Score! Senior athletes reflect on their

When beginning their volleyball journey six years ago, Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) senior Naamah Silcott first started playing at parks and recreation centers and then joined the Birmingham Community Charter High School (BCCHS) Patriots during their freshman year.

“From a young age, my parents were trying to get me into an extracurricular,” Silcott said. “So I started in taekwondo and I did ballet. I played softball for the longest time. I did a little bit of basketball but none of them were sticking. Then I tried out for volleyball at my local recreation center, which was Northridge Recreation Center at the park, and I ended up loving it.”

Silcott has played on the BCCHS girls varsity volleyball team for four years, serving as captain since their sophomore year. They also played beach volleyball this year, which is the first time the sport has been offered by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).

“What really motivates me is if I’m having fun, then I’m doing great,” Silcott said, who is a middle blocker.

Silcott has experienced several highlights that come with being involved in the volleyball community. One of their favorite moments was when they won the CIF All-City Division I girls’ volleyball co-player of the year award in 2021. Another memory was when Silcott watched their role model, professional volleyball player Yuji Nishida, make it to the 2020 Olympics. They also went through rough times in the sport but they persevered.

“Playing volleyball, it’s a very mental game,” Silcott said. “So there’s gonna be times where mentally you’re gonna feel very dragged down and you don’t understand why you’re playing really terribly on a certain day.”

Silcott said they hope to continue to play volleyball at Kalamazoo College in Michigan which they will attend this fall.

“I plan on playing in college because I still think it’s a great pastime,” Silcott said. “I still want to play it because it’s still a fun and interesting extra activity that I get to do in my day.”

Silcott hopes to leave future generations of BCCHS volleyball players with words of inspiration.

“A lot of people are scared to try out for volleyball because it looks scary and all this is a new sport,” Silcott said. “But just like, at the end of the day it’s not the end of the world if you miss one point or another. It’s also a team effort.”

By Nemesi Morales and Delilah Brumer