The Fall competitive sports season at ACS Athens is a special one. It’s the first athletic season of the year after the summer, the shortest season, and the one that’s often almost forgotten by the time the Athletic banquet comes along, or at least a distant memory. 

During the 2019-2020 school year, the fall season was the only season completed in its entirety. This year, it may very well be the only season that manages to have tryouts. 

Despite the late start to this year’s fall season and the likelihood that there would be no ISSTs, no trip, and perhaps no local games either, an almost record number of girls came to the Varsity Girls Volleyball tryouts. 

22 young ladies did not let some no good virus get in the way of being a part of an ACS sports team. 

With the season underway, a handful of practices under our belts, and lockdown looming, it seemed that our season was ending before it even had the chance to begin. And so was born Virtual Volleyball!

There is no court, and there is no volleyball or net in Virtual Volleyball. But, there is a fantastic group of eccentric and dedicated girls.

We get together twice a week; we mostly laugh at each other’s dress attire, giggle and make silly jokes, and in between all of that, we throw in some pushups, some jump squats, and maybe a plank or two. 

“The core!” I tell them, “it’s all about the core!” But they laugh and tease me, and we call it a night. 

Most times, it’s not about the workout itself but about bringing us together and stepping away from the schoolwork and the craziness (but of course, getting your heart pumping doesn’t hurt either!).

Although our initial personal goals created at the beginning of the season may have revolved around our serves, our spiking, or better defense, our goal now is to stay safe and healthy and to lean on one another as our team and our community pulls through this challenge. It is reassuring to see young girls yearning to be a part of something greater, something beyond the four walls of a classroom. Being part of a competitive sports team at ACS Athens has always been more than just a group of athletes winning a game or taking a tournament. CoVid or not, our ACS Athens athletic virtues can easily be translated off the court or the field: discipline, sportsmanship, effort, respect, motivation, and pride. 

Now, more than ever, the importance of those virtues, but also the love, warmth, commitment, togetherness, and community within the makeup of a TEAM is evident and so very important. 

This is the ACS Varsity Girls Volleyball team’s story.