Ask any player on the FMS volleyball team about their best serve or fiercest block, and they'll tell you. But ask them about the lessons that truly changed them, and they won't talk about volleyball. They'll talk about Coach Hirsch, the loud and powerful force on the sideline who has made it his mission to build intense, positive, strong athletes, and even stronger young women.

The FMS newspaper has had many interviews with the A team volleyball athletes and asked them some questions about how they feel about Mr. Hirsch. This year, the FMS volleyball A team has had an incredible start to their season, losing only one match against Redlands. But how has our coach led them to this point? 

When the players were asked how has their coach has changed the way they play, they told us,  “Well, he has taught us to work through even when we're tired. Just to keep fighting.” (Leia Kelly) “I think he has pushed us to be better, and he pushes positively, and he's just a great guy. Yes, I feel like he's a good coach because he constantly just doesn't let us off the gas like he just go and get them attitude and is just very positive.” (Zoey Romero). “He's turned skillfulness into discipline.”(Emerson Schaneman). Taken together, the players' comments paint a clear picture of a coach who serves as both a positive motivator and a great guy, consistently pushing his team to be better and never letting them "off the gas."

When the team was asked about how they feel about whether Mr. Hirsch is a good coach? Why or why not? One of the players said, “Yes, because he does everything in his power to help us become a better team.” ( Madi Remy). “Yes, he is a good coach because he has helped me gain new skills and helped me improve as a player.” (Anna Nisley). “Yes, he is a really good coach; he's taught us many things that we didn’t know we needed to work on.” (Ava King). The players uniformly praised Mr. Hirsch's coaching, with Madi Remy emphasizing his commitment to the team's overall improvement. Anna Nisley highlighted his success in helping individual players gain new skills, while Ava King noted his ability to identify and address areas for development that the team had previously overlooked.

We also asked, how do you want him to coach the team? And everyone said things like “Like he is right now and continue doing the same.”(Leia Kelly), “I feel like the way he's already coaching is good. I think he's doing a really good job.” (Palmer Gunyan), “Pretty much how he is already coaching to have fun but also work hard and win.”(Ava King). In response to inquiries about the ideal coaching style, the team expressed strong satisfaction with Mr. Hirsch's current methods. Leia Kelly and Palmer Gunyan indicated their approval of the status quo, while Ava King added that the current approach successfully balances hard work and competition with the importance of having fun.

Ultimately, the team's success on the court—and their clear satisfaction with his coaching—is the product of Coach Hirsch’s balanced philosophy. His ability to fuse a "go and get them" attitude with the simple command to "have fun" is what makes him a truly effective and beloved leader. It is this powerful mix of hard work and positive motivation that has shaped these athletes, reinforcing the initial idea that the most important lessons they learn have little to do with the game itself.

By: Audrey Funk (8th Grade Sports Reporter)

  Kira Grant is a 8th grade B team volleyball player who absolutely loves playing and has a great relationship with volleyball and her team. Their team has nothing but determination to win, Kira has been working hard to win her games and learn new skills.

Her best thing she's accomplished playing volleyball is getting her overhand serve, over hand serves can be hard, they require precise coordination with the toss in the air making sure its aligned so you can hit in the right spot, you have to have enough weight transfer from your hand and the ball, if you don't have enough force the ball may not make it over the net. She works hard with her team every morning practicing and getting down her skills.

Her best skills are tipping the ball, tipping the ball is when instead of hitting it hard like a spike it's more of a soft touch causing the ball to just glide over the net and fall. Her second best skill is shutdowns. Shutdowns are when a blocker completely stops the ball from making it over the net and making the ball fall straight down causing an immediate point making the other team have to act fast and try to bring the ball back up. Kira will continue to become better and better each day she works hard to get to where she is now. 

He was then transported to a hospital in an ambulance. Two fire department vehicles showed up to the field after the injury. The game then resumed but they only played until halftime because of the severe weather that day. The game was called a tie, meaning nobody won, but nobody lost.