PHOENIX – Sarah Sponcil’s Olympic dreams were brought to the point on the white sandy beaches of the Black Sea. Sponcil, who led Phoenix’s Great Hearts Veritas Preparatory Academy to two state championships before winning a national title on UCLA’s beach volleyball team in 2019, had to finish the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour season on a good note to get a chance at the Qualifying for Tokyo to have Olympia. Her Olympic dreams rested on finishing the season no worse than second place in the national standings, as the countries are limited to two participants in the Games. Sponcil and her partner Kelly Claes did just that, winning their first FIVB events in Sochi in late May and Ostrava the following week, overtaking Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat and securing a spot at the Olympics. The 24-year-old first-time Olympian called qualifying for the Games a bit of a Cinderella story as she and Claes had come a long way over the 30-month qualifying plan for the Games thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sponcil described her emotions as she saw Jennings and Sweat lose in the qualifying rounds of the Ostrava event, which officially took their place in the Games, as bittersweet. “It was literally so surreal because we’ve just been milling for two and a half years and there have been so many ups and downs,” Sponcil told Patch. “You cry and doubt yourself. And we were only in third place for so long.” And so, to win [the Sochi and Ostrava tournaments] and finally to surpass her, it was such a sigh of relief and there was so much emotion. “The journey to Tokyo began for Sponcil during her junior year of college in 2018 when she moved from Loyola Marymount University where she for the Lions, to UCLA to play beach volleyball. Sponcil described her decision to switch from indoor to beach volleyball as secondary, having spent hours with her father Wayne in Glendale’s Victory Lane as a child, playing on both surfaces at Sports Park. For her, the beach game was a much greater challenge that motivated her to work harder and harder to reach the greatest stage in the sport. “What I love so much [beach volleyball] “You have to be able to do everything and you can’t hide on the pitch like sometimes inside,” said Sponcil. “You can’t hide, so someone is going to find your weakness, and you have to be strong physically and mentally to keep you grind and get better and better.” Seeing Sponcil in both the indoor and beachfront aspects of the business Sports is no surprise to her coach at Veritas Prep, Wes Goodwin. Goodwin said the transition from indoor to beach volleyball was given the lack of support and the fact that Beach relies on teams of two as opposed to six halls also said that given their demeanor and leadership in games, Sponcil was prepared to make such a transition to a completely different game, “said Goodwin.” And I think beach has always been her passion, but I think it’s really perfect for her because she wants to touch the volleyball as well as possible. ”“ And she was always the player who wanted the rest of the team to be able to rely on her. And she wants to be there for the team and help ensure that everyone is successful. ”For Sponcil, the urge to be successful on the pitch stems from the love for sport that her parents shared with her over the years. She recalls her high school days when she got mad when delays prevented her and Wayne from getting extra reps on the court at Veritas Prep. “I was always the one who wanted him to come out and do extra reps there “, said Sponcil was by my side the whole time. And it’s great to have a family that supports you and is there for you. ”This family support motivated Sponcil to call her parents from a hotel room in Ostrava to tell them the good news. “When we knew we’d qualified, my first reaction was, ‘Oh, I have to call my parents,'” Sponcil said. “And so I called my mom. And they know a lot about the tour but they didn’t know exactly what we had to do to qualify and they didn’t watch the game. ”“ But I called her and she literally screamed her head off. You were honestly in shock. It was such a surreal moment. “What seemed surreal will become reality on July 24th when Sponcil and Claes compete in the opening rounds of the beach volleyball tournament that is being played at Shiokaze Park in Tokyo. Goodwin joins in at any time it airs in Arizona, which is 16 hours behind Tokyo. “I’m so lucky to just be part of her volleyball upbringing and see Sarah play in college,” said Goodwin. “And I was lucky enough to have one of her beach volleyball -Games to watch at UCLA. So just to see it grow like that and take it to a whole other level. I have no idea how I’m going to feel [come July]but I’m just so happy and extremely proud of her. “It is this support network that has advanced Sponcil in sport, helping her recover from the lows of professional athletics and basking in the glory of the highs with her. Sponcil Affirms that it takes a village to be successful in sport, between the countless hours her family has spent on training and tournament travel and the work coaches like Goodwin have done to help her at a high level to work day you have to believe in yourself, “she said. “You will have a lot of people to support you and maybe you will have critics. But if you grind you will have these days of ups and downs. And you have to keep believing in yourself.” Defined by mistakes or failures. I think that was key for me throughout this process. ”
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