Coaches look for athletes who they know will give their all, no matter the day or how they might be feeling. They want someone who will lead the team daily, without having to be asked or prompted to do so. For the Texas High volleyball team, they find that player in junior libero Carlyn Clack.
For Clack, her leadership role started over the summer and off-season.
“If I’m going to be a leader for my team on the court, I have to be a leader for them off the court as well. That includes summer workouts and all of our volleyball training days,” Clack said. “I know they all depend on me to show up for them. If I want everyone else to show up for the workouts, I have to be there too.”
A standout aspect for the Lady Tigers is the team dynamic. The family-like atmosphere and the relationships built between everyone make it easy to show up for work.
“What I love most about our team is the connections we have with each other,” Clack said. “We’re all best friends and I feel like we are all super comfortable together, they make it easy to come play.”
Clack is the athlete you want to have on your team, not just because of talent but because of who she is as a person and a player.
“”The best part of coaching Clack is her attitude and work ethic. She’s never too good to go back to the fundamentals,” Defensive Coach Robin Holland said. “She tirelessly works towards perfection and is always open to areas of her game that need work.”
Volleyball is played at such a high speed, an error can happen in one second. You have to be able to truly understand the game and your own body to be able to make the correct adjustments to be successful.
“I would describe Clack as extremely coachable, intelligent and a leader. She can almost immediately adjust to something I’ve asked of her,” Holland said. “She can feel her body and change it. She’s so smart to understand the game and how her body works. She’s a leader by example and vocally. She’s really someone I would want my daughter to grow up to be.”
Texas High volleyball grew Clack in more aspects than just athletically, but as a person as well.
“Playing volleyball for this program has taught me so much,” Clack said. “It taught me discipline in so many ways, and it made me better as a person.”
As it is for the majority of the girls, Clack’s main team goal for the season is to have a good playoff run, as well as securing another district championship, however, she put a few personal goals in place for herself as well.
“As a team, our goal is to make it to the playoffs and hopefully win the district,” Clack said. “For myself, I want to hit 1,000 digs this season.”
As she nears the end of her high school career, Clack is looking forward to savoring the moments while she still has them.
“This season I just want to continue to grow,” Clack said. “I love playing volleyball with these girls, I want to enjoy every bit of it while I still can.”