Spirit strikes up: volleyball welcomes new coach
As volleyball season ramps up with two wins under their belt, the varsity team welcomes new head coach Charnetta Croffie.
“We’ve had some ups and downs but I think the progress is showing. I think they’ll build up in the season,” Croffie said.
She attributes the team’s first win against Commerce on Aug. 16 to this progress.
“We kept talking, kept moving, they kept coming together as a whole. I’m very hands on so I was yelling on the sidelines,” Croffie said. “We wanted it more. Once we shut them down, it was over. I feel like when you get the team up and say that they can do it their mindset changes.”
Last season, with only one win, the team’s spirit was dampened by their losses.
“We were more focused on ‘Oh we lost, we should feel bad.’ I feel like this year it’s like everybody’s in a better spirit,” sophomore Breanne Carter said.
Senior and varsity captain, Destiny Strickland, has noticed Croffie adding to the team’s attitude change.
“Last season was very different than this year, very different coaching. Last year it was a bit more aggressive in a way people didn’t like. She (Croffie) talked with us at one point about how she doesn’t want to be that type of person,” Strickland said.
The team was going to begin the school year without a coach until Croffie stepped in. Though she teaches at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, she heard about the position from one of Cedar’s basketball coaches. Drawing from her experience playing in college, she sees volleyball as a mental game. She believes that negativity contributes to the team’s losses. On Aug. 18, the team had one such loss against Franklin County. They nearly won the first set and lost the second.
“They (Cedar) were up but then they had some dull moments where the ball dropped which gave them (Franklin County) the opportunity to come back. We could have beat Franklin County easily, but we shut down once we missed the ball,” Croffie said. “If we can maintain a high spirit, then I feel like we can come together and win each game.”
As well as encouraging a steadier win streak, Croffie hopes to further develop the volleyball team.
“We’re still playing at a JV level. If they’re hungry, want to play and want to get better, then I think they’d be a great team cause they’re a great group of girls. All they have to do is talk more and show a little love on the court,” Croffie said.
In order to improve their communication and teamwork, players engage in bonding activities like participating in their team group chat and having days designated for just spending time together.
“I feel like since that (teambuilding), we’ve played better. Everybody knows each other better which increases our talking skills, which increases our hustle and our drive,” Carter said.
The team’s next home game is Sept. 8 against North Hall and Oconee County at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“I want to work at unity and togetherness, so we can build up the volleyball team and have more people come out to support them,” Croffie said.
