Erin Ball is a two-sport member of Rye High’s junior class and the recipient of the school’s second Athlete of the Week award for her play this season on the Garnets’ Varsity Volleyball team.
In nominating her for the honor, Head Coach Geri Jones noted, “Erin is a great leader and very supportive of her teammates. This past week she led the team in kills with 24 and with blocks, of which she has nine. To date, Erin has 71 kills and 21 blocks.”
Asked to describe the skill that earned her this award, Erin, a team captain, quickly replied, “I’d say it’s my positive attitude. When we’re behind in a match, or maybe the other team has run off a streak of points, I try to look for the positives in the team’s play. Right now, we’re 6-7 on the season and it’s easy to get down when things aren’t going your way, so I try to turn that around. I think we’re just starting to gel as a team.”
Coach Jones echoed her thoughts. “Erin is willing to do whatever it takes to play at her best and get those around her to do the same. Her work ethic goes above and beyond. She works hard in every drill and is the first to ask for another rep or another scrimmage during practice. She is one of the most coachable athletes I’ve had the privilege of working with.”
Erin comes from a family of athletes. Her mother was a rower, and her dad, a Rye High alum, played football and lacrosse for the Garnets before going on to play lacrosse in college. She has an older brother and sister who were both varsity athletes at Rye. Her sister Mara, now a first-year student at Virginia Tech, won an Athlete of the Month award from the Rye Lions Club last year.
In the spring, Erin will pitch for the Garnets’ Softball team; she was an All-League selection this past spring.
Erin’s favorite class this year? “Advanced Placement U.S. History, taught by Mr. Szarkowicz. I really like knowing how our country got the way it is.”
Although she’s undecided on where she’d like to go to college and what she plans to major in, she said, “I think I’d like to go somewhere south.”
Asked to name something about herself that even most of her friends don’t know, she thought for a while. Then she said, “I really like country music.” If she goes to college in the South, she’ll fit right in.
