Volleyball is greater than only a recreation for the women from Tampa North Volleyball Club; it is their life.
They play for enjoyable, however in addition they play to win, and this 12 months, they gained lots.
“They’re running collegiate plays, they know the game so well, and they’re doing things that normal teams aren’t,” Brenda Winkeler, head coach, mentioned.
These 14-year-olds are a pressure to be reckoned with on the court docket.
“A lot of people, when they watch us in warm-ups, they don’t understand what we have and what we bring because we’re a smaller team, but they make up for it with heart and defense,” Winkeler mentioned.
Last month, the group put their expertise to the take a look at once they traveled to Indianapolis to compete within the USA Girls Junior National Championship.
“It was very exhausting. It was really scary at first, because like, when you’re on that court, it’s just so like, it’s so much at once. But like once you start playing, it kind of goes away,” one participant, Estela Gonzalez, mentioned.
After 4 days of fierce competitors, they made it to the ultimate gold medal spherical, and the warmth was turned up.
“The other team was super good. They got all of our hits up. So it was pretty difficult to stay positive when all they like all they did was just like get our heads up,” participant Lara Matta mentioned.
But ultimately, the most effective group gained.
“That was like, amazing. It was just all everybody was so happy because we had worked so hard to get there. And like, it was just amazing,” Gonzalez mentioned.
Tampa North Volleyball Club
“We all went to the circle. We started crying, cheering, and all the parents went to the core, and they started playing like music. It was so fun,” Matta mentioned.
These ladies are the definition of grit and dedication. They made historical past, and never many individuals can say they’re nationwide champions.