Next Ball Mindset: Lena Smith Turns Rejection into Determination

Basketball player Michael Jordan was cut from his school’s basketball team his sophomore year, the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony was cut from his high school team, and Lena Smith was cut from her 4th grade basketball team. Smith, unlike Jordan and Anthony, did not go on to play basketball. Instead, as a freshman on Sandy High School’s Varsity Volleyball team, she placed second at nationals. 

After being cut in fourth grade, Smith’s PE teacher offered her a spot on the volleyball team. Smith accepted, and she has worked tirelessly ever since. Smith found her love in volleyball and joined NPJ –  North Pacific Juniors –  a club volleyball team. It is with this team that she placed second at nationals. Between nationals in July, open gyms, privates, and school volleyball, Smith is honing her skills year round. This lack of an off season exemplifies Smith’s remarkable determination. 

“I missed homecoming to go to University of Tulsa to watch them play football, because that’s the school I want to commit to,” Smith said. Smith is always willing to sacrifice social events to achieve her goals; she states that “Volleyball is my number one priority.” Smith intends to enroll at Tulsa to play Division One volleyball and major in physical therapy. She hopes to play professionally one day depending on where she is in life. 

Smith plays as a six rotation pin, meaning she’s on the outside as a defensive hitter for all six rotations opposed to being substituted out. This is only her second year as an outside; she used to play as a middle. “I really liked middle, but I knew I was going to be too short to go pro or D-one. So, I moved to the outside, and I actually loved it more than I was in the middle,” Smith says. Despite her fairly recent position swap, Smith plays with as much determination and skill as any other player. 

Smith recounts a story from several years ago where she was told she wasn’t good enough to play up a year or make it as a professional volleyball player. While this would bring many other players down, Smith wasn’t discouraged. Instead, she used it as motivation to train harder than ever before. “I kept telling myself that I believe that I can go pro if I push myself hard enough and work my butt off,” Smith said. The instance only solidified her self assurance with Smith saying, “Who are you to tell me what I can do?” 

Aside from her incredible ability to problem-solve on the court, Smith’s biggest strength is her uplifting spirit. “If something happens and [my teammates] get down on themselves, I try to pick them up and tell them they got it,” Smith stated. Smith believes that all of her teammates do the same for her, and she is just reciprocating their energy. 

Smith values her team immensly, even saying they’re “my support system that I can always rely on.” Her teammates can often be heard telling her “next ball mindset.” The phrase “next ball mindset” is something Smith says frequently to both herself and her teammates as a reminder

that the game isn’t over till it’s over. She says it so often that her teammates have started saying it back to her; it essentially means to not dwell on past mistakes when the game is still ahead. 

Sandy High School’s Varsity Volleyball team won eight of their first twelve games, and Smith is excited to see the team’s growth over the rest of her high school career. She plans to continue with both school and club volleyball for the rest of high school and will undoubtedly continue to hone her skills. So despite being cut from her fourth grade basketball team, her perseverance, encouraging attitude, and “next ball mindset” has pushed Smith to become a great volleyball player.