Volleyball is considered one of the fastest-growing sports of its time. Its rise in popularity began in the college volleyball world. However, when volleyball was first invented, its primary players were older men. It later changed to mostly being played by young women. Now, volleyball is a sport enjoyed, being played, and watched by all genders and ages. The Parker volleyball team has felt the effects of volleyball’s rise in popularity, with 45 players in the 2025-2026 season compared to the 32 players they had during the 2024-2025 season. Due to the higher number of players, the Parker volleyball fan base is also increasing. This means higher expectations and more eyes watching their games. Will the Parker volleyball team be ready? Last season, Parker suffered a 25-0 loss to Latin during their final regional game. With strong intentions to prevent this from occurring again, the Parker volleyball team is nonstop conditioning, building mental resilience, and also bonding so they can succeed as a team.
Getting into shape for volleyball looks very different than most sports. Other sports only require leg strength and stamina. Volleyball requires stamina, leg strength, arm strength, core strength, shoulder strength, knee strength, and a high pain tolerance. With so many different parts of the body in use, volleyball conditioning is very unique and even more important. “Conditioning is a big part of our preseason. We have to be making sure that we are in volleyball shape in order to have stamina, be aggressive, attack the ball, and use our core,” Parker Volleyball Team Head Coach Megan McCareins said. “We are using methods such as drills…to do this. All the drills we do are in support of our… offense… ball control, and fundamentals.” According to Captain Lilah Weed, a junior and varsity setter, “We have been doing as many open gyms as possible using…extra reps to make sure we are prepared as possible.”
Parker’s 25-0 loss to their rival school, Latin, during their final regional game left the team “mortified,” McCareins said. “Definitely the low point of the season. I think towards the end, we really lost the spark and the energy that we had in the middle of the season,” Captain Ashley Williams said, a senior at Parker and a varsity outside player. “So much of volleyball is a mental game…Latin is a good team, but not one that we don’t have the skill to beat…so much of what went wrong during that game had to do with our mindset.”
According to Captain Beatrix Hirsch, a junior and varsity libero, “That loss was tough. I can safely say no one wants that to happen again…our main issue during that game was the same one we had in other losses: we went into it thinking we might lose instead of thinking we could win. I think we had it in our heads that because Latin had beaten us in the past, they were a threat.” Following the loss, the captains, with the help of coaches, developed a plan. “We are definitely going to be working harder this season on our attitude and remaining positive even when we are in a negative situation,” Weed said. According to Hirsch, as a captain, she “wants to get the team out of the habit of dropping a game before we even step on the court… so that the only way we will lose is if we are outplayed.”
Success in volleyball requires both physical and mental strength. “Our mental resilience is of equal importance as our physical game. We’re focusing on mental preparedness. In every practice, there will be mental exercises that we’re doing to increase our mental toughness and resiliency. To be able to see challenges as opportunities. When you have a challenge in volleyball, you have about a 30-second window to… move on…so having that ability to adapt quickly, forget about what happened…combat the mental talk and be able to forget the past point in the quickest, shortest amount of reaction time. That’s when we will become strong competitors of Latin, to other elite competitors, and ultimately take them down in our games and dominate,” McCareins said.
Team bonding is an important aspect of preseason. Volleyball is a sport where you rely on your teammates and have to be able to trust them, have their backs, and be able to effectively communicate. “The tighter we are as a team, the more fun we will have and the more energy we will be able to bring to the court,” Williams said. According to Hirsch,“We expect from every player on the team to do their part.” Team bonding activities are seen as a way to “strengthen communication between our team,” Williams said. There are many different ways to bond as a team. Whether it’s icebreakers, games, or traditions. “We have a few traditions that we will likely continue…as well as a few new ideas we’re excited to share with the team,” Hirsch said. According to Weed, “We are hoping to continue traditions like big and little sisters and our game day secret Santas.”
Volleyball may be growing at a rapid pace, but the Parker volleyball team coaches and captains are not slow to adapt. By setting themselves up for success with a special pre-preseason in the summer, they can ensure their athletes are in shape, eager, and ready for the packed season up ahead. “We’ve also been doing a lot of other work behind the scenes to ensure the season runs as smoothly and successfully as possible from the start of preseason until regionals,” Hirsch said. With all the extra practices and planning, the Parker volleyball team has a goal to serve up success. “We have a higher level of competitiveness this year, this hunger to win and challenge each other, which is really exciting because we make each other better,” McCareins said. “Iron sharpens iron.”
