At 5:30 p.m. everyday, after a two and a half hour practice in the gym, Jessica Hemann, senior, comes home with a backpack full of homework. She’s exhausted, but she has assignments that must be completed. The next morning she wakes up and cycles through her routine all over again. This is typical for many KHS athletes, but the girls’ volleyball players excel because they are able to do this and score a higher grade point average than any other team.
The volleyball team is smart on and off the court. At the fall sports pep rally Aug. 23, students who attended found out which sports teams had the highest grade point averages. The smartest of all was the girls’ volleyball team with a GPA of 3.99. This year, however, they were not only the smartest team in the school, but one of the smartest in the nation.
The girls of the 2011-2012 volleyball team’s average cumula- tive GPA earned them an Art Stout Award at KHS and an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award. The team was one of 198 volleyball teams in the entire country to receive this award.
According to Elisa Steele, senior, an outside hitter on the team, hard work and dedication win awards like these. Many of
the girls are enrolled in AP classes with time-consuming home- work loads. Steele is taking four advanced placement classes, and some of the girls do not get a chance to start their assignments until after practice. After volleyball, the team also balances extra- curricular activities. Steele is part of jazz choir, symphonic orches- tra and Pep Club.
“I’ve been really exhausted after volleyball. I just want to go home and take a nap,” Hemann said. “You can’t because you have to manage your time well.”
Varsity Coach Julie Goodmann understands the importance of an education.
“You’re a student before an athlete,” Goodmann said. “We stress the fact that as an athlete you have to be a multitasker and stay on top of things.”
While the coaching staff checks on the girls’ grades and stress- es the importance of school, the students take it upon themselves to take care of their school work.
“These girls don’t miss practice time for school. They do it all on their own,” Goodmann said.
Steele does not think keeping track of her life is as difficult as it may seem.
“When it’s something you enjoy doing, it’s worth it,” Steele said. “It makes it fun.”
On top of being a hard working team, the 2011-2012 varsity volleyball team won consistently. Last year’s team was 26-11-2 and finished first in districts.
The girls on the volleyball team worked throughout the sum- mer and have created a strong team for the fall. According to Goodmann, team goals include obtaining more than 20 wins, a tournament championship, a conference championship, a district championship (for the second year in a row) and a trip to state.
“We are known for playing smart volleyball,” Hemann said. “That’s how Kirkwood wins.”
