Katie Beth Davis is a freshman at Altus High School and plays middle hitter on the volleyball team. This season Altus had a new coaching staff, but for Davis, the new staff was full of familiar faces.

“The team got a new coaching staff they have never had before, but lucky for me I had them in junior high so it wasn’t a big change,” Davis said. “I think we played pretty well as a team considering half of the team had never played together before.”

Davis started her volleyball career in junior high and immediately fell in love with the sport.

“I absolutely love the environment volleyball brings from practices always being fast tempo and exciting to the games where the atmosphere is loud and fun,” Davis said.

As a freshman Davis often turns to her upperclassmen for advice and tries to learn from them as much as possible. She also appreciates all the hard work that her coaches put into the team and admires their dedication to the sport.

“The person that inspires me the most in volleyball is definitely coach Garrison. He is always there not only for me but the entire team on and off the court,” Davis said. “He definitely got me through this season with

his encouraging words and always telling me how proud he is of me no matter how I played. I do not think I could have gotten through this season without him.”

While Davis is a hard worker on the volleyball court, she is even more dedicated in the classroom. Davis serves as the freshman class Vice President and said that her favorite subject is math.

“I love getting into math class and being able to zone out and not worry about anything else and focus on math,” Davis said.

While only a freshman, Davis is already considering her options after high school. At the moment Davis wants to go to college and continue her volleyball career. As for her academic pursuits Davis is contemplating a career in either physical therapy or sports medicine.

Photograph courtesy of Shanda Shots