EASLEY — In sports, talent only gets you so far.
It’s the “intangibles” that separates a good athlete and a great athlete.
Kate Kelley, a senior setter for the volleyball team at Easley High School, is a perfect example of that. Kelley earned All-Region honors last year in Class 5A.
“Kate’s a very hard worker and she’s a natural leader,” said Green Wave coach Joy Stewart. “She (Elliott) encourages her teammates and plays at 150 percent. I’ve never seen someone who is so focused on what she’s doing and has such a natural rhythm to her. She’s really an outstanding player.”
Kelley has been selected at The Athlete of the Week, which is sponsored this week by Cindy Fox Miller & Associates.
Kelley stands in at 5-foot-7 and also gets to play some front row on the right side.
“It’s amazing being on this team,” said Kelley, shortly after EHS swept Southside High School in a scrimmage last week. “It’s with all of my best friends. It’s like playing with my family. I wouldn’t want to be out there with any other team.”
Continued Kelley, “I just try to do what’s best for my teammates. When I’m setting, I try to set them well so they can get a good kill and just have fun. I think we’re going to have a really good season and I would come out to watch us.”
In the classroom, Kelley has over a 4.0 grade point average and her favorite class is English. She has plenty of options in the future, but is not sure if she will play volleyball in college or where she will go.
She still has plenty of time and she’ll have plenty of options.
For now, she is just soaking it all in as a member of the Green Wave volleyball team. She has a high IQ, too, for the game of volleyball and a student of the game that she loves to play.
“I really like watching Nebraska play volleyball,” Kelley said. “I also like to go to Clemson (University) volleyball games.”
Reach Jeff Holt at 864-855-0355.