1 Prologue

Winners are not people who fail, but people who never quit.

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"Get lower Izzy! If you want to get to the ball quicker then you have to be low!" Izzy's coach yelled a her for the third time.

Twelve year old Isabella Hooker has always struggled with passing when it came to volleyball. But when it came to hitting and blocking, she was a natural. When her team

She was currently at her private practice with her coach, Becca. They've been working on her passing since that's what Izzy chose to do today, however, she's been slowly starting to regret it as time went on.

Izzy rolled her eyes and got lower, as she got ready for her coach to slap the ball. There were tiny beads of sweat forming on her forehead, threatening to fall down her face. The gym was silent and the only thing you could hear, were the sounds of Izzy trying to catch her breath. She stood on her toes and once she heard the slap, she watched her coach toss the ball far to her left.

She grunted, sprinted, and dove towards the ball. Barely touching it, Izzy quickly got up and got ready for the next ball. She squatted low, and waited for the next slap echo across the gym. They did this eight more times before they finally moved on to hitting and blocking; Izzy's favorite part.

Becca grabbed the box from the side, while Izzy shagged the rest of the balls that were scattered around the gym.

"Alright, right now, we're going to be working on your hitting technique." Becca said automatically making Izzy frown. She always thought she had a good hitting technique. Becca noticed her reaction, "Nothing is wrong with your technique, we just have to make it better than it already is." Becca reassured Izzy.

She nodded and stood on the box, and listened to Becca explain the drill. Basically, Izzy has to hit fifteen balls in left back and right back. She then has to tip 10 balls to the left and right corners. Izzy nodded her hand letting Becca know that she understood.

Becca then grabbed the ball and slapped it, letting Izzy know to get ready. She tossed the ball a little bit in front of Izzy's and Izzy lifted both of her arms and hit the ball towards the right back, but it went out of bounds.

"Okay, nice hit... But, you need to snap your wrist in the process so the ball won't go out." Izzy nodded and waited for the next ball to come.

She squatted low and waited for the ball to reach its peak. This time once the ball came, Izzy aimed for the left back since that was her harder side to hit. The ball went out again, which made Izzy groan in frustration.

"Don't get frustrated Iz, it just takes muscle memory. Once you keep practicing you'll get better." Becca told her. Izzy just nodded and continued with the drills that her coach gave her the rest of the practice.

She ended practice on a good note since she was able to correct her previous mistakes in her hitting, plus she could feel herself getting better at her passing as well. She knew after her next couple of practices, everything would feel like muscle memory by her next club tournament.

*

Izzy made it home just in time for her sister's game. They were only in the first match and the score was 5-0. Destinee's team was winning. Destiny Hooker is Izzy's older sister who plays for the University of Texas. She's quite known in the volleyball world because of how good she is, and she'll be on her way to the Olympics within the next year.

Of course Izzy could brag about Destiny, but not many people knows she has a sister. Both sisters like to keep their lives private because they don't like the attention; except when it pertains to volleyball. Izzy also doesn't want people to think that she's only good because she's Destiny Hooker's sister; she wants to work hard to get where she wants to be. Her dream is the go to the Olympics just like her sister, and she's not going to stop training until she does.