The Knox City Houndettes have had a fast-paced start to their season, having played 17 matches already this season and currently sitting with a record of 7-10. We attended the Electra Grand Invitational Volleyball Tournament on August 19 & 20, where we ended up 4th place over all. At the end of pool play on Friday, we had three losses which put us at the bottom of the pool. We showed up Saturday morning and faced the number one team from the other pool, Chillicothe, and defeated them in a hardfought three set battle. Later in the day, we faced Electra for the third time this season and Quanah, picking up two losses. While the win-count seems low here, we have had so many “wins”as a team that we cannot put in the win/ loss columns. Our main focus this year has been trying to figure out how to come together and play as a team every single day and that is something that we, as a staff, have seen so much of already.
We’ve implemented several things into our program to encourage athletes to truly notice, appreciate and encourage their teammates. One of those team-building strategies we’ve added is an athlete nominated and voted “Houndette of the Week” award. Each Thursday, after a long week of early morning and evening practices, each athlete is asked in private who they would like to nominate for Houndette of the Week. Not only are they required to nominate a fellow teammate, they must also explain why they think that teammate deserves the recognition. We have seen that by asking these athletes to focus on the work their teammates are putting in, has allowed these young ladies to build each other up every day. When asked who they wish to nominate and why, these girls are saying things like, “because she encourages us to be better every day”, or “I’ve really noticed that my teammate’s hitting has become really consistent”, and “my teammate is gaining a lot of confidence on the court”. Hearing our athletes speak so highly and positively about their teammates, goes down as a “win” in our book. They are learning to work together and play together, and that is exciting to see. We’ve had three weeks of “Houndette of the Week” winners. Those have been Kinlee Eaton, sophomore; Callie Grimsley, senior; and Bailey Castorena,sophomore. We are looking forward to continuing this team-building strategy throughout the entire year.
Looking forward, we host Strawn on Saturday at 1pm and Post on Tuesday, beginning at 3:30pm. Both teams are known for being competitive and we are looking forward to continuing our growth as a team on and off the court.