Eva Grisel is one of the best volleyball players at Memorial High School.
The sophomore is an outside hitter for the Mavericks after playing for Wichita Falls High School last year. With most of Memorial’s team coming from Rider, Grisel has had to compete and train with new teammates, which can be difficult.
Grisel is very happy about her teammates and the way they work together in the court. The Mavericks are 15-11 heading into Friday’s district opener at Abilene.
“This group has actually been pretty welcoming, so it’s been easy,” Grisel said. “I’ve actually really enjoyed getting to know my teammates and getting to work with them.”
Memorial coach Kelli Barnett said Grisel is a hard worker and a leader on the floor despite being a sophomore.
“She acts so mature, so calm, just a positive person to be around,” Barnett said. “She’s a lot of fun to coach and to have as a teammate for sure. We rely a lot on Eva even as a sophomore. She gets along great with everyone and I think just brings a different component to the game of volleyball that we haven’t seen yet.“
There is a lot of effort and hard work behind to achieve her goals. Grisel’s training schedule is complete and shows her effort and compromise with her sport. She plays and trains with Texas Advantage Volleyball in the Metroplex.
“I train about two hours a week of conditioning. Then I have an hour at Dallas of conditioning and weight training at TAV before my practices and then I have six hours of volleyball a week for just regular practices at TAV,” Grisel said. “Also I have about four to six extra hours of private practice every week, so I would say I do 12 hours of volleyball and then like 3-4 hours of extra conditioning per week.”
Grisel said her Memorial coaches have been “amazing” and positive throughout the season.
“It’s really nice to be with them because they’re so uplifting and it’s never really negative,” Grisel said. “It’s very uplifting and they’re always looking out for the best for us.”
Grisel’s training at Memorial has been different from when she played at Old High.
“Here if the coaches can see that we are having a bad day, like we are tired or whatever, the coaches would let us have a stretch day, recovery day,” Grisel said. “And, also, I feel like the training here is more targeted to our sports, where last year it was more broad.”
Grisel really likes watching volleyball matches because they also help her to improve. One of her favorite teams is BYU because of how they play together on the court.
““It is not even them being good. Because they are very great, sometimes when you watch certain teams, you can tell that they are very self-centered on the court, selfish, but on their team, they are so positive and you can tell that they never cheer for themselves,” Grisel said. “They cheer for other people, so it’s very nice watching them. I went to one of their games in real life and it’s just such a positive environment.”
Grisel has played volleyball since the second grade and began playing club volleyball in sixth grade.
She found it fun and interesting, deciding to put all her effort and energy into it. Grisel is ready for future challenges and opportunities, too.
“I want to go to college and get a degree in business because there are a lot of opportunities in that field, and I feel like I would enjoy working in that field,” Grisel said. “I definitely want to play volleyball in college. I’ll figure out where I am going to go to college based on where I can play volleyball. I am going to make that happen.”
Barnett also believes in the bright future that is awaiting for her.
“I think she’s going to go very far,” Barnett said. “I think she can go as far as she takes it. She just keeps working hard and pushing herself. I think she’ll make all her dreams come true.”
