Last week I was given the opportunity to take a couple days off from work and with that I decided to travel all the way to Saskatoon to begin my Level 1 coaching certification for volleyball. I got home and over the weekend I stepped in to help with a volleyball camp in Arcola.
As I was leaving I was told by one of the others involved with the camp that I must be volleyball crazy, simply volunteering my time to help out. They were long days, but it was raining anyways and the other option was likely cleaning my house obviously volleyball is much more fun, even if it comes with standing in a gym for 10 hours each day. It's worth it though because it's volleyball.
However he may have been right, I am a little volleyball crazy, but I've always enjoyed it and it's been the only sport I've really competed in seriously throughout my life having started in grade four and not stopping.
It's fun watching the kids acquire a new skill and get so excited about it or for others to all of a sudden get something. One of the girls is going into grade 12 this year, she had missed a couple years of the sport deciding to dance instead, but came back to it again last year. There's a point at which all of the kids will cross a threshold and for hitting this one came to it over the weekend.
After the drill was done, she immediately asked if I saw one particular hit of hers, so excited with the power she generated. She had crossed a threshold and I think she'll be deadly this fall for her high school team because not only can she hit hard, she is very tactical. This is why she was able to get numerous kills, points off of her hits, during last year's club season. She saw where the defence wasn't and that was where she'd put the ball, so that combined with a little more power now, will make her a very solid player.
I am hoping Arcola School lets me coach the junior girls again this year, but I guess that's something I'll find out when school starts.
I can't play like I used to, my knees in fact burn after playing for long periods of time, which makes coaching the perfect opportunity to help get others excited about the sport. There's huge potential in a lot of young athletes in the area and hopefully I can do my part to help them out.
Whether they go further with it doesn't really matter, it's more being able to find something they love to do and to continue with it into the future even if just in a recreational capacity.
During the camp, I won't lie, I was a little happy and proud that the girls who played with the Vipers, the club team I help with, stood out in drills and the games. Though they all did well, it was definitely exciting to see that they've elevated their game since last year.
The younger group was amazing to watch as well. The youngest there struggled a little with some of the skills, while those on the older end looked like they had already been playing for years. There were grade seven kids overhand serving, a grade eight posted a block and stuffed someone who hit the ball going into grade nine.
In games, the younger ones were also getting three hits on each side, though it wasn't necessarily pass, set, spike, they were volleying well. One youngster from Lampman greatly impressed me as she was even hitting the floor, digging balls, and going after it. Others were also hitting the floor, but this one was managing to get nearly everything up.
So, hopefully some of these kids become volleyball crazy too, because it's not a bad thing. I'm ultimately giving back to a sport that gave me a lot, while helping in the community. I may need a good rest in the next week though as once school volleyball starts in September coaching will last into May for me; and we're planning on running two club teams this year, an older one and a younger one, so between work and coaching it may get a little busy, but it's volleyball.
