The month of October at Phoenix was very chaotic for the firebirds, but ended off with lots of fun. It was homecoming, which included spirit week, pep rally, and homecoming games and on October 14th, 2015, Phoenix’s girl volleyball team played their homecoming game against the Marines.
This was also the first year that sports administrator Coach Paris coached both jv and varsity. The was his fourth year as the coach of the girls volleyball team.
Lakya Foster, who is a senior at Phoenix, is the head captain of the varsity team. Foster has been playing volleyball at Phoenix for 4 years. Foster shows great leadership and sportsmanship as a team leader.
Grant campus used to be the home of both, Phoenix Military Academy and Marines Math and Science Academy. Now, it is just the home of Phoenix. Sometimes they battle each other in sports and academics but they have not in the past two years. Foster was excited to see her old campus buddies but on the court they are all enemies. Spectators from both schools and outsiders were invited.
“Playing in the homecoming game vs Marines felt like old times when we used to share the building. This was all our home once upon a time so It didn’t really feel different. I was excited because we haven’t played them in a long time,so it was fun,” said Foster.
The week before spirit week, students were encouraged to go support the girls volleyball team. This game was a very important battle between the two schools.
“ Yes, crowds always give me more confidence to perform better, especially if it isn’t a crowd that’s cheering on my school,” said Foster.
The excitement from the crowd alerts the players to step their performance up while they are on the court.
The big win against the Marines made the girls really happy as well as Coach Paris. After they continued to practice for the state championship.
“This year was filled with memories from the moment I first started coaching volleyball. It was with your class (class of 2016) as JV. I read books and you girls taught me along the way. It was a really great experience and I’m glad I stepped up to the plate of coaching you girls. Ms.Fairchild was a great coach too, she left me with the skills and techniques I needed to use as a coach. The senior part of the team also took the lead because they played for 4 or more years and they worked with people who were struggling. I knew I could always count on my team even when I had other work to do. They were always doing what they were supposed to do. All we need to do now is get ready for state championship,” said Paris.
On October 26th, the lady firebirds played their state championship game against Holy Trinity. They won in spirit. Their next practice will began during the summer in the month of August for next year’s season.