Q&A with Ardrey Kell volleyball player Loryn Smith
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Q&A with Loryn Smith who is a volleyball player at Ardrey Kell High School.
Age: 17
Years in current sport: 6 years
Year: Junior
What do you love about your sport?
Loryn Smith: Due to the fact that I’m an only child, my favorite thing about volleyball is the connectivity of the team sport. Volleyball has allowed me to create close-knit communities in each of the teams I’ve been on. I’ve made so many strong friendships while playing volleyball. It brings out my love for high-intensity competition and gives me the ability to work with other exceptional athletes.
What do you like to do outside of your sport?
Smith: Outside of my sport, I love doing community service. I believe my greatest and most impactful experiences with community service was the work I did for a neighboring school. When we went to play at Harding High School for an evening match, I noticed that the girls did not have the proper volleyball shoes on. Their shoes ranged from tennis shoes to Converse. I decided to organize a shoe donation where our AK volleyball team would collect shoes and donate them to Harding volleyball players. In the end, it brought the Ardrey Kell and Harding volleyball community together, and I’m so proud that I took the initiative. Being a good teammate and person means using creativity to find ways to help people!
What has being a member of a team taught you?
Smith: Being a member of a team has taught me to venture outside my comfort zone and maintain self confidence. Learning how to be confident in uncomfortable situations was a true learning curve in my experience. Part of being a good teammate means getting over mistakes and fixing a negative attitude to help the collective. As a perfectionist, I struggled a lot with getting over errors in my daily life . However, I have learned to overcome this fear through volleyball gameplay; it has helped me control my perfectionist tendencies in my personal life as well.
What is the best piece of advice you received from a coach or mentor?
Smith: I used to have a lot of difficulty with worrying too much about stats. The best piece of advice I received was during a game, when my coach said to “swing at every ball with power and no fear of mistakes.” That game, I did so much better than I have ever done at any match that season. It taught me that confidence is sometimes more impactful than skill. The mental game of any sport is super important to gameplay and the strength of an athlete.
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.