Why has our junior varsity (JV) volleyball team gone undefeated since its inception to the volleyball program two seasons ago? The key answer lies in the layers of support that surround it on both the player and coach levels. One can immediately see it on a surface level in how JV shares the court with the middle school (MS) team at the beginning of each practice before going solo and then ending with shared court time with the varsity team. The teams are strong cheerleaders for each other, but it’s much deeper. A JV player’s father who is also our middle school coach’s husband, Tony Cunningham, summed it up well at the Fall Athletic Awards Program when he expressed, “The synchronization and collaboration I saw with all three teams this year is truly special.” The changes to SMCA’s volleyball program within the past 3 years is monumental.

 

“Mustangs on 3, Family on 6 … 1, 2, 3, Mustangs, 4, 5, 6, Family!” That’s the phrase often yelled before returning to the court. Family. It truly is a family culture. When expressing appreciation for the coaches, one parent said, “As much as you enjoy teaching, coaching, and mentoring your athletes, the parents are honored that you all are not only teaching, coaching, and mentoring our kids, but also representing Christian values and are an extension to our homes.” Coach George shared in an e-mail to her fellow coaches, “My SMCA volleyball shirts are my favorite clothes because they remind me of what we have going.” while Coach Young said, “I’m so glad to work with each of you. You make the difficult days easy. I’m glad we’re in it together.”

 

The purpose of JV in general is to prepare athletes to compete at the varsity level by developing skills and gaining confidence in skills. For SMCA it went further by significantly decreasing the gap between the middle school and varsity levels. How rewarding it was to read in a card at the end of the season that, “You drilled us on the skills we needed to improve, encouraged us even when we made multiple mistakes, and helped us grow closer as a team.” It really is a relief to be able to make mistakes without being subbed out quickly. Coach George found it most difficult to determine who should receive the Most Improved Player award.

 

It was very exciting for the JV Team to participate in playoffs this year since our MISAL league wasn’t able to give JV any type of championship last year because only three schools (SMCA, Takoma, and Clinton Grace) had JV teams. When Calverton announced they had a JV team, new energy arose especially since JV had had fewer games than MS last year. That energy was felt all the way to the end when the stands were packed with fans to support us when we battled victoriously with Clinton Grace in the finals. That win brought home the first JV MISAL Championship title in program history.

-JV Coaching Staff