The athlete of the week at Sparkman High School has to have self-confidence, be a good leader, and show empathy for others. They also need to be able to maintain a balanced life outside of sports, like going to events with their friends or having a relationship with their close family. 

Kaeli Housten, a sophomore at Sparkman High School, plays varsity as well as travel volleyball. While she has a love for volleyball, she used to indulge in another sport.

“I kinda wish I stayed in cheer sometimes, but volleyball has become my true passion over the years and I don’t think I would choose cheer over volleyball”, Housten said.

Most people have things that motivate them to push themselves either physically or mentally. Housten has her coaches to motivate and push her.

“My coaches push me to be better by lifting me up when I get in my head, and they also help me to become a better person in general”. Housten said

Reasons to start your sport come from various reasons, from seeing other successful athletes to seeing the benefits of doing a sport in general. Housten has her own reason, just like anyone else.

 “The reason I started volleyball is because I saw all my friends doing it and I wanted to be better than them at it,” Housten said.

Being an athlete isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. You have to train and get better. Whether it’s conditioning or practicing overtime, Houston and her teammates know they work hard from all the conditioning they endure.

“Me and my teammates practice almost every day after school, and we condition hard,” Housten said. “In the summer, we even used to practice in the mornings at around 5 am or even earlier sometimes.” 

Whether you go to college for student life, a degree, or sports, it’s all up to you. Choosing a college is a very hard decision to make, but Housten already has a college in mind.

“I want to go to enterprise because they have an amazing volleyball program and some of my friends are going to go to that same college,” Housten said.