Mike Vukovcan While size is often a huge factor in sports, it’s not always the determining factor in the success of a team or of an individual player.
More often than not, it’s not the size of player but the size of their heart and willingness to compete.
To borrow a quote from Mark Twain, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
All of that perfectly describes Hopewell Vikings 8th grade athlete Ava Ray.
Anyone that knows Ava, whose nickname is ‘Peanut’, knows that she isn’t physically the biggest athlete but when it comes to her heart, scrappiness and compete level, she’s one of the biggest athletes on the court.
Hopewell’s Ava Ray
Ray is a three-sport athlete at Hopewell, competing on the volleyball court, basketball court and this season, she’ll be competing in Track and Field for the first time.
Vikings Sports Now had the pleasure of speaking with Ray about her Vikings athletic career, as she talked to us about each of these sports.
The first thing I talked to Ava about is the thing that I notice every time I watch her play and that’s her energy level. She told me that she got that mindset from her dad, Ryan, who’s always told her that she’s always going to play with high energy and will have to work and compete harder than the players she’s going up against.
Hopewell’s Ava Ray
“In both basketball and volleyball, I’d say that my quickness on the court is my biggest individual strength,” Ray tells Vikings Sports Now. “People have always asked me, how do I always have so much energy (laughing), I don’t know but I do.
That quickness and energy is always on display on the basketball court as Ray has been the starting point guard for the Vikings Junior High Basketball team for the last couple of seasons.
Ray is your prototypical point guard, in that she is a tremendous defender, handler of the basketball and her court vision allows her to get the ball to her teammates. While those are definite strong points, Ray points to something else that isn’t kept tracked of in the scorebook.
Hopewell’s Ava Ray
“I also think that I’m a good leader and someone that likes to help out my teammates,” said Ray. “If they’re not doing something right or struggling with something, I like to try and talk to them and help them. I’m someone that’s not afraid to speak up.”
The fact that Ray has named captain of the volleyball team for the last two years is an example of her leadership skills.
While I brought up her defense and passing as her strong points on the basketball court, Ray pointed something else out and it’s something that she’s worked very hard on to improve.
“I think my shooting ability is a strong part of my game but as the point guard, I try and do a combination of both passing to my teammates but also shooting the ball. I really like shooting, but I also want to make sure that my teammates get it so that they can shoot too so it’s not just me shooting.”
“I’d rather shoot the ball from the outside than around the basket because it’s hard for me to get around the rim because of my height,” said Ray. “When I’m around the rim, I get blocked a lot (laughing).”
Once of the reasons Ray enjoys shooting from the outside is because of how much she’s improved in that area. The reason for her getting better isn’t by magic or accident, Ray has put in a ton of time practicing in her backyard as well as at the Reign3D Training Academy in Beaver Falls.
“When I’m at Reign3D, I probably take about 100 3-point shots and when I’m in my backyard, I shot 50+ shots.”
We ended our conversation about basketball with Ray telling me that she’s excited for taking her skills to the high school team next season. Despite being a starter the last couple of years, she knows that she’s going to have to prove herself again to the high school staff but she’s looking forward to trying to earn playing time.
Ray will get a chance to improve her basketball skills over the upcoming months as she received an invitation to join the Reign3D AAU Basketball team. Congratulations on that Ava because that’s an impressive accomplishment.
When talking about volleyball, this is a sport that Ava only started playing two years ago but she’s picked it up well.
“I started playing because of my friend, Sydney Malackanich. I would go to her games and watched her play, and it looked fun. I was surprised at how quick I picked up the sport because honestly, I didn’t think that I would be good at it. But I’ve done Ok at it.”
Ray tells me the biggest difference between the two sports and hardest thing for her is in basketball, she’s able to run up and down the court but in volleyball, she has to stay in your position. When you’re the Energizer Bunny, it’s difficult not to be moving all around!
Hopewell’s Ava Ray
Moving around is something that Ray will be able to do in the latest sport that she’s giving a try and that’s Track and Field. After watching her brother, Bryce, excel in the long jump for the Vikings HS Track and Field Team, she wants to give it a try. Like Bryce, she plans on competing in the long jump as well as run the 100M.
Practice for Track and Field will begin for Ray, once her volleyball season ends this Wednesday.
When asked which of these sports she likes the best, Ray couldn’t name one and said she likes them all.
The future of Girl’s Athletics in the Hopewell School District is very strong for the upcoming years and Ray is someone that will be fun to follow!
