Lady Lions Soph. Star Brooklyn Jaeger Our Fayette County Player of the Week
Fayetteville high school volleyball star Brooklyn Jaeger is only a sophomore, but she plays like a senior and can hang with the best of them. In her match last Friday against Snook, Jaeger recorded 31 kills and 24 digs as the Lady Lions rallied from two sets down and won the final three sets in order to seal the victory. “She has a lot of talent and ability, but it’s also the leadership skills she’s taken over,” said Fayetteville head volleyball coach Clint Jaeger. “Being her dad and her coach, I got a unique perspective of having both views.” Fayetteville is currently 12-5 on the season and 8-2 in district, eyeing a chance to get even with one of the only two teams who’s beaten them in district, Round Top-Carmine, this Friday. Before heading back to the court, Brooklyn Jaeger takes home our Player of the Week honors.
Question: What intrigued you to start playing volleyball?
Answer: “When I was really little, my dad was the high school volleyball coach and I knew most of the girls on the team. He would let me engage and help out in practices, so that really sparked something. After practice, I would practice with the girls for fun. It really gave me confidence because the girls always cheered me up and that really sparked my love for volleyball.”
Question: What’s something you’ve noticed about volleyball that makes it a unique sport?
Answer: “The competitiveness. In volleyball, you never know who could strike back. It could be such a big comeback win. That goes for all sports. But in volleyball, it’s intense because there’s so many ways somebody or a team could mess up. You got to be expecting everything. It’s a very adrenaline-going game.”
Question: If you could trade places with anyone, who would it be and why?
Answer: “I would have to say LeBron James because a lot of people adore him and he’s such a talented NBA player. With their recent win, he’s just amazing.”
Question: What’s your opinion on playing sports during a pandemic?
Answer: “I think it’s a good idea, of course with people following the rules, because staying at home all the time is really boring. The girls, to me, are basically family. It’s a really good experience and it also gives the fans something to do, to watch our games.”
Question: How does playing in arenas that are restricted from full capacity change the dynamic of the game of volleyball?
Answer: “The fans certainly change the game. It adds a lot more attention and adrenaline. With the allowance of not many fans, it could change the point of view from each team. If there were more fans from one side of a team, it could get in a team’s head. It definitely can change the game in a lot of ways.”
Question: What’s the best advice your dad has given you as a coach or just a dad in general?
Answer: “Nobody’s perfect. There’s a lot of times where I’ll mess up and get in my head, but I just got to remember that everybody messes up and you just got to move on.”
Question: How does being on the volleyball team affect your social life?
Answer: “I do a lot of volleyball and sometimes it can get in the way. Like on weekends if we have games or when we have games during the week and we have tests. Sometimes, if I want to go hang out with my friends, I can’t because I have to study for tests. It takes up a lot of time but it’s definitely worth it.”
Question: What are some special attributes about you as a volleyball player that separate you from the rest?
Answer: “I’ve been playing volleyball my whole life. I think motive to win and always do my best. I have a lot of knowledge in the sport from over the years, so I guess that kind of separates me because I’ve been practicing forever.”
Question: Having back-to-back phenomenal seasons last year and this year, how does this season compare to last season?
Answer: “I definitely think we’re better than last year because last year we were a whole group of new girls. For a bunch of us, it was our first year starting or playing volleyball, so this year we’re more experienced to how volleyball is in general. Last year, it allowed me to grow some knowledge. It allowed me to grow as a player because there’s a lot of talented girls in high school. I definitely think we’re a lot better this year because we’re closer as a family.”
Question: Your team plays Round Top-Carmine for the second time this Friday, one of the only teams that have beaten you in district this year and also denied you a spot in the state tournament last year. What’s your mindset going into the matchup on Friday?
Answer: “Never give up. Every time they’ve played us, we’ve either had a good lead and they’ve comeback because they’re a really strong, intelligent team. Whenever that happens, we always get in our head or get down and we feel like we’ve already lost the game. But we just got to know to keep our heads up and keep pushing.”
Jaeger is already the head honcho for Fayetteville volleyball as a sophomore, so we can only imagine what she will do as a junior and senior.