By Theresa O’Connor

As the school year kicks off, so do fall sports. One of the many sports TPA offers here is girls’ volleyball! Middle school girls volleyball has already begun and they are already on their way to a exciting and fun season. Each Tuesday and Thursday, they practice at the Tempe Prep gym with stretching followed by drills and a scrimmage. This team shows really great sportsmanship as well as passion. This year’s volleyball coach is Mr. Bill Goodykoontz who has coached many years of volleyball for the City of Tempe. He is definitely looking forward to the upcoming season. “I’m excited because we have a lot of returning players, as well as some good new players. It’s a nice mix of experience and fresh energy. And everybody is really enthusiastic,” he said. Mr. Goodykoontz is working in passing skills and how to really be a team for the most rewarding thing for him is watching the girls improve and love the game of volleyball.

Although there are many new faces this year, there are many returning faces. One of them is 8th grader Zoe Diez de Medina who has playing volleyball for Tempe Prep since she was in sixth grade. She joined volleyball because before, on vacation, she played with some friends and realized how fun it was. Later, Zoe learned TPA had a volleyball team and that ended up being her sport. Another player is Tatum Lemons who has been playing for 4 years. Her favorite part about volleyball is how everyone has to work together. “I’m most excited abut seeing team’s and my own improvement, ” she said. However many new sixth graders made the A team. One of the several is Aleksa Vignjevjc. She enjoys volleyball and with a lot of hard work and previous experience she made the A team. “I decided to do volleyball because I’ve done volleyball for four seasons and I didn’t want to stop doing it,” she said. With about twenty girls on the team, there will be much development and teamwork for both the A and B teams throughout the season.

All in all, the Tempe Prep’s middle school volleyball team has a stimulating season before them. So make sure to attend the girl’s upcoming volleyball games to cheer them on. Go Knights!