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| Sports April 2004, Volume 7, No. 4 |
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By Elizabeth R.
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| Katie N., seventh grade, keeps her eye on the ball during during practice. | |
"The sixth and seventh grade team looked awesome this year. They really improved since the beginning of the season," said Coach Engel. "All 15 players are dedicated and very talented young ladies."
She said that all sixth graders have improved a lot during the season. "Peacock's competition gets better every year," Mrs. Engel commented.
Coach Engel definitely enjoyed coaching volleyball this season.
When asked what their skills were in volleyball this season, seventh grader Rachel K. said, "My best skills on the court are bumping and spiking," Amanda M., seventh grade, added, "I'm best at setting.
Rachel has played volleyball for four years and Amanda has been playing for three years. Both girls have played Peacock volleyball for two years.
Besides playing in the Peacock volleyball season, they also play during the off-season.
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“All 15 players are dedicated and very talented young ladies.” |
Amanda explained, "We practice everyday, except Sundays."
"Peacock volleyball is really fun," Rachel commented.
Rachel and Amanda agree that the coaches are very nice and volleyball is a lot of fun.
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Volleyball fans enjoy competitive season
By Crystal K.
Ms. Heppeler, the eighth grade girls volleyball coach complimented the team on how well they performed on Monday, March 15, 2003, in a home victory over Roselle.
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“The girls were all over the court, and they got the ball and got it over the net.” Remembering, she smiled. “It was an awesome play.” |
Ms Heppeler recalled, "We had a little bit of a slow start, but we came together and pulled through in the end, and we played really well."
No one forgets the glorious moment in a game where the impossible plays became possible.
"I think the best moment for the team," said Ms Heppeler, "was a play in one game, where there was a ball going crazy. The girls were all over the court, and they got the ball and got it over the net." Remembering, she smiled. "It was an awesome play."
There's always room for improvement in any team. When the facts about improvement were straightened out, the whole team began to realize the changes needed to be made.
Ms. Heppeler said, "I think we needed to work on getting the serves over the net and communicating as a team as to who's going for what ball."
As far as Roselle's competition for Peacock, Ms. Heppeler commented, "I don't think Roselle has as much skill as we do. We probably could've handled them a little bit better than we did at our game against them, but they gave us a good game. I suppose that's all that counts."
Eighth grade team member Kacie A. team commented, "Well, I thought that Peacock played very well. There were a lot of things we could have practiced, like serving because we weren't that good at that. But yeah, I think we overall played pretty well."
Kacie's teammate Julia N. added, "I think at the beginning of the Roselle game, we weren't doing so well because we just weren't communicating and getting the ball, but at the end we were definitely much better and we beat Roselle."
For Kacie, the best moments for the team were in the first game and third games, because she played in them.
Julia said, "I think the best moment was either when Emily G. dug the ball out of the net because we've been working on that during practices, or when Blaise M. won us an Ace."
As for the improvements that should have been made, Kacie and Julia both said,"There needed to be better communication and better serves."
The players discussed what they thought of Roselle as far as competition went.
Kacie said, "Roselle wasn't much of a competition just because they stunk. But I think Peacock got intimidated a lot and got nervous before games. That's why we tended to not do too well. But I think if we had a positive attitude toward the games, we'd do better."
Julia answered, "Roselle had a lot of good players, but they weren't that good as a team. So they weren't much of a competition for us."
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Springwood volleyball coach proud of boys perseverance
By Crystal K.
Mr. Morris is the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade boys volleyball coach for Springwood Junior High School in Hanover Park.
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“I think the best moment was our stability and ability to hang on and pull out a win in the second match.” |
Mr. Morris observed, "I think the best moment was our stability and ability to hang on and pull out a win in the second match."
Mr. Morris described some crucial points that Springwood needed to work on. "We need to work on our footwork, and we need to work on moving in the back row, and overall just communicating out there with each other."
From an outsider's point of view looking into the Peacock boys quality and competition level Mr. Morris commented, "They're very good and they're one of the top teams in the conference in volleyball."
Coach and team love to play
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Blackhawks lose again
Reflections on the end of another awful season
By Geo N.
For the seventh season in a row, the Blackhawks didn't make the playoffs. They also had the worst record in the league.
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This season for the Blackhawks was a wreck. |
They made many trades that affected this season and last season and many seasons before that.
Four players, Ed Belfour, Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek, and Jeremy Roenick, were among the best players on the team until they were traded or released. They were not replaced with comparable talent.
Then last year they traded Tony Amonte, who was their captain, to the Phoenix Coyotes.
This season the Blackhawks traded two of their assistant captains, Alexei Zhamnov and Steve Sullivan.
Another problem was the injury to starting goalie Jocelyn Thibault. Thibault was an All-Star last year. Their backup goalie isn't very good. This injury affected the Blackhawks greatly.
This season for the Blackhawks was a wreck. The season before it was a wreck. We can only hope for better next season.
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