By Ellie Shaw
Contributor
Graduates of the 2025 class, Monica Arreola-Gonzalez and Anahi Calderon have shown beyond doubt their talents on and off the court. This power duo has been crushing the varsity
competition since their sophomore year at Metro Tech High School.
As role models in the game and the classroom, Arreola-Gonzalez and Calderon have grown
tremendously since being welcomed to the varsity volleyball team at Metro Tech High School.
“It was a struggle, it really was a struggle. The first year, sophomore year, I didn’t know the team as well and I had just played with JV and got pushed up to Varsity. It was a completely new game with new people, new coaching styles, and new competition for sure,” Arreola-Gonzalez shared about how she has grown throughout her years on varsity.
Arreola-Gonzalez gives credit to her old captain, Alyssa Cuevas, who gave her guidance and
helped her through a lot. As a current captain of the varsity team, she doesn’t take her time at the higher level for granted.
The other senior captain, Calderon, shares a special connection with Arreola-Gonzalez as they have spent the past three years building a foundation off of trust, hard work, and the love of the game. They both share the same determination to constantly get better and use one another to depend on that growth.
“All of my closest friends that I’ve made here were made through volleyball. My friend group
that I eat with during lunch, I all hang out with them. We even hang out outside of school, so I
feel like it brought me closer to new people,” Calderon said.
A bond with a team like Metro Tech’s is rare and hard to come by. From watching the team
communicate on the court to being normal teenagers, this varsity squad is like no other.
Since this is his fourth year with the team, Head Coach Bryan Heckler has barely known a team without these passionate and dedicated captains.
“This will be our first group that we’ve had for four years, it's a lot. We’ll miss them a lot and especially the work ethic too, that’ll be a big void. We’re sorry to see them leave but we’re
excited to have another month with them so we’re going to make the most of it,” Heckler shared about the current group of seniors.
Heckler and his team take pride in how well they communicate with one another. He has been working with the captains on their interdependence and teaching them how to be the leaders of the team.
As role models for the future teams of Metro Tech High School, Arreola-Gonzalez and Calderon leave with a lasting impact that will be carried on for many more seasons to come.
To have a strong leader as a captain is rare, but to be gifted with two outstanding role models who have worked so hard for that title is something that the Metro Tech volleyball team should never take for granted.
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