Gallery • 2 Photos

This year over 80% of the volleyball players at Armuchee High School play on the travel volleyball team, Tsunami. Over the past few years, the Armuchee community’s volleyball program has been rapidly growing. Tsunami is a volleyball club based in Atlanta with branches all over the state of Georgia. There is a branch here in Rome where many volleyball players from Floyd County play at. The mission of the Tsunami volleyball program is to provide the highest level of coaching available for volleyball players seeking to improve their skills and compete at the highest level possible. Playing on a travel team can help when playing for your high school team. Sophomore Cailyn Poole said, “Tsunami is a really good way to stay in shape and practice more for school ball in the off-season.”

Many volleyball players believe that Tsunami positively impacts their performance in the high school volleyball season. Freshman Sarah Perry said, “I did not make the middle school team my sixth-grade year, so I played Tsunami and I got so much better. I went from not making the team to starting every single game as a seventh grader.” Tsunami Volleyball teams practice twice a week and typically have tournaments every other weekend. They travel to places around Georgia, such as Atlanta and sometimes even Alabama or Tennessee, to play in all-day tournaments against other club teams. One thing many volleyball players enjoy about traveling and competing against other teams is that they can meet new people and make friends. Mallory Hulsey said, “One of my favorite memories was last year, staying at a waterpark in Pigeon Forge with our team and making new friends.”

Tsunami volleyball is a very happy environment where players look forward to improving their skills and getting better. Perry said, “The environment is so uplifting and encouraging. Everybody just pushes everybody to work harder and be a better player.” Playing on a club-level team like Tsunami teaches you not only to be a better player but overall a better person. Perry said, “It definitely has a big impact because it teaches you how to be a teammate and how to really work with others even though you don’t see them every single day.” You learn many life lessons and skills to use throughout your life. Poole said, “Tsunami is a lot different from school ball because of the environment and the level of competition.” When playing on a travel team, the teams compete by age group so you are playing against people of the same skill level as you which is more difficult. In school volleyball, you play against people of many different age groups (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors). Poole said, “In school volleyball, you can never really expect what the other teams look like, but in travel volleyball, you know that you are going to have to push a lot harder to play better teams which helps you grow as a player.”

Seniors: Kyleigh Powell and Bailey Tomlin

Sophomores: Cailyn Poole, Mallory Hulsey, Chrissy Bryneteson, and Taylor Burns 

Freshman: Ansley Cordle, Sara Perry, Addison Blanton, and Emma Peschal

8th grade: Peyton Barker, Charlie Ray, and Addie Rittenhouse

7th grade: Ella Dehart and Ava Crump