White County Volleyball Coach Joni Trivette Focusing On Positivity To Grow Team
In athletics, you often find that the difference in winning and losing can simply be an athlete’s attitude. Whether it’s optimistic or pessimistic, how an athlete approaches a game mentally can be a decisive factor in a close contest.
That is the mindset of White County volleyball Coach Joni Trivette. Although the 2018 season was spent as a rebuilding year, Trivette believes that the results they achieved, along with the youth on the team could lead to even more positive results this upcoming season.
“Our team last year was very young, I had no seniors and only two juniors,” Trivette said. “We went 8-12 with that team, which was a great rebuilding year for us … we had to rely a lot on our defense, and with a young team, that’s hard to do when they don’t have the varsity experience against some of these other hard-hitting teams.”
Lone Senior Lauren Turner will be the lone senior returning this season, and will be looked upon as a leader amongst her peers when she takes her place as the starting middle hitter for the Warriors. That means that her mental state will be important for the team at every turn in a long season.
“The major expectation I have for her is to not get down on herself because she will be the leader this year,” Trivette said. “The team looks to her, and once her head drops, it’s a chain reaction with the younger girls. She’s going to have to carry that weight of not being too hard on herself and pushing through mistakes.”
At the end of the day though, high school sports are not just about winning; they’re also about building relationships and communication skills with your teammates and coaches. This year’s rendition of the White County Volleyball team has their sights set on continuing that growth and to do so, they’ll need the right attitude and mindset.
“My number one expectation and goal is for them to ultimately have fun,” Trivette said. “Any coach wants to have a winning season and from my perspective, if you’re winning, you’re having fun. If (the team) is out there cheering each other on and having a good time with a positive attitude, I tell them good things will happen.”
“I tell them all the time that good things happen to those who hustle and work hard.”
