For the Bearden volleyball team, leadership is critical to success on and off the court.
And for senior captain Alyssa Spradlin, her specific leadership role started off differently than she expected. After tearing her ACL in the offseason, Spradlin wasn’t even sure she’d be considered for a leadership role.
Spradlin is getting closer to being healthy again, but has not returned to Bearden’s lineup yet.
“I feel like I had a big leading role kind of last year, but I got hurt over the offseason, so I wasn’t expecting to be a captain, honestly,” Spradlin said. “I’m really honored. I feel like I’ve earned it in a way because I always try to be a leader on the court.”
While Spradlin isn’t back on the court yet, she has adjusted to a new leadership style.
“As of right now, I would say I try to lead by voice because I can’t lead by example,” she said. “So girls will come up to me and they’ll be like, ‘Hey, what am I doing wrong here?’ Or ‘Hey, can you help me out with this?’ And I can tell them specific things about that.”
Co-captain Finley Wright is also working hard this season to show up for her team, while still complementing Spradlin’s leadership style.
“I’ve worked really hard to be the person that my teammates can look up to and be the teammate that everybody wants to talk to and lean on in hard situations,” Wright said.
Added Spradlin: “Finley is really good. She amps people up, and she’s very enthusiastic and she’s a leader on the court.”
Last year’s season was a big success, but the Lady Bulldogs fell short in the district tournament.
“For the team it would definitely be to make it out of districts because Bearden almost has never made it out of this [district] before,” Wright said.
Along with goals regarding victory for the team, both Wright and Spradlin hope to build chemistry among the team this season.
“We’re all pretty good friends,” Spradlin said. “But we don’t fully understand each other on the court. And to understand each other on the court, we have to understand each other off the court. So that’s something we’re really trying to learn as a team.”
The Lady Bulldogs opened the season with a 3-0 sweep of CAK on Tuesday. Bearden will play at Concord Christian on Thursday with junior varsity starting at 5 p.m. and varsity starting at 6 p.m.