‘Practice like you play’ mentality pushes Wildcat volleyball

‘Practice like you play’ mentality pushes Wildcat volleyball

The Weston High School volleyball team is centered around mindfulness. (Courtesy photo/Michael McGrath)

The Weston High School girls volleyball team emphasizes preparation and mental mindset to help give a boost on the court for each match. 

In between gamedays, players create focus tasks for themselves, participate in mental strength programming and always keep their focus on the days and games to come. 

This mentality movement is something Danielle Cooper has led in her first year as the head coach of the Wildcats, who are off to a 4-4 start on the young season. 

“One of our themes this year has been to ‘practice like you play,’” said Cooper. “We have asked our team to attempt new offensive, as well as defensive strategies, and have found success in correcting previous errors.”

Every Friday, both varsity and junior varsity teams get together to participate in a program called “Elite Mental Game.”

“We have focused on how the mind works for and against us, as well as on setting big goals and learning how to achieve them,” said Cooper. 

Cooper said that early-season practices have been centered around gelling together as a team, and getting players used to their new roles has been a focus during early-season practices. 

“We have several new players who have moved up from JV just this year, as well as a couple of ninth-grade athletes who are new to the program,” said Cooper. “We have rostered players from each year of graduation so we have focused a lot on learning our positional roles and playing alongside each other. Our upperclassmen have been amazing role models for our younger players and are eager to pass on what they have learned over their volleyball careers. It has been fun to watch these relationships grow as their level of skill and ability to compete at a higher level grows as well.”

After each game, focus turns to improving on the Wildcats’ previous performance. The team treats every match like it will be the toughest of the entire season. 

“Our athletes are working to set short-term and long-term goals for themselves,” said Cooper.  “They have established routines that help them plan for the next competition and allow them to work on setting individual performance goals as well as long-term seasonal goals.”

On the court, Cooper said the team’s strength is its versatility. Numerous student-athletes are able and willing to play in multiple different positions. 

“We have a deep bench, which is a great asset to our program,” said Cooper. “We have skilled players who can fill a variety of roles, which allows us to adjust as needed without compromising the level of play.”

After starting the season 1-2, the Wildcats got back on track with three consecutive victories. Now, having lost their last two matches to drop to 4-4, Weston looks to get back on track in its next match on Monday, Oct. 5 against Bedford High School on the road. 

The Wildcats next home game is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m. against Acton-Boxborough High School.