1. Danielle Sweet
Mrs. Tillery
4/17/12
AP Lit 3rd Period
Senior Project Speech
What was your favorite activity you loved to do as a child? For me, it was playing outside and being
involved in many sports. Sports were, and still are today, a huge part of my life. I loved everything about sports,
the competitiveness, the hard work, the dedication, teamwork, and of course the fun of it! Sports have also
really brought my family together. My father is a diehard athlete; he played almost every sport in high school
and was even offered to play for Germany for soccer. As a child, I wanted to be just like my dad and dominated
whenever I played. Now, you are probably asking how this applies to my senior project. Well, if it wasn’t for
my dad and for my love of sports, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Volleyball is my main sport, and my love for
the game made me want to share that with others in a fun creative way. Hello, my name is Danielle Sweet, and
for my Senior Project I decided to organize and host a Men’s Volleyball Tournament at Creekview High school.
For my research paper, I decided to write about the benefits sports can have on a high school student.
There are pros and cons to any extracurricular activities that a high school student may commit too, but the
advantages to choosing sports are worth the time invested. In high school sports, there are a wide variety of
choices that allow students to find a sport that they can enjoy. Not only does becoming an athlete create great
fun for the student, but also creates an environment that will be very advantageous. The benefits that are
included with high school students who are involved in athletics include a healthier lifestyle, building of self-
confidence, development of respect for others, learning the importance of responsibility, and increase in future
academic opportunities. Now, how does this tie into my senior project? Well, volleyball is a universal sport that
brings people together to work as a team. In my project, the young men came together to learn a new sport some
have never tried before and made new friends. Through this process, they bonded through practicing as a team,
creating team names, and even for one team having matching pink socks. They really enjoyed it, and I enjoyed

2. seeing these benefits sports can have on a player take action, and that was overall worth the time and effort to
put this tournament together.
How did I put this tournament together? Well, I began with the idea of how can I share my love for
volleyball while also doing something beneficial for the program at my school. I discussed different ideas with
my head coach Abigail Jackson, who was also my project facilitator. We both came to the conclusion that since
volleyball isn’t offered as a sport at school for the guys, why not put together a tournament? Even before the
posters came out, the response was overwhelmingly positive. I started with talking with my project facilitator
and deciding a date on when to host this event. It was a little difficult at first due to the other sports that had first
priority of the gym space. After talking with Dr. Eddy, we finalized a date and couldn’t wait to get started. First
off, I knew I was going to need some volunteers in order for this to all work out. I sent out an email to all the
girls and parents involved in the Creekview volleyball program and got a lot of responses back! After getting
the help I needed, it was time to spread the word out. Me and a bunch of the girls created posters and hung them
around the school to spread the word on the informational meeting to get guys interested in signing up. I held
the meeting in Mrs. Jackson’s room and gave all the guys all the information they needed on how to sign up,
make their teams, t-shirt sizes, the dates of the clinic and tournament, and the permission slip form for their
parents to sign. After getting all that information back, I order the t-shirts through a company that Mrs. Dayub
works for. I’m very grateful that she was able to help me rush the order and came up with a very creative design
that all of the guys enjoyed. Next, it was time for the clinic! I was a little skeptical at first because I knew it was
going to be a challenge. But after getting into it, the guys really enjoyed it and I was surprised to see how well
they picked up the sport, and it was a lot of fun. I split them up and was able to put together four teams, and
they were all really excited! Finally, the day everyone was waiting for, on March 9th, I had the tournament! I
conducted a bracket for them and they were all guaranteed at least two matches. Each match was held at best 2
out of 3 to 25 points, and the third game would go to 11 points. It was a fun, hard fight with all the teams, but
the winners turned out to be The Pink Rams, followed by the panthers in second, snakes in the grass in third,
and the winners in 4th. Ironic, I know. Everyone who participated received a free chick Fila biscuit coupon,

3. while the winners received an additional two coupons along with the coaches. In the end, everyone had a great
time, and I ended up raising $532 dollars for the volleyball program!
As a whole, I learned a lot of important factors about myself through this project. First off, I learned that
I love coaching and teaching people how to play the sport I love. To coach, it takes a lot of dedication, patience,
leadership, and compassion to be able to achieve what you want to accomplish, and I believe that I hold these
qualities. Also through this process, I verified that going into Kinesiology when I go to Emmanuel College was
definitely the right choice for me. I hope to one day become a physical therapist, along with a coaching job on
the side. I would enjoy having the opportunity to work with athletes and helping them train and get better to
where they want to go.
Volleyball has definitely changed my life for the better. In the fall, I will be attending Emmanuel
College under a full ride volleyball scholarship and I’m so excited for the opportunities that lie before me. The
senior project as a whole I believe was very successful, and I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to
achieve this goal. Some seniors may say that doing a Senior Project is stupid and a waste of time, I believe that
it has definitely helped me in realizing what I love to do and how to achieve my goals.