Grade: Freshman; Skill level: Varsity

Gaby LeMelle is a freshman, but she is also one of the best volleyball players on the varsity team.  LeMelle has been playing volleyball since she was in elementary school. At first, her mother had tried to convince her to play but LeMelle never found an interest in the sport. That is, not until she was in sixth grade.

She started playing with her friends during school breaks and fell in love with volleyball, so she decided to join the city’s league team. As her passion grew, she went on to play for her school and Club Solano.  During summer of 2016, she found out her knee was injured and it appeared to be a problem she was born with. She had surgery and it took six weeks for her to heal, but longer to return to her favorite sport.

After about three months, she began to play volleyball again, but she struggled. Every day, she felt she had to put in more effort than everyone else because of her injury. She didn’t give up and her dedication has paid off.

Now, even though she is only a freshman, she plays on the varsity team; she was nervous at first, but, as she grew more comfortable with her teammates, she has become less hesitant. Whenever she makes a mistakes or her team does, she doesn’t get mad or upset. She takes it in stride and improves from it.  While LeMelle doesn’t see volleyball as a potential career, she does look forward to play volleyball at college.