By Chloe Goebel

Alex Cincotta, three year varsity athlete for the Westborough High School volleyball program, returned to the program last year with big dreams.  Cincotta returned to the volleyball program to help coach the JV 1 team as well as to assist the varsity team.

Cincotta began volleyball in seventh grade after attending the volleyball program’s recreational camp.  From hard work, she earned herself a spot in the volleyball program every year of high school, and three of those years she earned herself a spot on the varsity team.  

Her first year on the varsity team was in 2007, the year the program won states.  This was one of Cincotta fondest memories of her time with the volleyball program.  “We accomplished something and our hard work finally payed off.”   

During her junior and senior year, Cincotta was the starting setter on the Westborough High School varsity team.  Starting in her first varsity match meant so much to her, as she remembers “walking out knowing I was running the court.”  Senior year was a very memorable year for Cincotta.  She was co captain and she was also named an All-State player at the end of the year.  The team did have a fantastic season going 16-0, until one of the team’s starting outside hitters tore her ACL at Barnstable High School.

During Cincotta’s years at the high school, she loved the program.  “If someone were to ask me my favorite part about high school, it was volleyball, hands down.”  After her high school years, she continued with volleyball in college playing on the UMass club team. Cincottas love for the sport, team, program, and athletes is obvious since she had such an amazing time as a student, and now that she has also returned as a coach.

The JV 1 coaching job just “worked and kind of feel into my lap” Cincotta states.  It fit perfect into her schedule as she was hired as a fifth grade teacher at Mill Pond that same year.  Now in her second year as the JV 1 coach, she has a better grip on what she has to do to help her athletes succeed during practice and games.  

She feels as if she is not as clueless in her second year, knowing what drills to do, what her team has to work on, and better able to understand the team she has for the season.  Cincotta misses being able to play on the court, but knows that she is “investing [her] time and energy into the group of young girls,” which fills her with satisfaction when she sees them putting it all out on the court.  

Since Cincotta has seen the volleyball team from both an athlete standpoint, and a coaching standpoint, she only needs three words to describe the program: “family, school, volleyball.” Anyone who passes through the volleyball program would recognize these words.  They describe that family and school come before volleyball, but then it’s volleyball and that you need to care for your team as much as you do about your family and education.   Cincotta said that one of the main reasons the volleyball program has been continuously successful is because “we are all 100 percent committed to each other and to the success of this program.”

When Cincotta says that we are all committed, she does not only mean the players, but also the coaches and the families of the players.  For instance, not only is Cincotta invested in this program, but so is her brother and mom.  Her brother, Anthony Cincotta, is at almost all games and practices cheering on everyone along with the other players of the program. As for Cincottas mother, she also comes to all the games to support every team.  

When Cincotta is not busy with volleyball she is teaching fifth grade kids reading, writing, and social studies at Mill Pond.  In her free time, she likes to read, play volleyball, and be very active.

Cincotta is working on perfecting her coaching skills, as she says, “I’m still a little clueless as to what I am doing, but then I just remember it’s volleyball and I love the sport and I know what I’m doing.”