The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
New Haven schools back on the court
NEW HAVEN — From the day Daneris Tirado took up the sport of volleyball at age 10, she loved playing it. The passion was there from the start.
You can see it on Tirado’s face as she prepares for this 2021 season.
“I hoped we would have a season, but I wasn’t sure,” Tirado said. “Whenever school is over, we come to the court and focus on the sport. I’ve always wanted to play volleyball, even when I was little. When I got a chance to play volleyball, it was a dream come true and it still is to this day.”
Taryn Stafford, a middle and outside hitter for Hillhouse, gets to have one last season with the Academics’ program.
“I’m happy we have it again and we are excited. To all be back together is very refreshing,” said Stafford, who is also a captain. “I’m hoping to have an entire season, but in the back of my mind, I’m always scared it could be shut down because of COVID.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, New Haven’s Department of Public Health determined the girls volleyball season in 2020 could only be held outdoors. Tirado said the Career team practiced outdoors for about five weeks.
“The court was a lot smaller because it was outside. We were all crammed together,” Tirado said. “It was good because we had something, but it would have been better if it was indoors. We hoped we
would have a season.”
Unfortunately, there really was no girls volleyball season for the New Haven schools. The three programs had a one-day, round-robin tournament.
Tirado played the sport as a freshman. Career went 8-8 and qualified for the Class M state tournament in 2019.
“The rest of the SCC got to play indoors. I’m definitely not going to lie. Last year I thought, ‘Do I still want to do this?” I thought I would lose the love for volleyball because we did not have a season,” Tirado said.
Said Stafford: “They (other SCC teams) had their seasons, and I’m glad they did, But I was upset I didn't get to have my season.”
Nally Sahin is in her first season as Career’s girls volleyball coach. She coached Hamden Hall last season. The Hornets played eight matches outdoors.
“The biggest difficulty was the elements. With indoor sports, the elements are controlled,” Sahin said. “Sometimes the wind was blowing, sometimes it was drizzling out. You are also looking up at the sun. Whatever the case may be, the elements were difficult. Add wearing masks on top of that and communication was extremely difficult.”
The New Haven schools all are back in the SCC. All girls volleyball teams across the state are playing with masks indoors for the second straight season.
Career opened up against Lauralton Hall on Thursday while Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross square off on Monday in the season opener at Cross.
“I’ve realized my passion for the sport never went away,” Tirado said.