Hillcrest Girls Volleyball Participates in Battle-Tested Program

Tinley Park IL

06 October, 2021

12:50 PM

Description

Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors on the Hillcrest High School Girls Volleyball Team recently had the opportunity to experience the Battle-Tested Program. Battle-Tested is an organization that "partners with coaches to prepare student-athletes to win sports and life." They offer a variety of team-building events, books, mental performance coaching, and leadership development opportunities aimed at achieving this goal. At Hillcrest, the Hawks participated in an assortment of team-building, physical, and mental activities. "The girls started with some mental activities, then more physical ones," said Head Coach Ann Dachota. " Some of the examples of activities Coach Dachota relayed include: Constructing an 'H' while everyone was plankingCarrying a teammate across the gym on boardsTeam endurance activities Sharing things they learned or discovered about themselves with their team"The leader, Blake, also gave some inspirational talks about teamwork, communication, and dedication," said Dachota. The Volleyball Team was able to participate in this program thanks to Coach Dochota who applied for a sponsorship and qualified. Dachota learned about the program when she saw videos of other teams in the area doing these activities. "I felt our girls deserved an opportunity to try something like this. Our season has been rocky and many of our girls have struggles beyond the court, I wanted something positive to build camaraderie and team bonding." Through this program, Dachota hopes that many of the athletes were able to let their walls down and apply the lessons they learned both on and off the court.