ACE Volleyball

After 8th grade volleyball ended, Danielle participated in another season at TVA, which finished in March, and now she has officially aged out of it. Since her future volleyball goals include "playing in high school", the hunt began to find her next volleyball endeavor to keep her playing and improving her skills.

Through a mutual friend connection, Danielle ended up on a co-ed high school team at PSA (Plano Sports Authority) for an 8-week spring league. PSA offers "rec-like" volleyball, but it includes a high school league (most rec leagues tap out at 7th grade).

Being new to PSA, we were not sure what to expect -- what would the level of play be like? What would co-ed be like? Turns out, Danielle ended up on a great team that is a really nice fit for her current level, but enough to also challenge her! She's playing with teammates who are older (and one younger), and playing with and against male players, which definitely changes the dynamic of the game! 

As a strong defensive player with a good read on the ball and a willingness to "go for it", she has been getting a lot of play time, which is definitely helping her improve overall. Yes, it took a little time to bring new players onto an established team, but after a few practices and a couple games, Danielle proved herself to be a valuable contributor. She really enjoys the vibe of the team: Ace! (not to be confused with the other team in their league named Aces)

The team finished the season in second place, and ended up winning the championship tournament! Danielle brought her best games that day and definitely helped earn that victory.

Second to last game during the championship:

Danielle will continue on this team for the summer league. She is also exploring the idea of some type of club volleyball, where pre-tryout clinics are on-going now, tryouts happen in mid-July, in order to start playing next January (talk about a long on-boarding process!). Plus, she has 4 different camps, clinics and training sessions specific to high school volleyball to prepare for tryouts on August 6-8!

It will be exciting to see how things shake out over the next couple of months!