We've got the first day under our belt for the 2022-2023 season!
41 athletes showed up at our home, Castlepark, trying out for one of our three competitive teams, or just showing up to get ready for our Foundations program, where we teach the fundamentals of volleyball.
We had the players go through their paces in some physical tests: jump reach, shuttle runs, arm strength tests. We learned that many of our athletes happily touch over 8 and a half feet and we need to add some more tape next time!
We moved on to looking at some volleyball-specific skills tests, especially serving and passing, since it's such a major skill that'll make all the difference in your season at this U16s level. The players got some reps in hitting and setting, as well, to get a whole picture of the volleyball players, and we had an embarrassment of riches, in terms of coaches wandering the floor, looking at the attendees to give them all a fair shake.
Finally, we wrapped up the session with a bonus hour at the end with some round robin action and a king and queen of the court battle. Given the number of players and range of skills, I thought the kids, advanced, skill-wise, and beginners, handled the pressure well, and we had some good rallies back and forth.
Now, we've got all our feedback together, we've got some eager players and parents waiting to hear about where and when they'll end up, so in the next day or two we should have our roster set, players assigned their sessions, and notices going out, so if your player was at the tryouts or is waiting to hear how it all shakes out, keep your eyes peeled over the next few days.
I know, I, personally, can't wait to get back in the gym, and we'll have that first Advanced Juniors session on September 5th at 7pm down in our our old home at Castlepark, with our other big youth session on the Wednesday, starting at 6pm!