By Rylie Lockerman, Vandegrift High School (Austin, Texas)
In a volleyball game, players serve the ball back and forth. If the player drops the ball, then it’s set over and you have to serve again. This game of repetition and perseverance is what Hannah Joo experiences on and off the court.
Hannah, a rising sophomore at Norman North, found her place with volleyball, a sport and hobby that she didn’t discover until middle school but is an experience she hopes to carry with her forever.
“Joining my high school volleyball team was kind of a big deal because I started volleyball later than most people,” Hannah said. “When I got to high school, I practiced super hard so I could make the freshman team because my school has such a great volleyball program.”
Although she was intimidated, she had no intentions of quitting. In her first year of high school, Hannah made it onto the freshman team, which only elevated her from there.
“I was worried I wasn’t going to get it,” Hannah said. “But, I made it onto the freshman team and worked my way to the top. That was a big thing for me.”
This transition required her to learn management skills to balance school and social life.
“The whole volleyball community is totally different,” Hannah said. “Before, I would focus on my studies, but when I joined, they were all pure athletes and focused less on school.”
However, this never became an issue for Hannah, even as she adapted to high school. In her prior school, she had been in advanced classes that made the change not all that monumental. This allowed all her attention to go to volleyball, which led her to making the team and other interests including newspaper, and speech and debate.
“I was always a bench player,” Hannah said. “I was super introverted and couldn’t talk to any of the girls, they all scared me. One day I realized that if I wanted to progress as a player, I can’t stay in my shell.”
This dream she had built in her head was filled with a bright future in volleyball, and the only way to get to experience that was to get past those fears. That year, Hannah made a promise to herself: She would break out of the shell that had limited her from succeeding in life on and off of the court.
“From a young age, I’ve been trying to start a sport but nothing stuck,” Hannah said, “I tried for a few months. Volleyball is a non-running sport, and it’s so fast paced so I never get bored, and finally, it was something that stuck with me.”
One incident when Hannah had a major breakthrough occurred once she joined the team. While she didn’t lack any skills, in this specific game she didn’t have good control over her attitude, which she says, in volleyball, is a big deal.
“I’ve always had a problem since I started volleyball where I would get super self-conscious about how I play, and that would affect my actual playing.”
In the middle of the game, Hannah missed the ball, which immediately impacted her mood and affected how she played.
“My coach took me out, and she told me, ‘You’ve got to own the court. This is your place. I believe in you. That’s why I put you out there. So I’m going to put you out there again, and you’re gonna show me what you can do’,” Hannah said.
Not only did she carry this mindset with her throughout the game, despite the loss, but she used it to her advantage the rest of the season, and she carries those skills over to other areas as well.
“That was the moment I realized I need to have confidence in myself. Not just for myself, but for my team,” Hannah said “If I don’t believe in myself, I won’t be able to show up and play my best game. In life, volleyball taught me to believe in myself and stop worrying over things I can’t control. It really helped me study myself and get through tough times.”
