Top 10 Spotlight: Volleyball Role Mirrors Peyton Sales’ Work Ethic

Peyton Sales knows that she has to work harder than everyone else to achieve her goals.

“I’m not a natural at sports, and I’m not a natural at school,” said Peyton, the third-ranked senior in the Los Fresnos High School Class of 2015. “Some people are gifted at athletics or academics, but I just work hard. My success is a testament to hard work.”

Peyton, the daughter of Wade and Lisa Sales, is the oldest of triplets. Her triplet sister Jordan is a swimmer, and brother Jake played football. Peyton has played volleyball every year since she was in seventh grade.

“It’s the most team-oriented of any sport, because you literally can’t do it yourself,” Peyton said. “You touch the ball once, and then it’s up to your teammates. I love that kind of ‘we can’t do it by yourself attitude,’ and it’s so awesome the way it works out. When a play does work out, you’re very satisfied.”

Peyton’s hard work was evident on the volleyball court, earning All-District first team honors as the team’s setter. She was also captain for the Lady Falcons, who advanced to the regional semifinals in 2014.

“I was always the setter, and being able to court-smart is one of my strengths,” she said. “I loved being the middle-man between the defense and the hitters. You decide the plays, and you are close with your coach. When a teammate put the ball on the floor for kill, I helped with that success, and that was so satisfying. It’s the work of a football quarterback with the glory of the offensive line. The position is not glamorous, and you do a lot of the grunt work to make others look better. It is a lot of pressure and a lot of strategy, but I loved it.”

Peyton was more than volleyball. She was President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Vice President of the LFHS Rio Grande Valley LEAD chapter, among other school activities. She was also a Youth Leader at Los Fresnos United Methodist Church for four years.

“My big brother Connor got me involved in FCA when I was in middle school,” she said. “One of my spiritual gifts is speaking in front of people, and FCA gave me that opportunity to share my faith. I would lead the prayer before and after every volleyball match.”

The hard work on the volleyball court mirrored her hard work on academics.

“Time management is so important because every minute of time you get in class counts,” Peyton said. “When a teacher finishes a lesson 20 minutes early, I would finish my homework during that time. I wanted to get it done as fast as possible because I would have practice after school. That was always me. I just try to get every second in that you can. It’s self-discipline.”

Homework was something Peyton did not like to do at home. She made time during the school day.

“I make the most of my time. Time is very valuable. Those five minutes before class is over will add up and you can get a lot of your homework done then.”

Her college career was an easy decision.

“I’ve had my heart on Texas A&M since I was born,” she said. “We had visited every year since we were little. My brother Jake and sister Jordan are going there, my big brother is already there, my friends are there, my dad went there and it’s perfect for my major.”

Peyton plans to pursue a career in Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, which is a broad field with numerous concentrations. “I eventually want to work for a non-profit organization that works with disadvantaged youth in third world countries as well as here. I want to do something in that area.”

Peyton has advice for middle school students whose ambition is to succeed academically.

“I would tell eighth graders: Don’t goof off, don’t slack your freshman year, build your resume really early. Community service hours are important. You really want to do something, I don’t see why the heck you can’t.

“My little motto was that halfway hurts. It’s so much sacrifice and hard work. If someone says they can’t do it, that’s not true. You’re just not working hard enough.”