Sophia Kop and Gracyn Blanton competing at a Watauga women's volleyball team home game during the 2023 season. Photo credits: Watauga Yearbook
Carrie Bradbury
As the school year starts up, so do many fall sports. Lots of students at the school participate in, and feel passionately about sports. While football and soccer take off for the boys, lots of female student athletes struggle to find their place in Watauga athletics. Students work to make try-outs, find a spot on a team, and stay involved.
Watauga student Sydney Helms, sophomore, speaks on the struggle to stay committed during the off-season.
“You always have to try to get stronger and you have to practice,” said Helms. “And just stay committed and push yourself.”
Helms participates in volleyball and track, focusing on high jump and pole vault during the track season. She works hard to continue practicing and getting better during the off- season.
“I like to lift weights and go to Vault House,” said Helms.
She also brought up how it gets hard to commit to training and how having a team to train with helps her stay focused. While every team has their hardships, having teammates to compete with can be a great thing.
“I like that in volleyball you don’t have to fully rely on yourself, and you have a team to encourage you,” said Helms.
The decision of participating in a team sport versus an individual sport is something a lot of female athletes have to think about. Graycn Blanton, sophomore, shares her insights on the subject.
“I think it was less stressful to be on a team,” said Blanton.
She continues to explain how there is a lot of pressure put on athletes by coaches, teammates, and fans. Blanton feels some of this pressure is lessened by getting to work with others. However, having a team relying on you to do your best all the time can get hard to keep up with.
“In volleyball everyone’s working together and if you mess up it affects the whole team,” said Blanton.
She compares her experience on volleyball to her first few weeks on cross country and how different the teams work, especially around competition times.
“If you're in a bad mindset that just affects you,” Blanton remarked when talking about cross country training.
Cross country coach and Watauga High School science teacher, Katie Gray, likes the competitive aspect of cross country especially around meet days. She points out how athletes get to compete with each other, rather than against.
“We are competitive as runners,” said Gray. ”It’s hard to slow down when competing in a race, but compared to other sports, I think that the competition is more of you pushing yourself for your team.”
Serving as a guide and mentor to young athletes looking to get better at their sport, coaches are role models, not just as committed athletes themselves, but as people.
Gray enjoys getting to work with a large coaching staff and offering guidance for the high school runners. She finds that it helps not just her own success, but the whole team.
“I have learned so much from the other coaches,” said Gray. “Like I learned how to be a better person, a better coach, and I learned how to be more supportive.”
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