Inspiring Gettysburg Area SD’s volleyball leadership: Emily Holtzople and coach Kaitlin Reichart
GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Meet Gettysburg Area School District’s Volleyball Co-Captain and Junior Emily Holtzople who “loves the sport of volleyball,” and the GASD Warrior Volleyball Coach Kaitlin Reichart.
Unlike many other high school athletes, Emily said, “Playing college ball has never been something I have dreamed of doing. My goal with my sports/athletics has always been to advance my leadership skills and to become a more well rounded person. I believe that team sports bring out the strengths and weaknesses of everyone and they are a great way to see what you’re good at and what you need to work on. Team sports build character and allow for you to reflect on yourself mentally and physically. I believe sports have made me who I am and my goal is to constantly push myself to become better while playing and while I’m not playing.” Being a member of a team has taught her that not everything is in her control, “It has helped me learn to roll with the punches and to figure things out as I go. This will help me in the future adapt to whatever I am faced with and it will help me to quickly think on my feet.”
Coach Kaitlin closely echoed Emily’s feelings about the advantages of being part of a team and how it helps prepare players for the future, “This will be my third year coaching Gettysburg volleyball. I came in late summer of 2022 due to the former coaching moving on to another position. The first year we had 9 seniors, it was a learning curve for everyone as the former coach is someone they worked with for many years. The 2023 season we had no seniors and worked on building the team atmosphere. We utilized a program Champions 101 that focused on not only becoming a better athlete, but also a better person over all on and off the court. We finished 18th in AAA, keeping us out of District playoffs.”
Emily feels the biggest challenge in volleyball is staying positive, “Volleyball is a mental game where if you get down on yourself then it brings the whole team down. I think overall I am good at blocking out mistakes and moving past them, but there are some situations where I really have to push myself to stay positive and remind myself of the next ball mentality.” Coach Kaitlin agreed that in addition to staying positive, her squad needs “to be committed players every play of every game and not a player when they want to be.”
The Warriors’ girls volleyball team has 3 co-captains. Kaitlin spoke of what each brings to the team and why they are a great combination to lead the team, “Team Captain’s for the season for 2023 were Emily Holtzople, Maya Brainard and Mackenize Kibler (all juniors). Emily is positive and upbeat. Mackenize is a team player in the way she works at getting the team pumped before games and during the game. Maya is a leader on the court as a setter and sets the tone in being focused and ready to play. All three of them together provide an encompassing power in bringing a team together which can be difficult to do.” Emily finds herself, “ going out on the volleyball court and forgetting everything else in the world. At that moment, all I care about is volleyball and playing the best that I can and I love it. It’s a constant mental game of giving it my all and nothing beats the feeling of coming out of a tough game with a win!”
Emily amusingly uses a particular piece of advice she learned from a previous coach, “The best advice I have received from a coach was from my softball coach my freshman year of High School, Marci Boblits. She told the team after we made a mistake to “flush it.” Many coaches have said this in different ways through the years with phrases like “let it go,” “move on,” or “get over it” but the phrase “flush it” has just stuck. In life there will be things that happen that are out of our control and don’t go our way and this quote reminds me that we just have to let it go. There is no use spending time stuck on things that we can’t fix so I have slowly learned to “flush it.”
Emily plays as a middle blocker, so when playing volleyball games, her coaches are constantly telling her where to strategically put the ball, especially tipping the ball, “ During the beginning of the season I would listen to them and understand where to put the ball, but as soon as I would get back out on the court it’s like I forgot everything we talked about and without realizing it, I would put it to the same spot again. I knew this needed to stop so I began to repeat in my head constantly through the play where I would put the ball once I got it. Instead of just playing in the moment, I was thinking one step ahead. This was when I finally was able to put it in the correct spot. By the end of the season, my choices in spots weren’t perfect, but I was switching up shots way more and was putting the ball in the places the coaches wanted. There is a lot I still need to work on in preparation for next season, but I have learned how to think one step ahead and that is a huge accomplishment!”
Speaking of accomplishments, Coach Kaitlin commented on some of the other players’ recognitions including, “Setter Maya Brainard had 320 assists on the season; Libero India Mitchell 202 digs on the season. Maya Brainard also received Mid-Penn Conference (MPC) All Star second team and Sydney DeFoe received honorable mention for MPC all star.” Along with assistant coaches, Alexis Stouffer and Alexis Tomassini, the coaches are all, “helping the team be consistent across the board: practice, games and life plus looking forward to the upcoming season.”
In her free time, Emily, “loves to ride horses and hang out with my friends. I have 7 people in my family so I enjoy spending time with them, especially my 3 year old sister. I am also highly involved in my church and enjoy spending time with my church family.” She credits her parents for the best advice she was ever given, “ My parents told me to live my life to the point that I look back and have no regrets. This has played a role in shaping me as a person. From the sports I play to the time that I am just having fun, my goal is to look back on my life when I am old and know that I lived it to the fullest. I am so blessed for the amazing opportunity to play the sport that I love in a town that I love with people I love surrounding me. God has blessed me beyond all measures!”
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