VINEMONT, Ala. – Fall sports have returned in Cullman County and across the state and that means it’s the start of a busy year for Vinemont senior Faith Rusk. Rusk plays basketball, volleyball and softball for the Lady Eagles and she’s looking forward to her final seasons with all three of her teams. Up first for Faith is volleyball and she’s excited to see what this year’s experienced Lady Eagles squad can do.
“This year, personally and as a team, we have said that team bonding and communication is our main focus,” Rusk said. “The team is coming back much older and with much more experience. Last year, we were pretty young and only had one senior. This year is much different as we have three seniors and multiple juniors that make up our team. Our experience on the court in general and playing together as a team will definitely help us as we make our way towards regionals.”
Faith has played for head coach Lance Lay for her whole volleyball career and has soaked up so much from him so far.
“Coach Lance Lay is way more than a coach to all of us. He cares about us as a person and not just a player. This season, he has explained to us seniors how important it is for us to be leaders on and off the court, because whether we know it or not, our team looks up to us,” Rusk said. “He also stressed to the team that team chemistry is very important because we need more than skill to make it far in our season. We all have skill and potentially individually, but we can’t win games by ourselves. We need all five of our teammates backing us up in a game and our other teammates cheering us on from the side. That has helped me become a better player and teammate and I thank coach Lay for that and the many other things he’s taught me these past seasons.”
Faith feels blessed to play on a special team and has worked to become a strong leader to the younger girls as well.
“This team is special to watch because there’s so much potential and there’s so much love for the game. Our team really leaves everything on the court every single game and I just think that’s so much fun to watch as a leader and as a player,” Rusk said. “It’s an honor to be a leader on this team because there are so many girls that look up to me and the other seniors on the team. It’s just so fun getting to be around them and learning from them and hoping they can learn something from me. I have taught them that there is a time and a place to have fun during volleyball, but when game time comes, everyone needs to be focused. I try to always lighten the mood and have fun with all of my teammates because it just makes volleyball even more fun.”
Faith’s teammates have been checking on her during her recovery after her shoulder surgery and will try their best to win some games for her until she comes back.
“I’m glad that I at least get to watch my team from the side. I am sure that my team will be motivated to win for me because they have been super supportive and consistent with checking up on me throughout my recovery,” Rusk said. “Our team goals are to communicate better as a team and hopefully make it all the way to regionals and win as much as we can there. We want a winning season to show that Vinemont is a competitive program and that people need to watch out for us.”
Last season in basketball was a big step in the right direction for the Lady Eagles. Vinemont put double digits in the win column and Faith loved to see how much they grew as a team.
“Last season was so much fun and we grew so much as a team and this year, we are much more experienced, and we have a great team bond that is going to take us even further in the postseason. We are so close, and we had so much fun playing last year. It was honestly just amazing to watch the younger girls on the team play so well against the much older opposing teams and I just feel honored to be able to watch and play with them as they grow because they are going to be great players when they become upperclassmen. They are definitely a group to watch out for in the upcoming years,” Rusk said.
Faith learned a lot from last season and has tried to continue learning as much as she can from coaches James Brown and Emme Willoughby.
“We really learned that you can’t judge a book by its cover because there were so many teams that were bigger and older than us that we beat. There were also teams that beat us during the regular season that we came back and beat during area, like Danville. We all learned from that experience, and we all have so much confidence going into each and every game now because anything can happen once that clock starts. Coach Brown and coach Willoughby are some of the best coaches that I’ve ever had in basketball. They really know the game and they know how to teach it really well. I feel like I’ve learned more than I’ve ever learned before from them and the rest of the team agrees. They make the season fun and they’re always cutting up with us, but they’re also very serious and they make us stay on task. Honestly, I don’t think that Vinemont could find better coaches for basketball, and I think that they can take the Vinemont basketball program very far.”
Faith has taught the younger girls so much as a leader, but the younger players have actually taught her a lot of things as well.
“It has been great being a leader to these younger girls. When I was their age, I really didn’t have any older players to look up to and I really want that for them,” she said. “I wish I could say that I’ve taught them a lot, but honestly, they have taught me a lot and I would love to thank them for that because they’ve made me a better basketball player. I’ve taught them to be a leader on and off the court and that they should always be there for each other even when we’re losing or when they are on the sidelines. I have learned that it doesn’t matter what people say about you or how small or how old you are, you can do whatever you want to do as long as you put the work in. All of the younger girls have shown me that because people have said that they can’t do it and that they don’t need to be on varsity, but they proved their point and now, everyone loves to come and watch them play and win games.”
The team has been working on a lot during the summer and Faith talked about the goals she has in mind for this upcoming year.
“We have been working on how to run plays better and learning how to adjust to other defenses as well as learning how to compete with people larger than us. Some of our goals are to make it past area and farther in regionals than we did this past year, and we all think that we can do it,” she said.
Vinemont had a very young softball team last season and went through some growing pains, but they also gained a lot of experience that will be returning in 2023.
“Last year, we learned that anything can be thrown at us and at any point, we can lose a player or gain a player and we just have to learn to adjust to that. We also need a stronger team bond. We all need to learn how to bond as a team better and hopefully, this year will be a lot better,” she said. “There is not much experience coming back this season. We lost a lot of valuable players last season, but this year, even with a younger team, we can rise above the challenges and win a bunch of games. We don’t have a lot of experience playing together, but we have a lot of softball experience combined because a lot of the new girls play travel ball and have played softball all the way up until now, so we’re hoping that factors into a winning season.”
Faith feels lucky to have played for some great coaches during her softball career at Vinemont.
“Coaches Whisenant, Davis, and Christansen are some of the most caring coaches I have ever had. They really do care about each and every one of us. They have taught me so much about my own strengths and how to use them,” she said. “It is great to be a leader to the younger softball players and I love being on the team with them because they are always so much fun to be around. I taught them to put their health first. I hope that they have learned from my injury and that they will always put their health first.”
Faith can’t wait to get back on the softball field with her team and has set some goals for herself and the team for 2023.
“Coming back from an injury is going to make this season even more special for me. I’ve been playing softball every season since I was five years old, and I have been pitching since I was seven. I couldn’t imagine my senior year without either one of those things. I’m so excited for the season and I can’t wait to be back on the field 100% healthy,” she said. “My individual goals for this season are getting my pitching back to where it was before the injury, focusing on raising my speed as well as keeping my consistency, and maybe trying to fine-tune my rise ball. The team goals for this season are to make it past area. We have some hard competition coming up, but we hung in close with them last season and we’re coming back for revenge this time. We want to put Vinemont back on other teams’ radars and show them that we can compete with them.”
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