Building A Culture, Together.
October 09, 2024 | Volleyball, Counseling & Sport Psychology
STARKVILLE – Last spring, Mississippi State volleyball found itself in a new, interesting situation. The situation, you might ask? The team only consisted of eight players. However, that gave the team time to begin building something special.Â
"There were only eight of us left in the spring, and we knew we had to get something going," sophomore libero Mary Neal said. "We really wanted to be a strong group of eight and wanted to establish a culture for anyone entering to buy into."Â
Neal was right, with only eight players, it allowed a small team to establish a culture. How was that done? An idea between the team and Assistant Director of Counseling and Sport Psychology, Dr. Allison Rogers, sparked a change.Â
"Every week we would go on a 1-on-1 date with one of our teammates. By the end of the spring, we would have gone with every person on the team. You were able to learn more about the person, not just about their volleyball skills."Â
With the culture established, the next step was getting others to buy in. For graduate transfer Kailin Newsome, that new culture built by the established team and Dr. Rogers drew her to Starkville.Â
"What CSP has done here is a huge part of why I decided to transfer to Mississippi State," Newsome said. "Coming from a smaller university, I didn't necessarily have the same resources as we have here. I feel listened to."Â
With 10 incoming players to an 18-team roster, you might think that keeping that culture might be more difficult than one would think. However, there were no issues here.Â
"We use the word family a lot, but I think we've truly built a family-type culture," Neal said. "Everyone joining in the summer saw how much we leaned on each other. They were able to buy in because they saw how much we trusted each other and what the culture was like. The culture has grown tremendously, everyone is bought in."Â
Now, in the beginning of October, the culture of this MSU volleyball team is stronger than ever. A huge part of that is the continued work of Mississippi State's CSP department and Dr. Allison Rogers.Â
"We continue to have CSP team talks off the court," Neal said. "When we talk off the court, we're in a low-pressure situation and we can truly talk about how we each feel. We know as a team we can go to Allison with anything."Â
"Allison is one of those people who I'm not afraid to talk to or tell how I feel. Talking to her as a team makes us a lot closer," Newsome said. "We get to have open conversations with our teammates. It helps us identify what we can do to for our teammates."Â
From starting the work as a team of eight, to continuing that work as a team of 18, the culture for this Mississippi State volleyball squad has been solidified for years to come. Â Â
