Nutley Female Athlete of the Month

Emily Hewett NHS senior, girls volleyball

How was your summer? What did you do?
My summer was fun. I spent a lot of time with my friends along with playing volleyball and softball. I also helped at the volleyball and softball camps for younger girls, teaching them all about the game and helping them individually with certain skills.

What got you interested in volleyball?
I actually decided last minute freshman year to try out when a few of my friends told me they were going to play. I had a rough start at first as I had never played before, but I worked at it and took the help from my coaches and teammates to get to where I am at today. At that point I had no idea that I would soon fall in love with the game.

You’ll be team captain this year. How do you lead the players?
I try to lead my teammates mainly by staying positive on the court and picking them up when they get down. Volleyball
is a very mental sport and it’s important to not have negative energy on the court as that spreads to each of us playing.
So I do my best to model that for my team to remind them to remain positive and to not give up.

What’s a typical week for a volleyball player? Any routines or drills?
On game days we usually warm up early before the game and listen to music to get us ready to play. Individually, we all have our handshakes or superstitions that we always perform before stepping on the court. On days we don’t have games, we practice usually for about two hours. We start practice with peppering and the basic drills just to get us moving and warmed up. As practice goes on we do drills specifically for certain skills, making sure to get a lot of reps with increasing intensity. At the end we normally will play games or scrimmage to put everything together and work on our positioning.

As a player, what are your strengths: hitting, passing, serving?
As a player, I would say my strengths are hitting and passing. I have developed a strong approach and am able to hit certain spots on the court based on how the other team is positioned. With passing I have become good at tracking the other team’s hitters to anticipate where their hits will go so that I am in the right spot to make a clean pass.

What’s your best on-court memory?
My best on-court memory I would have to say was playing in our “Dig Pink” game last year. We go all out with decorating the gym, getting shirts and posters made and making sure a lot of kids come out in support. The excitement on the court when the gym is packed is indescribable and we raise a lot of money for breast cancer so it is always a very fun game.

How do you have fun on your downtime?
On my downtime I like to just hang out with my close friends, whether it be staying in one night watching movies or going out to eat and to football games to support some friends on the team.

Who are your role models?
Although this isn’t volleyball related, my role model would definitely be my dad. After being involved in a devastating accident and left critically injured with a small chance of surviving, he has worked and continues to work through each setback and challenge that arises. He has showed me how to work hard and not give up even when things get tough because you can work through anything as long as you set your mind to it.

“Emily came back this season very strong, much stronger than last year even. She is going to be a really important player this season and will be our team captain. I’m excited to see her play and excel this year!”
— Jenna Rubino, NHS volleyball coach