De Soto High School’s volleyball program implifies a positive team atmosphere and support that is crucial to the growth of the team. 

Freshman Erin Barr has played volleyball for six years previous to joining the DHS team. She has previously played for local club known as Southwind.

“I started my first three to four years playing recreational volleyball and eventually moved up to play for a club team,” Barr said.

Barr is one of two freshmen that made the varsity team for the 2019 fall season.

“The hardest thing is getting used to everyone. All of the girls have been playing together for a while now and moving in, especially as a freshman, is difficult,” Barr said. 

Junior Brooke Stonestreet, a teammate to Barr, admires how driven Barr is on and off the court.

“This team is very young and with Erin being a first-time varsity player, she has been very confident in herself and has a very positive attitude,” Stonestreet said. “Her attitude and drive to want to get better makes Erin an awesome teammate to play with.”

Barr has an uplifting attitude and a mindset that she uses to strategize during practice and games.

“I play like each point is the last. Using this helps me get over a bad play and pushes me to move on,” Barr said.

Similar to Barr, Stonestreet made the varsity team her freshman year and sees Barr’s potential to be a great addition to the team.

“Seeing Erin get the opportunity to play as a freshman is very uncommon. Coach Hothan saw potential in her, and she definitely has lived up to it. It is awesome to see such young talent play at the varsity level,” Stonestreet said.

Barr has set personal goals for herself to succeed throughout her first year playing volleyball for DHS.

  “My goals for this season are to obviously do the best I can, and for us all to have fun and shred some teams,” said Barr.