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10/11/2012 12:00 AMWe have all heard about the new fitness crazes almost daily on radio and television. The typical infomercial jargon talks about "The Rack," "P-90 X," and "Crossfit" to name a few. They seem to always target adults trying to get back into shape. For one Morgan athlete, though, she is doing it to better herself for her team.
For Morgan volleyball junior captain Sarah Dahlberg, she has already made her howl with the Huskies, entering her third year on the court while also hitting her stride on the softball field. In gaining the captain call heading into the fall, Sarah was determined to do whatever it took to help her to help her squad grow. Over the summer, Sarah took an "insane" challenge to ready herself for the fall and subsequent spring with softball, taking part in a total-body workout called "Insanity." It has certainly paid off for the captain and her teammates, who've won their first nine matches to open the 2012 season undefeated. Sarah admits that at first the "Insanity" went as advertised, but that it's paid massive dividends in the end.
"It honestly was crazy at first, yet after a while, I got used to it," says Sarah. "It did get me in better shape for both seasons. Most of the videos are an hour long and they target and strengthen the whole body."
The insanity has paid off for the junior leader, who has started the first three weeks of the season with 96 kills, hitting 49 percent of the time, with 15 digs and 11 aces. In keeping in tune with her attitude of being aggressive in her exercise routine to help contribute more to the Huskies, Sarah says the key to her team's success has just been that, being aggressive and ready for challenges. Maintaining with her hard-working demeanor, Sarah knows that it is a young squad she is leading, but also knows that's one of the great perks of being captain.
"Being captain is a good leadership role and I love helping the young freshman grow and learn," says Sarah, who plays on a Morgan team that has won 20-consecutive conference titles. "The team is great; we just practice and play our matches and give it all out there on the court. We just keep being aggressive out there. We just have to keep improving as much as possible."
Sarah's coach has noticed the time and effort the junior has put in during the offseason; he has also noticed the insane amount of payoff there has been with Sarah and her development through her three seasons as a Husky.
"Sarah has started for the past two seasons and is a junior captain this year," says Head Coach Joe Grippo. "She did the insanity workouts to improve her conditioning and it has helped. She is having a solid year and is leading a young team to a 9-0 start."
In also coming off of a season which Sarah hit .461 for a softball team that went 19-7, she credits both her coaches on the court and in the field as people who have helped push her to push herself to greater heights in workouts to help her teams gain an edge. She also knows that as she progresses in school and in life, it is not only about working yourself, but also working with others around you to produce success.
"I have learned that life is about learning responsibility," says Sarah, who credits Grippo and Huskies' softball Head Coach Sal Fiorillo for her success. "It is also learning about how to work with other people and personalities."