Athletes Supporting Athletes at VSN

Valley Stream North Athletics is known as a strong dark horse program in Nassau County with stealthy good sports teams across the board. From volleyball to soccer, track and field to baseball, each program has seen its success rates rise over the past few years, even as players and coaches come and go. As the captain of the reigning Conference Champion Boys Volleyball team, I have seen the strong mentality, determination, and resilience needed to grow a program within our sports programs. My experience as a high school athlete has been one like no other; coaches support coaches, athletes support athletes, and the leadership on each team has been a large part of growing these programs.

Starting September 13th, the first Girls Volleyball game of the season, the senior class had produced a plan to support our Lady Spartans as they took on conference rivals, Mepham. We wanted to create a true home-court advantage for our girls, an energy-filled atmosphere to help boost them to victory. As my practice was over, my teammates and I waited in the stands as the visitors arrived. Quiet at first, our girls began to turn up the pace, and the fans became more involved. A student section that started with just the 13 boy volleyball players evolved into a section packed with three varsity teams and two Junior-Varsity teams’ players within thirty minutes. This was only the beginning, as the girls went on to sweep Mepham in three sets, who were at the time second-place team in their conference. A dominant effort by the girls, supported by a crowd of over 100 kids, continued throughout the season and trickled into other sporting events.

The student section began to grow for each game; VSN’s athletes were there for each other. When you weren’t playing or practicing, athletes were in the stands. As our fall season ended and playoffs loomed, our section was the largest it had ever been. Home or away, volleyball or football, we supported each other. With the backing of our student body, Valley Stream North sports has hit another level of extreme. Now, we hope to carry the energy into the upcoming winter and spring seasons and lead our Spartan athletes to more successful winning seasons.