The Blake Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team has had it rough with coaches and records, but this year’s team is not at all phased by their past. The team preaches-es only positivity and their spirit keep them close and confident. To BGV, the past is just the past. Coach Steve Kaback has stayed with the team for the second year of coaching, securing a bond that brings the team nothing but inspiration. Gabby Bean ‘19 states, “It’s definitely brought stability to the team because we never had a single coach or a role model or anything and just the fact that someone has wanted to stay with us has given us hope.”
Aside from stabilizing the team’s dynamic, having a reliable coach has significantly helped with games and practice, both mentally and physically. Nikki Stabno ‘21 says, “I think that keeping a constant coach was really nice especially from last year to this year because now he knows us as players more and he knows how we are mentally during the game, so I think having Steve come back helped out
with everybody a lot.” Though their record might seem discouraging, the girls make the best of it. Bean says, “Part of the losing environment is coming together and embracing it so we’ve been able to laugh at ourselves and just keep pursuing. You know, we’re not really a terrible team, it’s just its a mental game for us and it’s not really our skills that are bad.”
Stabno sees the team as more than just a team of payers; “I think we just have such a great group of girls who are all such good friends even outside of volleyball. So, even though we don’t win a lot of games, it’s just the fact that we’re all there together.” She continues, “We all have so much fun together, it’s hard to focus on the negatives when you have so many other positive things going on.”
Stabno says, “We choose to focus on the positives, being in the moment and having a good time together and I think that that definitely is something that keeps us from getting into a rut or just such a negative attitude.”
BGV’s tight bond and positivity are perfect examples of what it means to be a strong team. Their high spirits and friendships extend outside of practice, and you can see it on game days and in the hallways. The team finally has some stability and their excitement could not be higher.
