Ridgeline High School volleyball players are excited to begin their high school club season on Monday, the 16th of January. With so many new members joining volleyball, players prepare and practice before the date in anticipation for the start of the season. Since volleyball will be a sanctioned sport as of next year throughout Utah, Ridgeline student volleyball players want to be prepared and be the top team at their conference.

Most Ridgeline Volleyball players this year are new recruits that have never played volleyball in a real competition game. Ethan Poretuse states that he has never participated in the game before, but he thinks that he might be able to “make an impact on the quartet.” Clueless about the game, like many new players, Ethan admits, “I don’t know much about the rules of the sport, so I need to study them at home.” Having adopted such devoted learners of the sport, Ridgeline strives to become the best. 

Some of the players are returning volleyball players with a bit of experience in the sport, so new players are looking up to them for advice on how to play the game. Although some returning players might not be fully equipped to teach new players, the new volleyball coach states that he “expects the experienced to help the inexperienced.”

Players have found their motivation to play the sport in many different places. Sam Pirtle states that, “while watching Haikyuu, [he] realized that volleyball could be a fun sport to play.”  When Sam heard about the volleyball club at Ridgeline, he invited all of his friends to come and play volleyball with him. Several new players stated that this year was the first year that they have even heard of Ridgeline High School ever having a Volleyball team.

While it’s clear that many lack the experience that Ridgeline’s more seasoned players have under their belts, the majority of the team and the school shares their optimism for the upcoming games.