Seymour senior glad she returned to volleyball court

November 14, 2018

Over the years, Elizabeth Wehrkamp’s favorite sport hasn’t changed.

She recently wrapped up her third year of volleyball at Seymour High School.

“I came from St. Ambrose, so I started playing around third grade, so I’ve been playing for a really long time.” she said.

She played junior varsity her freshman and sophomore seasons.

“Sophomore year, I played all the way around on JV,” Wehrkamp said. “This year, I just played right side. I did like playing on the right side. During one of the tournaments, I played outside because Jessica Blevins was out because of her ankle.”

Wehrkamp sat out her junior season but decided to return to the program this fall.

“I think I kind of needed a break from it because I had played Union (club) volleyball all year long,” she said. “(Coach) Angie Lucas was the main reason I came back. I’ve known her for a really long time, and I’ve always wanted to play for her, so I was really looking forward to coming back this year.

“I’m really glad I came back out. I’ve been friends with the seniors for a really long time, and I just wanted to be back with them and especially the coaching staff. The coaching staff this year was amazing, and I’m really grateful for them.”

The Owls had hard practices, she said.

“We had to get through it,” Wehrkamp said. “Volleyball is definitely a team sport. You need everybody. It can’t just be a couple people. When we came off those games that we weren’t doing that well and we came back the next day in practice, we had really hard practices because Ccoach Lucas wanted us to push ourselves to the limit.

“She also wanted us to develop mental toughness. That was our key this whole season so we would be able to get through matches. We learned life lessons in practices.”

She played club ball in Seymour before playing with Union in New Albany for three years.

Wehrkamp said athletes need to keep a positive attitude in all sports.

“The mental part of sports is really big,” she said. “You need to be able to trust your teammates and say to yourself, ‘She can get this. She’ll be able to get this next ball.’

“When you have that and everybody does it, our team comes together, and that is what coach Lucas’ main focus was this year, that we needed to trust each other. At the beginning of the season, we were a little hesitant, but as the season went on, everybody was trusting each other, and I think that’s a big thing I’m going to take in after high school.’’

Wehrkamp has enjoyed attending SHS.

“I’m glad I chose Seymour because they had a lot more choices for me,” she said. “I like the volleyball program here, so I was always for sure going to go to Seymour. I’m going to remember mainly my volleyball. I learned so many life skills like teamwork and how to take hard work into play. That really helps you a lot.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Wehrkamp file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Elizabeth Wehrkamp

High school: Seymour

Parents: Susan and David Wehrkamp

Sport: Volleyball, three years

Organizations: DARE role model, pep club, 4-H, religious education teacher and youth ministry youth leader

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