Newberry High School’s Hanna Templeton selected to compete in Florida 2023 All-Star Classic

BY CLIFF TUMETEL

NEWBERRY, Fla. – Hanna Templeton of Newberry High School is heading out to compete with the best of the best later this month.

“I was just in shock,” Hanna told Alachua Chronicle.

Senior Hanna Templeton started playing volleyball when she was eight years old and has never looked back. Templeton says that she tried other sports, but once she started playing volleyball, she was 100% in on the game.

“As it progressed, I wanted to be better than I was yesterday. I always strive to have one goal at a time, and when I do that, I don’t necessarily strive to be the best, I just try to be better than myself,” expressed Templeton. That hard work has paid off: the Panther has been selected by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association to compete in the 2023 Girls Volleyball All-Star Classic.

As we all know, the path to success isn’t easy; you have to work hard to get there, and Panthers Head Coach Hank Rone says Templeton works hard every day to improve her game, even on weekends. “Hanna’s work ethic is just so phenomenal, from day one, once it clicked that she really loved the game,” said Rone. “She is a definite gym rat–she puts a lot of time on those extra Saturdays working hard.”

Rone says he gets calls from her to help work on her craft on those Saturdays, and sometimes she brings another teammate to work on her hitting.

The All-Star game will be held at 10 a.m. on Nov. 18 at Southeastern University in Lakeland, and you can bet Hanna Templeton’s competitive fire is burning bright at the chance to compete there.

“I get to play with all of these different players that are top-tier that got selected, so I’m really excited about it,” Templeton said.