[sno-test id=”6702″ result_color=”#0f0000″ tile_color=”#ffffff” align=”left” background=”on” background_color=”#ffffff” border=”all” border_color=”#888888″ border_size=”5px” shadow=”on”]Last school year, Oly High volleyball’s coach Laurie Creighton retired, making way for the new coach, Christie Oldright, to take her place. Students and staff discuss what this change will mean for the future of the team

According to Oldright it is very important for the coach to know their teammates beyond volleyball, and to get to know who they really are. She says that having the right expectations and discipline for the team is a good starting point for them to understand what it means to be on a team. Oldright says “This group is passionate about this game, their drive to compete and improve 1% every day keeps me motivated to give constant feedback, and to find new ways of challenging them.”

Being able to share the love of this sport with all these athletes “It’s the most rewarding thing I have ever done!” says Bailey Whalen, coach for the JV volleyball team at Olympia High. Knowing what motivates them is very important because it creates a place where players know to challenge themselves.

According to Bob Kickner, the athletic director at Olympia High School, Coach Oldright played for Coach Creighton, and therefore their coaching is very similar. “There is a lot of consistency from the previous coach to the new coach,” said Kickner. 6 of the players on the Varsity team are returners, and most are in the mindset that little has changed and that the change in coaching won’t have a specific effect on the players. Ava Hoy, a junior on the Varsity team, believes that the players and coach “need to keep the culture of the Olympia volleyball program alive, even though we have a new coach.”

One of the larger aspects of change on the team is the promotion of senior Bella Grant to Team Captain. The team adapted quickly to the coaching change. Oldright has kept much of the coaching the same, which helped the new players on the team. The Varsity team did lose a lot of key players on the team when they graduated, but overall the new team members have “greatly improved the team and have a great energy on the court.” Bella Grant, a senior in high school says that “Susannah Barnett has made the most change on the team because she is the new team captain and has been able to step into the leadership role in more of a vocal way.”

Coach Oldright is confident about the new Varsity team. “Being a coach can be very challenging, but in so many ways you can learn from mistakes, and make your team ten times better.”