Just keep at it. Don’t get disheartened if you mess up. The more practices you go to, the more years you play, the more you’re going to gain and the better you are going to get.”

Brooklyn Leithead

YODER – Southeast High School senior and Lady Cyclones volleyball player Brooklyn Leithead attacked the 2024 fall season with poise, confidence and talent.

Developing those traits took years of hard work, though, and Leithead’s first encounters with volleyball were not exactly smooth.

“I started playing volleyball my seventh-grade year,” Leithead said. “I don’t even remember knowing what volleyball was before that year. I went out for the sport and the (coaches) said, ‘Hey – do you want to play volleyball this year? You’re tall. You seem like you could be kind of athletic.’”

Leithead spent the first two or three years learning the basics  – “how you need to hold your hands for passing, how you need to stand for setting, the right footsteps for hitting.”

Leithead mastered the fundamentals of volleyball in a few years, although she felt the sport did not really click until well into high school.

“My ability to read the court and the knowledge of the game didn’t set in until tenth and eleventh grade,” Leithead said.

Fast-forward another year and volleyball is now Leithead’s favorite sport (the multisport athlete also excels on the basketball court and in the throwing ring).

“I feel like it’s a lot easier to have community with volleyball,” Leithead remarked. “I like the speed of the game. I just find volleyball really fun.”

The Wyoming Coaches Association recognized Leithead’s skill, tenacity and leadership on the volleyball court this fall and honored the senior as the 1A Southeast player of the year. Leithead also captured 1A all-state honors and 1A and SEWAC all-conference awards.

“It feels really good” to earn the recognition, Leithead noted. “I feel really proud of myself and I’m happy I got it.”

A five-set season

Leithead’s perseverance was inspired by upperclassmen on the volleyball team and her family.

“That work ethic really comes from watching the seniors before me and how much they were willing to work for it,” Leithead said. “My parents work really hard for everything they have and everything they do.”

Leithead’s endurance and grit came in handy over the course of an exciting and extraordinary season for the Lady Cyclones. Southeast went undefeated in conference play and snagged the regional title before securing third at state.

The Lady Cyclones’ success was far from easy, with many matches going into five sets during the regular and post seasons. At state, Southeast played a total of 18 sets over three days.

Time after time, the Lady Cyclones proved their ability to battle back in point-for-point matches to score the crucial points and win the winner-takes-all fifth sets.

The first test came at the home opener on September 7 when Southeast defeated Pine Bluffs in five sets, 3-2.

“We were learning how to be a team,” Leithead said of match. “Each individual player gained confidence in themselves and each other.”

On October 18, the Lady Cyclones beat Saratoga in five.

“We gelled together and showed our mentality,” Leithead said. “We gained the confidence to say, ‘We can play. We got this,’ as we went into later games.”

At regionals in Guernsey on November 2, the Lady Cyclones clinched the title after winning a five-set match against Upton.

“That was the game where everything kind of came together for me defensively in the back row and offensively on hitting,” Leithead said. 

Capturing the consolation title at state also involved a five-set victory over Upton.

“That was a good game, getting the reverse sweep,” Leithead added.

Practice and teamwork

Leithead played three positions for the Lady Cyclones – outside front, middle front and outside back.

On the front row, Leithead specialized in outside hitting and setting up blocks.

In the back, the senior focused on serve receiving and “making sure you are where you need to be on the court” to “anticipate and read where the hitter is going to go with the ball.”

Perfecting each role involved countless hours at practice and after practice while Leithead honed her skills and learned to properly read the court.

“It takes a lot of reps and learning slowly, step by step, what each situation will look like,” Leithead explained.

During practice, the Lady Cyclones prepared for five-set matches in live-action drills between varsity and junior varsity squads. In these simulations, the varsity team would find itself down by four or five points, forced to find a way out of its predicament.

“Those pressure situations helped us develop our mentality in practice so that we could put it into games.”

The Lady Cyclones developed bonds of trust and support between players – central factors in the team’s ability to dig deep throughout the season.

“Volleyball is a very intertwined sport and you need to have good relationships with your teammates,” Leithead said. “My team is basically my family. I wouldn’t be anywhere without my teammates. If I’m not getting a dig, our libero Taylor (Tregemba) would get the ball up so I could do something else. Or Keana (Llewellyn) would put up a good ball. We would remind each other, whenever things were dragging, that we trusted one another.”

Leithead stepped into a leadership role this fall as the “speaking captain” – tasked with the role of calling the coin flip before games or communicating with officials on the floor. 

Leithead also took younger players under her wing, encouraging underclassmen with kindness and the maxim: “You’re doing this really well, but could we try this instead.”

The senior also led by example.

“Being respectful, being kind and being energetic meant more than what you were saying,” Leithead added. “It was what you were showing to the younger girls that mattered.”

Leithead’s future plans are to be determined and playing volleyball at college is a possibility.

Leithead plans to pursue a career in sports psychology to help athletes overcome anxiety and overthinking to “become the best performer they can.”

Leithead expressed gratitude to her coaches – Monica Andersno, Emily Buchanan and Chelsea DeWitt – for their support and thanked her family – from cousins to grandparents – for showing up to each game.

“It’s great to have a support system,” Leithead said.

Leithead offered the following advice to young players:

“Just keep at it. Don’t get disheartened if you mess up. The more practices you go to, the more years you play, the more you’re going to gain and the better you are going to get.”