The Saint Francis Volleyball team Captains shared what it was like being in a leadership position this year.
“Being a captain, I just do my best to show up everyday,” said Captain Aryn Berwald. “I work as hard as I can so that the younger girls will want to work as hard as me when I’m not here anymore.”
Her Co-Captain, Lilliana Rowe, has had a multitude of opportunities to be a leader (previously as a younger player); Rowe was tapped to encourage the upcoming players last year. “For me, I don’t think it’s much different then that I have done in the past,” Rowe said, but also believes those leadership experiences helped her. “And I’m really glad I can be a good role model for everybody.”
Co-Captain Kennedy Clark agreed that being a role model is essential to the job title. “Younger athletes need someone to look up to,” Clark said. “You have to be strong, you have to have a good mental game, and you just have to be very positive about things.”
Other rising varsity volleyball players shared their stories about being on the court and feelings about being on a new team with older girls.
“It was a huge opportunity for me,” said Brooklyn Clark, younger sister of Kennedy Clark. “It was really exciting and I really enjoyed it.”
Freshman player Emily Schoenrock enjoyed her experience as well, even if she was a little anxious in the beginning. “It was exciting, but nerve wracking at first,” Schoenrock said. “But everyone was welcoming and it was fun to play with them.”
Her teammate, sophomore Lily Arvidson agreed. “As you kinda are looking up to the older girls as you are one of the younger ones it was very scary,“ she said, “but it was exciting!”
One of the final games of the volleyball season was the senior night game and the captains thought about the emotions left on the court.
“Senior Night was a lot of fun,” Berwald said. “I know all of us seniors had an awesome time playing.”
Rowe reflected on the emotional weight of the game. “It was really sad, I’m gonna be honest, ” said Rowe. “We lost the fifth set by two against Princeton. It was hard-fought.”
At the end of their difficult season, there were still many moments of joy.
Rowe felt a highlight was simple spending time with her best friends.
“I think that just really being able to play with all of my best friends was so much fun,” said Berwald.
Arvidson felt that meeting new people and relying on them was so important this season. “You just always have someone to go to when you need them,” she said.
While the Saints may not have had the winning season they hoped for, they are happy about how things played out through the entire year. “It didn’t turn out how we wanted,” Berwald said. “But no regrets.”
