“Hey man, chin up! It was just one point!” I said to my teammate after he shanked a pass off the court. “The games to 25. We’ll get the next point!” This game was leading us to the championship round. We had to win.

In a volleyball game, momentum means everything to me and my team. When things are going our way, it feels like we can’t make a mistake. As a captain on the court, I take it as a responsibility to keep the game running smoothly in our favor.

The ball was served to us…and we messed up the play by spiking the ball into the net. We’re now tied at 23 to 23. My coach signaled for a timeout.
The momentum is gone, and now we have to find a way to win two more points, and our confidence was shaken. I knew I had to do something..

I ran to the court, and starting yelling “Let’s go, Hawks! Let’s go, Hawks!” It echoed through the gym like the fighter jets that fly over the football stadiums in the NFL. That was the only cheer I could think of that could fix a whole team’s momentum and I made sure the crowd joined in. Once the crowd started, it felt like the whole gym was pushing us along. Our momentum was back.

“Let’s finish this game! C’mon, guys. This is our point!” I yelled over and over between the play, and as soon the referee signaled for the serve to start, that marked the total switch of momentum once more. We finished that game 25-23; the final points were ours as soon as the cheering began. Momentum means everything to my team and me. And I made sure that it never left our teams side at the most crucial of times.