Position: Right Side Hitter
School: Trinity Christian Academy
Team: Frisco Flyers 14 APX Bill
Jersey #: 6
Grade: Freshman
At a towering 5’10”, 14-year-old Taylor Clarke is at the start of what is expected to be a promising club volleyball season. Clarke, a Trinity Christian Academy freshman playing Varsity-level volleyball, is the newest recruit to the No. 1 ranked Volleyball team in the nation, the Frisco Flyers 14 APX-Bill.
After a disappointing (7-22) Varsity season behind her, she’s entering her third year of club ball looking forward to the possibility of a record-breaking season with the Flyers, and bonding with her new teammates. Clarke shared that she’s always used volleyball as a way of meeting new people. She was in fourth grade when classmates invited her to her first lesson. Now, as a Varsity-level freshman, she finds there are newer challenges beyond meeting new people — balancing her academic and sports schedules, while learning the ropes on a newer, more advanced team.
“Playing on varsity as a freshman was definitely stressful at times,” Clarke said, “…but it was also very rewarding and gave me the opportunity to build great friendships with upperclassmen.”
Clarke’s biggest goal for the upcoming year is to strengthen her defensive game and help the team bring home the National Championship again. With her impressive left-handed hitting skills, she brings a sure advantage hitting from the right side of the net — speed and agility. She says she is her own biggest competitor (and whoever is on the other side of the net, of course).
As Clarke continues to advance in her skillset and grow to her full height, she hopes to be as accomplished as her inspirations — University of Texas at Austin Women’s Volleyball Hitter, Logan Eggleston and Women’s USA Volleyball Olympic Gold Medalist Hitter, Jordan Thompson.
Although a freshman, she dreams of playing competitively in college (on scholarship) and in the U.S. Olympics. Her top picks for college include the University of Texas at Austin, Baylor University, Louisville University, and Stanford University.
With her biggest supporters — her parents and grandparents (who travels from Mississippi for most games) by her side, she will embark upon a season that is sure to be more than just an honorable mention.
