Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
’Cats fuel up for fight
Har-Ber volleyball team uses CrossFit workouts to build unity.
SPRINGDALE — At first, the suggestion seemed almost ridiculous.
CrossFit? For volleyball players? Seriously?
Springdale Har-Ber volleyball coach Shyrah Schisler has been a CrossFit workout participant for several years. She saw how the workouts she was doing were similar to the ones she did as a college volleyball player. She considered modifying the workouts for her team, but then decided, why not have her team do the same workout?
“I am always evaluating myself as a coach and my program,” Schisler said. “What can I do to make my kids better? Our program has super high expectations every year. We should always get better every year, and not just on the court, but off the court. So I just thought about the confidence that I’ve gained from it. And I thought maybe this is something they could buy into.”
The Lady Wildcats did not lack for motivation. Three straight losses in the Class 7A state finals made Schisler take a long, hard look at her program. So she asked herself: What better way to push her players to the brink
of exhaustion than a CrossFit workout in the middle of the summer? Crazy, right?
Senior Halle Roberts said Schisler’s suggestion caught her completely off guard.
“The first thing that went through my mind was, oh crap, I’m out of shape. And as soon as I mentioned it to my dad, he was like, you’re doing it, and I was like, awesome,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “The first day we went there. I was a little nervous, but they took their time with us and made sure we knew the correct form. They didn’t just throw us in there to kill us.”
The team members paid for their workouts at CrossFit 540, which were held three days a week in June and July other than during the Arkansas Activities Association-mandated dead period.
Lauren Cloud had never done a CrossFit workout until the first day she walked into the box. Almost three months later, Cloud, a senior setter, said the workouts have made a difference.
“I am definitely stronger and faster and have more endurance,” Cloud said. “Mentally, I know I can get through anything.”
Cloud also admits the workouts were difficult and demanding.
“There might have been some tears and sweat mixed together,” she said.
The heartbreak of three straight finals losses served as motivation for the players, Cloud said.
“During the workout when you see there’s another round and you’re like, you’ve got to be kidding me,” she said. “That’s when I start thinking, well, this is just like that last point of the last set. This is like the match point of the championship match. This is me pushing myself and my teammates to be better. So that’s what got me through some of the tough workouts.”
Schisler said she hoped CrossFit would serve as more than just a tough offseason conditioning program. Her goal was to introduce her players to a healthy lifestyle they could use long after their volleyball careers are over.
Roberts said the workouts also
brought the team closer together.
“The difference in this and other workouts, I think, is the intensity level,” Roberts said. “In practice, you are all spread out and you are only focusing on your position. But when we have this big team workout in a CrossFit box, everyone is pulling for each other and everyone is feeding off each other’s energy. It just made everything, not necessarily easier, because there were moments when you could look across and you could see the faces of everyone and they were like, oh God, we’re dying. But there’s just something about being there with your team and being in the box and thinking, alright, let’s do this. We can do one more rep, we can do one more lift, we can do one more 800.”
Schisler said the CrossFit workouts
were voluntary, but all the 30-plus players in the program participated.
“It just became a team workout because they all wanted to be there,” Schisler said. “I think at first they were scared because CrossFit kind of gets a bad rap sometimes. People think they will just kill you. So I really wanted to break that stereotype and show them this could be done right and successfully.”
And she has already seen a big difference in her team as the season is set to open this week.
“We’ve had better practices, we’ve had better attitudes, we’ve had better teamwork — things you hope will happen, but don’t necessarily know will happen,” she said. “Once you see it, it’s really cool.”