FOX VALLEY, Wis. — WIAA fall sports have all officially started with practices beginning throughout the month of August and many athletes working hard ahead of the academic year starting.

Senior libero Ella Lindgren and her Neenah volleyball teammates have been working out for months during the summer to stay sharp for the upcoming fall season.

What You Need To Know Girls golf started Aug. 11 and girls volleyball started Aug. 18 Neenah volleyball head coach Nate Leitermann said 60 girls tried out to be on the team Other WIAA girls fall sports include cross country, tennis and swimming and diving

The full team started practice on Aug. 18. As a defensive specialist, she said she’s been working on her passes and digs for hours at a time.

“We did a lot of wall work working on our angles and just getting multiple touches at a time,” said Lindgren. “That’s a nice part about volleyball, is you can get 100 touches in, like 30 seconds. I think constantly being in the gym, lifting, getting stronger as the summer goes on and just constantly improving those reps.”

Neenah volleyball head coach Nate Leitermann said 60 girls tried out to be on the team. In his third year as coach, he wants to continue to create team bonds and make sure the team is well rounded for their first match.

“They want to be here every single day… Sometimes I actually have to kick them out of the gym and say, take a week off,” said Leitermann. “As a coach, it just makes you happy because it just gets you excited for the fall season. You know that they want to win and eventually get a state championship.”

Girl golfers are also working on their skills ahead of the fall season. Kaukauna sophomore golfer Sawyer Olson competed in the WIAA State Tournament last year. That finish inspired her to work hard over the summer to hopefully make it back to state. Olson said she’s been working to perfect her swing.

“Lots of hard work, lots of mental and physical challenges and then trying to manage that with like homework and other sports,” said Olson. “It was challenging, but all worth it in the end.”

For over 15 years, Andy Benson has coached girls and boys golf at Kaukauna. He said he stresses keeping grades up during the school year because it can be tough with their full athletic schedule.

“It’s the beginning of the year and they’re not into their routines at school yet and…last year we had a tournament on the first day of school,” said Benson. “That can be hard for the kids, but the thing that we’ve really noticed, especially I don’t know since I’ve been here, is that our girls and boys that play golf, are great students.”

Whether it’s on the course, in the gym, or on the field, fall athletes continue to grind ahead of the school year. They are hoping to make that next step in their athletic careers and earn success for their teams.