Playing up, Seeley Lake eighth grade volleyball players take their chance to grow

Audrey Stevenson groaned as the volleyball she served hit the net instead of sailing over like it was supposed to. Assistant Coach Shawn Evans told her to keep her arm up, and she walked around the court to get back in line and try again.

At a practice in October, many Lady Blackhawks brought up how much serving technique improves when players get on the high school team. And Stevenson, along with fellow eighth grader Kieu Snow, has an extra year to practice. Both young women are playing up this year, meaning instead of finishing their last year on a grade school team, they're the youngest on the Seeley-Swan High School junior varsity volleyball team.

Eighth graders across the state have had this option since 2022 when the Montana High School Association - the body that governs policies for high school sports - adopted new rules letting individual school districts decide what they would allow, but this is the first time Seeley athletes have taken the opportunity. The caveat is football. Athletes have to be in the ninth grade to play high school football.

Per the MHSA policy, eighth graders choosing to play up in one sport cannot play at their actual grade level at the same time in the same sport. They can choose to drop back down, but once that decision is made they cannot level back up.

Since Seeley-Swan High School and Seeley Lake Elementary School are two different school districts, each had to okay letting eighth graders play up. In September, the elementary school board approved allowing eighth graders to play at the high school level (except for football) but its official policy is still being developed. Seeley-Swan High School got the okay from the Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent, but an official policy from the MCPS board is still in the works.

Seeley Lake Elementary School Board Chair Doc Welter said the policy helps keep things equitable. If one person can opt up to high school sports, then all should be allowed.

Incorporating eighth graders into high school teams can be a big benefit for rural schools, which often struggle to fill team rosters. Volleyball Coach Janelle Greenwood said without Stevenson and Snow this year, having a JV team would have been questionable.

Greenwood, who started coaching volleyball in Seeley Lake in 2021, doesn't see a lot of downsides to opening up her team to eighth graders. It lets the younger students play against better competition and provides a buffer in case the older teammates are injured or sick. If a team doesn't have enough players to play, a game has to be forfeit.

There was some concern when talk first began of eighth graders playing up of favoritism, but in a letter to the elementary school board, Greenwood emphasized she had given out the same information to all that asked, "And was ecstatic to have a couple willing to take the step up out of their comfort zone and play up," she wrote.

Greenwood said MHSA set a rule that if high school teams have enough players to fill JV and varsity teams, then eighth graders shouldn't opt up, but there isn't a number set for that distinction. Personally, Greenwood said, she'd take eighth graders that wanted to play up anytime.

Stevenson attends school in Ovando but has been playing volleyball in Seeley since the fifth grade. Her dad, Bryce, asked Greenwood if there were any summer camps his daughter could attend to keep working on her skills. Greenwood said no, but offered the option to play with the high school girls.

Bryce said his daughter was nervous at first, but even from the beginning of the school year until now, he can see the improvement.

"It's already brought a lot of benefit to her volleyball game," Bryce said.

Reflecting on her decision, Steveson said if she had stayed on her grade school team she'd have to be the example. Now, with a plethora of older and more experienced teammates, she's able to get more out of her volleyball career. This came into starker clarity as she watched a grade school volleyball game recently.

"I was just sitting there thinking, like, that could have been me, and here I am growing," Stevenson said.

Snow highlighted the benefits of being pushed and getting direct feedback from Greenwood on form. "You just get better practice in, and it helps you learn how to stop doing bad habits that you learned in grade school," she said.

"These two have really risen to the challenge," Greenwood said, adding a spectator wouldn't know Stevenson and Snow were a year younger watching them play with the rest of the team.

Team captains Rilyn Richardson and Aubrey Matthew, both seniors in high school, agree.

Matthew said having the younger girls around reminds her of being a freshman and looking up to the seniors. They inspired her and helped her improve, and she hopes to do the same for Stevenson and Snow in the remainder of the season. The eighth graders know they're at the bottom, Matthew said, but their motivation to work hard has been inspiring the whole team to put in the work.

"They're brave to give it a shot," Matthew said.