C-P's volleyball success

I am Mattison Buster, and I play varsity volleyball for Como Pickton CISD. This year is a record year for us. In the four years that I've played volleyball, the program has never had so many wins and so few losses. Just in preseason alone, we have a 20-9 record. We have a really tough district to compete in, with quality teams, but I think playoffs may be possible (knock on wood). I interviewed the high school volleyball coaches, both JV and varsity, about their views heading into district. Then I went on to talk to the Junior High coaches, because I wanted to know what they were doing behind the scenes to get the girls ready for high school. The first question I asked the high school coaches was, “How do you feel going into District?” To this, Coach Garcia responded, “I'm confident in my team that we can compete with anyone in our district. Even though our team is young, we just have to focus on doing the little things and the wins come after.” Some other things she added were, “My team has grit, drive, and determination. One main issue is that we have a tendency to make ourselves The Underdogs. Sometimes we get ourselves into tough situations, but for the most part we pull through. One of my favorite things about this team is that they've all figured out their roles, and they communicate like no other Como Pickton volleyball team in the past has.”

I asked the same question to our JV coach, Coach Turner, and she responded, “I am confident in my team. They hustle hard and work harder, and they are very dedicated to each other. For a team composed of mostly freshmen they compete quite well with other older, more experienced teams. One of the mottos I use with them is ‘it's not what your team can do for you, it's what you can do for your team.’” The second question I asked was, “What is the most improved part of our performance?” To this, the coaches agreed that, “The girls have developed better court awareness and we know how to adapt better than previous years.” One thing I have learned is that adaptability and coachability go hand-in-hand, sometimes it's difficult to understand why a coach does something but you really just have to trust in them.

The third and final question I asked the High School coaches was, “What do you like most about coaching volleyball?” Coach Garcia responded, “I enjoy it because it's a simple game. Volleyball is so unlike any other sport. You only get three touches on the ball and it happens in a matter of seconds.” Coach Turner responded, “I enjoy it because it's slower paced and it's easier to correct things. In between plays, you can adjust things and make the team more successful. Like Coach Garcia said, it really is a simple game.”

Junior high is when you begin forming your skills in all things, academics and sports alike. Our junior high coaches work with our high school coaches to better prepare the young students for high school. I asked Coach Hunter and Coach Green, our seventh and eighth grade coaches, “How are you preparing the junior high volleyball players for high school?” To this they responded, “The girls do the same drills, run the same exercises, focus on the same fundamentals, they're hard-working, and there's a lot of potential!” Coach Green added that, “It's a great group of girls, and they are fun to coach!”

Overall, Como-Pickton volleyball is changing, new coaches, new players, new mindsets, and new varsity uniforms. All of these contribute to our successes. It may not seem like uniforms would make a difference, but I’m a firm believer in, “look good, play good.” The volleyball program was probably one of the worse programs over the last few years, but the new coaches are really trying to change the culture and implement better mindsets into players.

As a current player, I truly thank the coaches for dedicating their valuable time to making us better every day.