Demons’ Rise up! Rebuilding the Women’s Volleyball Team
Since spring 2020, sports teams have been forced into a delicate position by the COVID lockdown, and it was not until the fall of 2022 that collegiate athletes finally returned to the pre-COVID variety sports environment. Nevertheless, in this interview with the Demons Women Volleyball Team’s Head Coach, Sam Ofori explains how the Demons overcome these obstacles and improved.
“COVID set us back a little bit, and so this year has been more about rebuilding [the team] and getting back on our feet because we’ve lost about three years,” said Sam. “Especially with my first years—they are understanding what it is like to play at the collegiate level and [they are] seeing what it takes to actually play at this level.”
Due to the lack of a structurally sound and mature upperclassmen team from the 2021 season, Sam had to build the program from the ground up. After the fall tryout, the roster was built with three second-year players and nine first-year players. Having this large proportion of freshmen made the group’s performance rather unmapped for the coach as
he had little prior idea of how his players performed; meanwhile, the first-year players were also adapting to collegiate volleyball.
“Most of them have realized that [collegiate level] is not easy at all,” said Sam. “But I feel like I have a good group to work with to build on for next year.”
With the season more than halfway through, the girls have emerged as a group that understands and supports each other. Sam coaches the players to improve their skills by encouraging them to retroactively think how they could ameliorate their movements until, as Sam puts it, “the light bulb clicks.” Players become more self-aware, eventually realizing that “this is how it is supposed to be done!”
The girls have not only enhanced their performance and skills in volleyball but they have also developed a unique relationship with the team and their coach. With barely a few months under their belt, Sam now not only knows how each of his players perform but he also knows how they are outside of the volleyball court—as students, friends, and alumni.
“The relationship I have with my players supersedes everything related to volleyball—Getting to know them on a more personal level outside of the sport is something I cherish,” Sam said. “Also, just seeing them be better people [is amazing]. My goal as the coach is to help them become better people: being on a sports team entails a lot of responsibilities but students not only learn about the sport itself, but also life lessons.”
One of the most important life lessons the girls learn from the sport is time management—having to compete in tournaments the weekend before midterm week taught the girls how to maximize their free time: studying minutes before hopping onto the court. That is also why a study group organized by the Demons always appears before tournaments, which has also become a Marianopolis Women’s Volleyball Team’s tradition.
With the first post-COVID rebuilding season coming close to an end, the program has set up a solid roster that can continue this cycle for the next semesters. With this year’s efforts, the first-year players will have a higher starting point to progress from and a strong foundation to help the next newcomers of the team, and, eventually they shall have the potential to bring that banner home.
The Demons’ last tournament of the season will be on March the 5th, more information will be posted on the TVs around the college so come and cheer the Demons on!
