As winter sports begin to take full swing, that also signifies the closing of fall sports. With this comes some spectacular athletes being awarded for their outstanding work all season long. For three seniors, Elaina Smith, Bree Farrimond, and Madi Miller who were awarded this season, this will be their final legacy left as members of the Shadow Ridge Volleyball program. 

“I won the awards for 5A First Team All Conference and 5A Second Team All Region. Although overjoyed to be recognized, I wish these awards could be given to our team as a whole to acknowledge everyone’s hard work, not just my own,” says Smith. 

For Smith, this award is an amazing feeling as it proves that her hard work and dedication truly paid off.

Smith says, “I just feel as though each time I decided to step on the court and dedicate my time to improving has led me to where I am now. It’s super satisfying to have something to show for that.”

This is also a way for her to prove to herself how genuinely amazing she is as an athlete when times get tough mentally.

“I’m often my own critic when it comes to sports, so having been recognized for anything at all means a lot to me. I’ve told myself countless times that I’m not good enough, so these awards aid in proving my own inner thoughts wrong and tell me that the work I’ve put in has always been more than enough,” Smith says. 

Farrimond also was also awarded for her impactful volleyball season which for her also is a good feeling.

Farrimond says, “I’ve won 2nd team all conference my junior and senior year. It feels really good to be recognized for my hard work and dedication that I put into volleyball.”

For Farrimond, volleyball has been a constant journey of giving 110% every time she steps on the court. 

“I think that my volleyball career has led up to this award because I have always tried to work as hard as I could to get recognized and be the best player that I can be. It feels good knowing that I was able to accomplish a goal that I worked on all year. I think that if you work hard enough and try your best, then you can achieve anything,” Farrimond says. 

All athletes love to be validated for their hard work, Farrimond is no different and appreciates the recognition. 

“This award means a lot to me because it shows me that I worked hard to get it and that other coaches saw my hard work and knew that I deserved recognition for it. It feels very good to achieve a goal that I’ve worked so hard for. I am very grateful that I was able to get this award,” says Farrimond.

Miller says, “I won 2nd team all-region! It feels awesome to be recognized because I have put in a ton of work and I never really felt noticed for it, so it was really rewarding to see that someone did see something in me!” 

Though at times volleyball was nothing shy of a rollercoaster, Miller was overall proud of herself for pushing through.

“My volleyball career has been wild. I have been playing since I was 10, and I’ve had many ups and downs. Last school season I wanted nothing more than to quit, and I was not planning on returning this year. I ended up working throughout all the obstacles and finding joy in it again. I feel like this award is just proof that no matter what happens if you keep working good things will come,” Miller shares. 

For Miller, she truly is able to feel like every last bit of hard work was recognized, giving her a sense of pride in her accomplishment. 

Miller says, “This award means that it was all worth it. all the long hours of work, all the tears, all the sweat, and all the blood. it’s like all the bad things don’t matter anymore because I became who I wanted to be!”