Freshman Brittany Fisher plays volleyball, softball and plays in the band. The aspect of her life that makes these activities extraordinary is that Fisher has been deaf since birth. She has had some patches of difficulty in these activities, but overall, Fisher thinks that her work ethic has served her well.

She believes that all anyone has to do succeed in life is to dedicate plenty of time and practice to whatever is wanted to achieve.

“You can do anything you want,” Fisher said. “If you practice and work hard, don’t give up, keep playing and keep going on.”

This fall was the first year for all of the new volleyball coaches at SHS, including freshman coach Mr. Ethan Coffman. As a new coach, he said that he just wanted players that were going to work hard. Coffman coached Fisher and he raves about her dedication. At volleyball tryouts, Coffman said that he kept an open mind about her skills and that turned out for the better, because Fisher turned out to be a harder worker than about anyone else there. When the coaches were assigning teams, Coffman told Fisher that while he didn’t know what her position would be, he wanted her on the team because he admired her work ethic.

Fisher eventually worked her way up to earning a position as a starting middle hitter, which Coffman says is a hard spot to get when Fisher is around 5 foot 4 inches, and most middles are at least pushing 6 foot. Coffman saw that Fisher’s dedication and willingness to work affected the whole team in a positive way.

“It (volleyball) was a good thing for her and a good thing for our team, too,” Coffman said. “It was pretty easy to see that all of the other girls knew that she had a hearing disability, and when they saw someone with that working harder than they were, it was a wake up call for them and in turn they worked harder.”

Fisher’s inspiration to get involved in band was her interest in music. She acknowledges that learning music itself is difficult, and it has been hard for her at times to understand the music. Again, Fisher says that by practicing at home and by working hard, she is able to be a better musician.

Other than work ethic, something that helps Fisher get along in softball and volleyball is people’s understanding and willingness to help her.

“The coaches understand what I’m doing, I’m doing better work,” Fisher said. “You have to keep going and trying until the coach knows what you can do.”

Softball is Fisher’s main sport, and with a new coach, she knows that at first she will have to remind people that she has hearing disabilities, but she feels that they will be understanding and willing to help.

Coffman feels that Fisher’s dedication is what she does best, and her work ethic will get her far in life.

“Everybody has their thing, you might be a better passer, you might be a better hitter, you might make better grades; everybody has their niche,” Coffman said. “Brittany’s is her dedication in everything that she does.”