By Holly D’Addio, Courier Sports
Writer:
Being someone who
always had a flair for the different, Chelsey Paholski decided to try
volleyball in middle school—and there began her career.
“I just wanted to
try a different sport and I thought volleyball would be something interesting
to try,” says Chelsey.
A student at John Winthrop
Middle School, Chelsey
gave the sport a try and loved it immediately. A member of the intramural team,
she quickly learned the basics and perfected her skills before entering high
school.
As a freshman at
Valley Regional High School, Chelsey started on junior varsity and after being
captain that season, moved up to the starting libero position her sophomore
year. After her team graduated several seniors after last season—including
several very important setters—the Warriors are now in a rebuilding season and
Chelsey has taken on the new role of setter to help out the team.
“It was exciting for
me because Coach [Tammie] Garcia had so much faith in me putting me in that
position,” says Chelsey. “I had some prior experience in that position, but it
was still nerve-wracking for a few games.”
The team recently
won its first game of the season in a match against East
Hampton and is slowly starting to get its balance.
“It felt really good
to win that first game,” says Chelsey. “We worked really hard as a team so it
was great to finally see success.”
The team is no
stranger to success—last fall the volleyball team made it to the Shoreline
Conference first round playoffs. Chelsey and her teammates have been working
hard to make sure the team gets there again. This past summer, she attended her
second Connecticut
College preseason
volleyball clinic and her first Clinton Parks and Recreation volleyball program
run by Morgan coach Joe Grippo.
“I learned so much
under Coach Grippo,” says Chelsey. “I learned a lot about setting and feel I
came out of that clinic a better player.”
At Valley Regional,
Chelsey, 15, is a member of the Steering Committee and the National Spanish
Honor Society. Last year, she was also awarded the Principal’s Award for
academics. On the weekends, she volunteers at Our Lady of Sorrows in Essex as a religious education teacher alongside her
mother.
The hard-working
Chelsey hopes to study in the medical field when she gets to college in two
years but is unsure about her future with sports.
“If there’s an
intramural volleyball team where I end up, I’d definitely like the option of
playing,” says Chelsey. “But I think it would be a little hard to play and keep
up my studies at the same time.”
Sidelines with
Chelsey Paholski
What is your most
memorable sports moment?
When I got my first
overhand serve over the net—it was during a scrimmage against North
Stonington my freshman season on junior varsity.
Who would you like
to thank?
My family, my team,
and my coach—they’ve all helped me have more confidence on the court and have
been so supportive.
Pictured: Junior Chelsey Paholski is in her third season playing volleyball for
Valley.
Photo courtesy of Chelsey Paholski