By Josh Hall
Amanda Walker hopes to change the mentality of the Salem High School volleyball team in her first year at the helm.
She wants the Lady Tigers to focus on what could go right during a match; not what could go wrong.
“Right now they sort of have a ‘trying not to lose’ mentality instead of going out and trying to win,” Walker said in a July 18 phone interview. “We’re trying to switch their confidence and their mentality.”
Walker has witnessed this throughout the summer. Changing her player’s mind sets has been a work in progress.
She’s ready to see that killer instinct.
“They have a real tendency if a game get close, or if they even get up on a team, they start playing it safe, “ She said. “They start playing to not lose a game as opposed to playing every ball hard and taking it to them.
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“I feel like they have not had the tools that they’ve needed, so a lot of it is confidence. We’re definitely working on improving their self-confidence and their game play.”
Walker said the Lady Tigers have the work ethic and the personality to embrace the changes.
Last season Salem went 5-23-1 after falling to St. Clair in the first round of the Class 3 District 9 tournament. Still a young team, the Lady Tigers have multiple players returning in 2017.
“They’re working hard and I really see us doing some good things this year,” Walker said. “Ideally, we at least double the record as far as wins.”
Seniors Emily Nash (defensive specialist), and Madison Shaw (setter) will set the tone for Salem, while juniors Faith Roberts (middle hitter), Bailey Martin (middle hitter), Londyn Cook (outside hitter), Madeline Keith (setter), and Kristen Golden (defensive specialist) are also expect to make a significant impact this season.
New to the mix is junior outside hitter Caitlyn Roderman and sophomore outside hitter Janna Cook.
“We’re working on honing their skills and improving their game, overall,” Walker said. “We hope to be in really good shape coming into our first game. I’m pretty excited to see how they do. Over the summer, I’ve already seen huge strides. They’ve made huge strides already.”
