A proud “Boom-shaka-laka-boom!” echoes through the parent section of the Enloe East gym on October 8th as a Lady Eagle scores an ace, securing another point for the team. Spirits are high on this night as the four seniors of the Enloe women’s volleyball team, Joelle Park, TaMaya Pratt, Simone Morant, and Amina Johnson are highlighted for Senior Night. The players’ loved ones pack the stands chanting and cheering along with the Lady Eagles as they huddle up, preparing for the varsity game to begin.
While passion is at the heart of the game for the Eagles, the strong community that stems directly from the passion is a close second. “There’s just a lot of great connections to make through [volleyball], whether it’s through school, or a club, or just for fun, we have great people,” said varsity junior Mira Remke, who had considered playing the sport since she was young, but didn’t hit the court until freshman year. “I met a lot of girls during my club season that I get to see again and have fun with playing against them here,” Remke cites, broadening the idea of competition beyond resentful rivalry and into the territory of healthy sportsmanship between like-minded women.
Although it comes naturally, Remke finds the sense of togetherness a necessity for the team’s well-being and success, especially as women. “With volleyball and women’s sports, you have to lift each other up, because there’s not always going to be a huge crowd,” Remke points out. Support for volleyball can often fall short of that of other sports at Enloe, yet the teamwork and community that these women possess is beyond the size of the crowd. With newfound friendships between the teammates, the Eagles have prioritized team bonding more than ever this year.
Junior Varsity player Alek, number 6 on the team, recalls some encouraging words shared by her coach before games: “All women support each other no matter what.” She goes on to give her personal testimony for her team’s dynamic with other players saying, “We will always be here for another team. We always welcome people into our space. We’ll always be there for each other.”
Keeping a strong team and perseverance is incredibly important in women’s sports. It is your teammates who will remember the game that night. The team entirely understands the significance of connection, from cheering each other on after scoring a point to giving each other a pat on the back after a miss. So who do they turn to when the tension is thick and the competition is getting tough? The girls who compete alongside them! No matter if a match results in a win or a loss, the team cheers each other on. Alek mentions this further when she brings up how Coach Jones has worked hard to enforce this way of thinking into her team. “We treat everyone with kindness, we include everyone. Coach Jones wants to incorporate everyone and I think that’s why we’re playing so well now.”
As a junior at Enloe High School, Alek has seen the women’s volleyball team’s performance progress throughout the years. She has noticed an increase in confidence among her players as they become more comfortable around each other.
“We’re playing so much better because we’re doing so many things together. After school, we had two times that we went out and hung out with each other before we started playing. Victoria hosted a pool party, and that bonded us so well. I think that’s what our coach needed from us, for us to practice just being together more, so we can figure out how well we play together,” Alek remarks.
Let’s celebrate the 2024 season of volleyball and how well our fellow Eagles represented our school! Make sure to be there next fall to cheer them on again and to stay updated on their Instagram @enloehsvb.
