How much does Parker Hogan love volleyball?
Well, words probably won’t describe. Scars, however …
In particular there’s the one under the Warner Robins High student athlete’s chin where she once ran into the bleachers while chasing a ball and wound up getting stitches – not to mention whiplash for a few days.
The good news, she joked, was it paid off. The Demonettes were able to win the point. Even better, she added, it enabled them to finish second in the tournament.
That success has continued to date for the senior captain. In fact, she has been one of the key players singled out by Head Coach Cassie Bennett in enabling Warner Robins to compile a 10-1 record coming out of this weekend’s action (a play date at Houston County included). As such, Hogan, who currently, according to MaxPreps has 114 assists, 33 aces, 70 digs and 21 kills, has been named the Academy Sports+Outdoors Athlete of the Week (volleyball).
Hogan, who is the daughter of Pam and Audie Hogan, has been a member of the varsity squad all four years. She has also been named to the All-Area First Team, academically has a 4.0 GPA and has been awarded a scholarship to play volleyball for Piedmont College.
The most satisfying thing to her about volleyball – specifically thinking of herself in the heat of the battle – is when the libero gets a great dig and the setter sets the middle a quick set and the middle hitter “slams” it down the 10-foot line. “Yeah, that’s the best feeling in the world,” she said.
Volleyball is also unique, she said, in that it has the most number of players in the smallest area out of every sport.
“Sometimes it feels like we could use one more player though,” she said, “because the court doesn’t really feel that small when you’re out there playing.”
There is also the challenge of staying mentally tough, she said. “Volleyball isn’t all about how good you are physically, but it’s more about how good you are mentally.
“Whenever mistakes are made, I have to tell myself to let it go and move onto the next point. If I keep looking back on the mistake, more will be made and those add up.
“I wouldn’t want to let my team down because I couldn’t let go of one point. It’s all about handling the next one, ya know?”
Hogan said her parents are the biggest “fans” in her life. That stems, she said, from them taking her to practice two hours away to coming to every one of her games. “My parents have always been my biggest supporters on and off the court,” she said. “I could not have come this far today without them always being there for me.”
The best player Hogan said she has ever played with is Chase Cross. He, she said, knows every aspect of the game and is a smart, hard player.
“Not only does he make playing the game so much fun,” she said, “but he also pushes me to be a better player every time I step out on the court.
“Through my experiences practicing with him, I have become a better person and player. He changed my attitude and perspective of the game tremendously and I would not be the player or person I am today without his help.”
If – a big “if” – Hogan weren’t playing volleyball, she said it would be soccer. For several reasons. One, she said she loved the bond the girls have with each other. Two, how good they work as a team and three and four, “It’s so much fun and keeps you in great shape, which is a huge plus.”
As far as one of the biggest hero’s in her life, that would be God. “I never realized how much I could accomplish once I started seeing my life through Him,” she said. “From simply being someone I can talk to, to picking me up during the worst times, God has been and will always be there for me.”
So what’s the one question she would ask God? That would be: “What the future holds for me.”
Not that she’s concerned: “I would ask that question simply because I want to know if everything is going to be all right … And with God, it ultimately will be, because He made me in His image.”
Minus the stitches it goes without saying … but then again, He does get credit for giving her the tenacity/competitiveness to go after it to start with.
