PARIS- Regardless of sport, senior leadership is extremely important to every team. And in 2023, senior leadership will again be very important to a young Paris Lady Eagles volleyball team.
Paris senior Carsyn Johnson will be one of a handful of seniors on a roster that includes a lot of young talent that received playing time last season. Johnson is a setter and defensive specialist that rotated into games with fellow senior Abbi Walker. The two senior setters will bring valuable experience to a fairly young front line of Paris hitters.
Paris fans who have watched Carsyn play over the past few years can’t help but to notice the improvement in her development as a player who is now playing with greater confidence. After watching this outstanding player perform over the past two years, and, after having the opportunity to visit with her for this story, the growth in her confidence is evident, and I expect that to pay great dividends for both her and the Lady Eagles this fall.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit with her parents at the Benton summer volleyball camp. I asked them if they would mind if I interviewed Carsyn for this story, and they graciously accepted. So, last week, I had the opportunity to interview Carsyn over the phone and to record her comments.
When the interview took place, the team had just returned from having played in another summer camp that was held in Greenbrier. Coach Josh Hart had given the team the day off, and Carsyn and I visited that afternoon.
On the day of the interview, the Lady Eagles’ season was just three weeks away. As Carsyn is about to enter her senior year of high school and as a Lady Eagles volleyball player, I asked her what this year meant to her. She began by saying, “This year I feel like I’m going to need to be more open about things (on the team). I just need to find the best way to talk to each person on the team and how to play with them. It will make things easier for me to help them and to encourage them to do their best.” In speaking further of her upcoming senior year, she continued to say, “Now that it is here, it feels like it kind of went by fast. But, before this year, it went a little bit slow.”
Carsyn has played volleyball since the sixth grade. She has played on the varsity team for the past two years. As a setter and a defensive specialist, it has required her to develop both her physical and mental skills. “You are always thinking about what you are doing (on the court). So, you kind of have to think about it pretty fast.” Setters are making split-second decisions on where and who to set the ball to on the front line. A lot of pressure that must be handled for the success of the team. “For me, it is something that I have really had to work at. I’m still kind of working on it because I hear them (front line hitters) calling for the ball I am hearing several different people saying something and you are trying to pick which one will take care of the ball the best.” To expand on this, I asked her if her decision on who to set the ball to was predicated on the defense or who was open on the front line. Carsyn replied, “It just kind of depends on where that ball is at. Because if it is at a place…there are places you don’t want to go with it…but sometimes you only have limited options (on who to set to). Sometimes you get a pass where there is really nothing that can be done, and you just have to send it over (hit it across the net). But other times, if the other team has holes in their defense, you can use that to your advantage.”
And as we have discussed over the years, the Paris volleyball program history is one of success in both regular season and in the postseason. In this interview, I asked Carsyn the same question that I have asked other players, and that is do you feel pressure as a senior to lead this team back to a serious playoff run in the state playoffs? Carsyn responded by saying, “Yeah, I guess I would say that I definitely feel some pressure. Because I know that when I was one of the younger players, I looked up to the older players to help us get there (to the state playoffs). And you know, it not like the pressure is just on one person. I feel like everybody on the court can feel it and they know what we are trying to do because we always want the same thing.”
So, with just a few weeks remaining before the Eagles go to Russellville to open the season, I asked Carsyn where she thought the team was with respect to their readiness to open the season. Carsyn assessed her team’s state of preparation as, “I think right now we are in a pretty good place and our team chemistry is getting better because we are all just trying to help each other out and to be the best players that we can be. Recently, we have had our older front row players helping our younger ones by just giving them advice and encouragement by just trying to help them out in any way possible.” To expand on this point, I asked Carsyn if she was seeing certain players stepping up to assume leadership roles on the team. She continued to say, “I know I am trying to because if I can show them (the players and coaches) that I have the confidence that we can do it, then they’re going to catch on to that and we will all have the confidence. And I know there are several younger players that are also trying to assume leadership and that means that next year they will have leaders that can help them (the 2024 Lady Eagles).”
As our interview progressed, I asked Carsyn just how far she thought this year’s edition of Paris volleyball could go this season. Carsyn said, “I think that if everyone puts in the work and they show that they really want it, then we can go pretty far (in the playoffs).”
Regarding the rest of the 3A West conference, the Lady Eagles’ opponents may be thinking this is the year to defeat Paris after the loss of experienced players from a year ago. But when I posed this question to Carsyn, she responded by saying, “Just having support from our fans means a lot. Like yesterday, we were cheering on our JV team, and I think that had a very big impact with them and the way they played.” Paris will need their fans to both show up big at home and on the road to cheer this young team on, especially in the early weeks of the season. Paris will open with four game is nine days with three of them on the road, including top-rated Hackett in the 3A West. By Labor Day, Paris will have played three road games and will have played one conference game at home against Charleston and one on the road at Hackett…all before September 1.
Although I expect this team to show some “growing pains” early, I also expect them to improve each week. In fact, Paris could be a dangerous team for opponents to face late in the season. By district tournament time, the Lady Eagles could be a serious contender for a top tier seed in the following state tournament.
For Carsyn Johnson, the large numbers of Paris fans give her confidence with each game. “I feel like if they thought we could do it (win games) they wouldn’t be there.” On the road, sometimes things can go against you in a game that is very much a matter of momentum swings in every set. I asked her what she will say to her teammates on the road when things are not going well, and the Lady Eagles have to regain the momentum. She said, “I think I would just try to encourage them and tell them that they know how to play volleyball (the opponent) and we know how to play volleyball and when we play our volleyball it’s just a lot of fun and we all just kind of connect there. It’s a matter of knowing that we can play, and we have to play our volleyball and not worry so much about what they (the opponent) are doing.”
Over the past few years, one of Carsyn’s favorite moments was the 2021 state semifinals match against Little Rock Episcopal at Paris Gymnasium. Paris won a hard-fought match that day against a determined Lady Wildcats team. Carsyn said, “We had the whole school in our student section that day. That showed us a lot of support. And it was just a fun game to win.”
And Paris needed all of that support that day in defeating Episcopal. The win advanced Paris to the state final in Hot Springs against Hackett, and the Lady Eagles would go on to the state title with a three-set win in the state championship finals over the Lady Hornets.
Individually, Carsyn’s goals include growing her confidence in herself and in her leadership role as a senior. “Going into this year, I feel like my main goal is to gain more confidence in myself. Because I have never really been one to have much confidence and to “step outside the box.” And I think that is something I need to do this year; not just for me, but for the rest of the team. If I have confidence, then they can see that and start to have confidence in themselves. It will help a lot of our younger players too.”
What a great statement on Carsyn’s part! To tell her readers that she wants to improve her self-confidence for not only herself but also for her team is a big sign of maturity and development as a senior that will be a big boost for this year’s Lady Eagles.
From this writer’s standpoint, Carsyn has made it to the mature and confident person and leader she wants to be. Her story, along with other inspiring stories from players on this team, are just a few reasons why I believe this team could be fun to watch this season. They deserve our support and attendance all season. In fact, should the team struggle the first two weeks of the season, we need to continue to show our support. The team will improve as the season progresses, and I believe they are going to surprise some opponents late in the season.
RNN Sports would like to thank Carsyn Johnson and her family for consenting to the interview for this story. We wish her and all of the Lady Eagles the very best this upcoming season!
Watch for our coverage of the Lady Eagles’ alumni volleyball game on August 17 on RNN Sports’ online platform at residentnewsnetwork.com
Good luck to Carsyn Johnson and the Paris Lady Eagles!
