Most high school students have something to keep them busy, whether that be a sport, hobby, or job. Volleyball is one of the more popular ones with the girls at Lakeland High School during the fall.
Lakeland started it’s open gyms for volleyball on Monday, May 4, and the girls that are ready to start preparing for the school season are already in the gym.
The players that have previously made varsity are guaranteed to appear in the gym, working to keep their spot on the varsity team.
Most of these girls are upperclassmen, but there are a couple of this year’s freshmen that have already caught head coach Kelsie Badger’s eye.
Freshman Madison Justesen made JV in the 2025 season, but she constantly floated up to the varsity bench and even filled in for one of the seniors from time to time when she was hurt and unable to play for a couple of weeks.
Justesen has already made a good impression on Badger, and with open gyms starting back up, she’s hoping to make it clear to the head coach that she wants a place on the varsity bench.
“I want to know how to perform, and get more reps,“ said Justesen.
Freshman Shatsa Ackerman has a similar story to Justesen. She made JV but constantly floated up to the varsity bench in the 2025 season, filling in in the back row when she was needed. Ackerman is also hoping to earn a spot on the varsity bench.
“I think that by showing up and putting in lots of work, it will not only show my work ethic but improve my skills to become good enough to move up,” Ackerman said.
Not everyone was immediately noticed, however. Freshman Payette Walkington also made JV, but she remained there for the season, though there were some moments where JV practiced with varsity and Walkington was able to show the varsity coaches her skills.
During the rest of the school year, she’ll only be at the Monday open gyms because of beach volleyball, but once the summer arrives, she’ll be able to attend both days of open gyms since the times won’t interfere with each other, though the early mornings won’t be fun.
“I am excited, except for waking up early,” said Walkington.
Justesen wants to get extra practice for the rest of her club season and figure out what the coaches are looking for.
Ackerman is expecting to increase her skills with the extra practice, getting feedback so she knows what the school coaches are looking for in their players.
Walkington hopes to at least stay on JV this season, and with the open gyms, she hopes to strengthen her relationships she already has and create new ones with the girls coming up from middle school.
“I’m hoping for some extra bonding with the newcomers and to strengthen my relationships with the people I already know,” said Walkington.
With the start-up of open gyms, there is also a time commitment involved. An hour and a half after school is being committed to the open gyms, and there are warmups, cooldowns, packing up, travel time. With all of that combined, the addition of the open gyms can easily cut out two to two and a half hours of free time.
Even with that, these three don’t feel like their schedule will be too messed up, especially once the summer months hit.
Open gyms are a way for coaches to get a look at the girls trying out months before tryouts, and a way for the girls to get extra conditioning and coaching to get better before the next season comes around.
These 3 girls are hoping to get a head start on the school season and make an impression on the coaches before the season actually starts.
Pre-Season Practice
