Tigers Ace in the Classroom and on the Court

By: Lauren Green

10/3/21

A silent room fills with whispers, pages flipping in textbooks, and the clacking of keyboards.

High schoolers quizzing each other on test questions and helping each other on homework sounds like an ordinary school environment, but rather than a classroom, these students are in a locker room and are athletes on one of the top-ranked volleyball teams in Arizona.

No. 14 Gilbert isn’t just striving for goals of a state championship this year, but for academic endeavors as well. A couple of seniors are attempting to win the AIA Scholar Athlete award with their noteworthy grades.

Senior outside hitter Cameron Arnett, and one of the top students on the team, knows the strength and academic potential of herself and her teammates this year.

“This year, especially, we have a lot of people that we know who work really hard academically as well as on the court,” Arnett said. “And we looked at people on the team, and they do well academically, so we thought, well, let’s go for it this year.”

Senior defensive specialist Brooke Hesse leads the academic charge for her team. Hesse is currently second in her graduating class maintaining a 4.75 GPA with the potential of becoming valedictorian.

Next to Hesse, is Arnett who’s sitting sixth in her class, and senior setter Sutton Dana; two notable seniors who’re making their academic mark for the Tigers.

The academic successes of these seniors can be seen as an influence throughout the entire team.

No volleyball player for the Tigers is below a 4.15 GPA with seven players recording a GPA no lower than 4.5. This culture of academia did not come out of thin air — it existed when Hesse, Dana, and Arnett entered their freshman year at Gilbert.

This trio of seniors and other teammates also played in junior high together and came into high school with similar outlooks of life and goals they wanted to achieve.

“We did come into a program full of other academically advanced people,” Hesse said. “So I think that we had influence ahead of us and we just were hoping to do the same to those that were coming after us.”

The seniors wanted to continue this culture with the underclassman with not only their example in the classroom but with their guidance too.

“From the beginning, we start holding them to a standard,” Dana said. “It’s not like you have to do this but it’s like, this is what you’re aiming for, this is what we need as a program is for you to perform like this.”

Within Gilbert’s volleyball program, you can see the accountability that the team shares with each other.

This intensive culture is not achievable without a support system. Family, a familiar theme for Gilbert volleyball, is one of the main influences that aid their success.

Hesse’s parents are both teachers too — an external factor that influences Hesse academically at home. Her father, Joe Hesse, is also the head coach of the team.

Dana’s older sister’s academic achievements compel her to succeed academically, and Arnett’s younger siblings are both Tigers on the JV and freshman teams.

“I think just having sisters throughout the program, and I know a bunch of the seniors also have sisters in the program, it’s really helped to communicate to the younger class,” Arnett said.

Not only does this contagious culture continue to grow through the team’s academia, but it also impacts the Tigers when they step on the court.

“We aren’t the ones to slack off in class or not turn in assignments, you know we’re the ones who get things done,” Arnett said. “And I think the same, it goes right on the volleyball court. We’re the ones who are making those extra points and going defensively for those extended rallies that we can win those extra points.”

Teachers at Gilbert are also aware of the team’s scholarly values. Many of Gilbert’s volleyball players have been taught by Wes Hayward, an honors math teacher and beach volleyball coach at Gilbert.

“I think they’re the example,” Hayward said. “I think they work hard on the court. They work hard in the classroom. They have a strong work ethic. They’ve got a great determination to accomplish things a lot people can’t.”

Hayward believes that these girls can visualize their goals and see what they want in their lives.

“They can look forward and anticipate the future,” Hayward said. “They see that college is important. They know grades are important and because they have that vision, they work hard to accomplish it.”

Whether it’s studying for tests or stepping on the court to play for each other, the friendship and bonds that are made through these experiences are what will stick with this team the most.

“It’s something that we take for granted because we have had each other as friends for so long,” Hesse said. “And there’s some people who never find that group of people that are their people.”

Although these seniors won’t be playing for the Tigers next fall, the culture they helped build will still be at Gilbert for generations to come.