A year ago, she was playing right side hitter at Vandeventer Middle School. Playing on the Redhawks varsity team was nothing more than a thought. Now a year later, the volleyball team is in the playoffs, fresh off a second straight District 10-5A championship. A key player on the team is freshman Aubree Pratt, who in less than a year has gone from 8th grade A team to the varsity squad.
“This season has been more than amazing,” Aubree said. “This volleyball team has been the best Liberty has ever seen, From the connections we have built as teammates to the volleyball we play.”
It’s a journey that began long before middle school.
“She was 6 when she started playing volleyball,” Aubree’s mom, Faye Pratt said. “She started playing club when she was 12.”
Aubree has come a long way since the start of her volleyball career but it was in middle school when she got the attention of Redhawks head coach Eighmy Dobbins.
“We were really excited about seeing her at Vandeventer, knowing that she would end up being a pretty big role at Liberty,” Dobbins said. “So it’s exciting to finally have her. We definitely saw a lot of potential in her,” And so whenever she came to tryouts and did such a great job, we were really excited to have her.”
Playing with teammates that are several years older than her, Aubree has found a home on the #4 ranked 5A team in the Dallas Morning News.
“I have felt more than welcomed by RHVB,” Aubree said “They have shown me so much support and love coming on to this team this season.”
That support starts at the top with the team’s seniors.
“It’s really exciting to have Aubree on the team. She offers a lot for being so young,” senior Brooklyn Shelton said. “And we really need all of her skills and like her height and she contributes so much being so young and, we’re really excited for the future that she will contribute even more.”
Even though she’s one of the youngest players on the team, it’s a move that will pay off in the future according to Dobbins.
“It’s definitely an adjustment for any freshman on varsity, just because you are playing with girls who have been on the team for a few years,” Dobbins said. “But I think it’s really helpful too because they get to learn from them and see kind of how things work in our program and then it helps them be able to lead, helps the freshman be able to lead at a younger age.”
Aubree and the rest of the team will be put to the test on Tuesday when they face off against the state’s top ranked 5A team: Wakeland. But whatever happens, Aubree has goals in the mind for the next few years.
“My dream for the future is to make an impact on RHVB and leave behind a state championship,” Aubree said. “In the future, I hope to commit to a college and play the rest of my years to the fullest.
