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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, September 7-10, 2019 B-3 The Park Record Culture change in full effect 801-953-3107 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Park City volleyball coach Matt Carlson speaks with his team prior to a preseason practice this fall. Carlson, or one of his assistant coaches, begins each practice with a lesson or story to help inspire and prepare the girls for volleyball and life after. Led by seniors, Miners volleyball ready for 5A jump RYAN KOSTECKA The Park Record When Matt Carlson took over as coach of the Park City High School volleyball program five years ago, he knew immediately that a culture change was needed. So with the help of his staff, together they went about changing the way Park City volleyball was perceived. “Culture is either by design or by default but for us, we knew the vision of Park City volleyball was to have really strong character-based athletes who were model citizens on and off the court,” Carlson said. “We wanted Park City to become a staple of what a good student athlete should be. … And over the years I really believe we’ve been able to do that and it’s part of what’s led us to be successful.” Successful is an understatement for the Miners. Park City won the Class 4A state championship two years ago before losing in the state title game last season to Sky View in a rematch. Last season, the Miners had two girls go to a Division I college on athletic scholarships: 6-foot-2 outside hitter Grace Wiczek to Dartmouth and 5-foot-9 setter/defensive specialist Emily Smith to the University of Utah. “The semifinal match was an epic five-setter that was everything you’d ask for in drama and a win,” Carlson said. “But an hour later we had to turn it around for the finals match. … No excuses at all because we lost, but our girls were pooped and just emotionally spent. Our two stars were both gassed but gave it everything they had.” After graduating nine seniors from last year’s squad, Park City will be relatively young for the upcoming season with only four seniors leading the way. But according to Carlson, the senior leadership year in and year out is what sets the Miners apart. “What makes Park City unique compared to other programs is we may not have the most physical or talented athletes, but what we are is we have this incredible senior leadership every year,” Carlson said. “We have this culture where kids just get better and work harder. It just perpetuates itself into this kind of juggernaut where we are able to compete with the top teams in the state.” Despite his team’s youth, Carlson believes this squad is deeper and overall more talented than the Miners have been in the past. Rather than relying on just two players, Carlson said he has four or five girls who can break out and be reliable contributors. Park City will likely need that depth considering its jumping up to Class 5A, a more competitive division where a multitude of teams are capable of winning the state title. “5A is unique because it’s a little more deep, but we feel confident that we still know the competition inside and out,” Carlson said. “I think personally there’s about eight or nine teams that can beat each other Please see Senior, B-4 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Members of the Park City volleyball team warmup with a game of “pepper” prior to a preseason practice. The Miners have their first home game of the season on Thursday against Spanish Fork. Get the top local news stories delivered directly to your inbox with a new weekly email update from the Park Record! Sign up now at bit.ly/prrecordroundup |