Fundraising Scrimmage

Friday, October 5th at 3:00 pm we are going to have a scrimmage vs. some of the Pryor teachers. We are going to be selling tickets to the scrimmage for $2.00 to earn money for the volleyball account. We hope to have a lot of fun!

Pryor vs Lewis

Well we had a pretty tough time against Lewis today. We struggled the first game to get anything going, but by the time the second game came around we played a lot better. We were serving tough and accurately, and we were doing really well digging. Lewis had several girls on their team that were hitting the ball pretty hard, but we were there to dig most of them. Taylor even got her hands on a few of them at the net. We need to work on our transitions from offense to defense (especially during a free ball) and we need to work on getting three hits off our serve receive. We didn't let too many serves get by us, but lots of them were going over the net after the first contact, instead of to the setter.
Some good news though, our Non-starters won!! Congratulations! We were serving well during that match as well. Sam had 7 in a row I think. Good job! The girls were passing pretty well and we had a few offensive attacks (pass-set-hit) that were really nice.
So again, we learned a lot about what we are getting better at and what we still need to work on. I'm still having fun though, and I can't wait for our next game!
Go pirates!

Fundraising

The annual Booster Club BBQ is coming up on Thursday, Sept. 27th from 4:00-6:00 pm. The school has asked that each girl on our team sell 4 tickets. The tickets are $5.00 a piece. Next Friday (Sept. 21) each girl needs to give me the $20.00 for the 4 tickets they are required to sell. If you want to bring me money before then I have the tickets available now. However, Friday the 21st is the last day to turn in your money. If you can sell more than 4 let me know, and if you don't think you can sell 4 let me know that too. We'll try and work it out.
We are also planning on having a scrimmage versus the Pryor teachers. This will be Friday October 5th right after school. Each girl will be asked to sell tickets to this also, but we will get more details once everything has been approved.

Pictures rescheduled

We were able to reschedule team pictures for next Friday (Sept. 21st). I will be handing out the order forms tomorrow or early next week. You need to bring your check with you on the day the pictures are taken if you want to order any. If you are not ordering any, you will just do the team picture for the year book.

Pryor vs Ruckel

We had a great game today!! We ended up losing in 3 games, but we played great! It was fun to see the girls play as a team, and execute the things we've been working on so hard at practices. The first game was 25-20 and the second game was sooo close, 23-25!! We couldn't quite come up with the win in game three. Again, I am so proud of all the girls. We worked really hard yesterday at practice to get our rotations down, and it really showed today. We also tweaked our serve receive a bit, and I saw a huge improvement.
I think the girls were a bit frustrated that we were so close, but still came home with a loss. Even still, I thought it was a lot of fun to watch and be a part of. As a coach I am always hoping that come game-time the girls play like I have seen them play at practice. Today they did that! I see such great potential in our team, and today a lot of that potential came out on the court. Robyn had 4 aces out of 10 serves during the first game! She also had some really nice digs that were tough to get to! Taylor absolutely dominated at the net with several kills and even a few blocks! Kasey had some really nice digs and stepped up as our backup setter for a nice assist during game 2. Kristen had some good sets that the rest of the team used to rack up a few kills, and she also had a few tips over the net herself. Kaylan had some nice passes on serve recieve from some tough servers and also several kills. Shelby also had some nice digs on defense and stepped up several times with a good pass when we needed one. From our non-starters, again I was very impressed. All 6 of those girls were diving and moving to the ball. Jordan did great serving, Sydney had lots of great passes and digs, Charlene had a great kill out of the back row, Stephanie was doing great setting, Sam was digging great, and Sabrina had some nice passes. Everyone worked together and it really showed.
OK, now don't get me wrong, we did great, but we still have lots to work on. There's nothing quite like a game to point out our weaknesses. Still I couldn't have asked for a better first game! What's great is that we proved to Ruckel and ourselves that we are competitive and that we can win!!
Congratulations again on a great game. Don't get too caught up in the final score -- You win some you lose some -- but remember what it felt like to play hard and play as a team. It was fun!!
Go Pirates!

Happy Labor Day!

We won't be having practice on Monday because of the holiday, and we won't be having regular practice on Friday either, because of the school dance. I still want to have practice on Friday, so I'm deciding whether I want to have it after the school dance (from 5-7 pm), or outside on the outdoor courts during the dance (2:30-4:30 pm). Are any of you planning on going to the dance? What's your vote? I'll let you know next week what the plan is.
I'm getting excited about our first game, but we are running out of time to get ready.

School Pep Rally

Just a reminder that all the girls wear their Jerseys to school tomorrow for the Pep Rally! I'm going to try and make it so I can introduce the team, so hopefully I'll see you there!

Practice Cancelled

The school has requested that we cancel practice today so that they can set up the gym for Open House. I apologize that this is so last minute, but I was unaware of the conflict until this morning.
Sorry for any inconvenience. See you tomorrow!

Our first team picture!

Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone that came to try-outs this year. It was fast and a little bit crazy, but I think we have a great team, and I can't wait to get started. (Those girls that borrowed shorts and/or t-shirts during try-outs, please return them to the gym after school. Thanks.)

First, to those of you that did not make the team:
Thank you for trying out. We know that sometimes it's hard putting yourself out there, especially when you are trying new things. We encourage you to stay involved with the volleyball program. When we have open gym at the end of the season, please come. We are disappointed that we are unable to offer a JV team this year, so if you are in 6th or 7th grade, we hope that you will try out again next year. If you have any questions about things that are going on that you can participate in, you are welcome to contact us. Coach Love is a teacher on campus, and he would be happy to help out any way he can. Thanks again for coming out! We hope to see you soon!

For those of you that did make the team:
Congratulations! We are excited to get to know all of you a little better and have a fun, successful season.
Tomorrow we will have a lot of details and paperwork and specifics to go over, so practice will be pretty casual. We will be fitted for shoes, sock, kneepads, picking out game-day shirts, talking about team rules and responsibilities, going over all the things that are expected of you now that you are on the team, and getting to know each other. We will throw in some fun volleyball drills, so you will need to dress out and be ready to play!
At 5:00 pm we are having a parent meeting in the gym that everyone on the team is required to attend. We will be going over lots of items that are important for you and your parents to know. We will also be collecting money and placing our final order with the sporting goods store, so please bring a blank check that you can hand in during the meeting.

To give you an idea of the costs, here is what we know:
Shoes - $65.00 (same as last year)
Kneepads - $15.00 (same as last year)
Socks - $5.00 (same as last year)
Gameday Shirts - ?? (We are picking these out tomorrow with the team)
Concession start-up - $10.00 (required)
Duffle Bags - $25.00 (optional)
Extra spandex shorts - $20.00 (optional)

If you have any questions you can leave a message at the end of this post, or bring them up tomorrow at the meeting. We look forward to a great season, and congratulations to all of you.

Go Pirates!

Try-outs

Try-outs are officially here!

We will be in the gym Monday the 20th - Wednesday the 22nd from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm. Our season starts less than a week after try-outs end, so we don't have a lot of time to get ready. There's a lot to learn, and not a lot of time to learn it, so we are looking for girls that are committed to work and play hard.

I would like to mention that we are looking for a lot of things during the try-outs. Other than basic volleyball skills, we are looking for athletic potential and coachability. We are looking at attitude and leadership. We are looking for girls that are aggressive and quick on the court. We are looking for girls that will have fun both playing and working hard.

Each girl that trys-out needs a current physical and parent permission form. Please come talk to us in the gym if you want to try-out but don't have these forms yet.

The list of girls that make the team will be posted on this blog Wednesday evening, and we will post a list in the Gym window on Thursday morning.

We are waiting to see who shows up for try-outs before we make a final decision as to whether or not we will have a JV team this year.

We can't wait to see you all, and we looking forward to a fun and successful season!

5-1 Rotation

A lot of you girls were confused when we started talking about rotation. I thought it would be helpful to see it written down. This set-up is called 5-1. That basically means that there is 1 setter and 5 hitters. The setter is the same girl whether she is in the front row or the back row. For now that's the rotaion I think we will start off with. There are other rotations that use two setters (so the setter is always in the back row -- 6-2, or the setter is always in the front row -- 4-2). It's OK if you don't totally understand, but try and follow the 5-1 rotations that I have diagrammed. If you have a basic understanding, it will help practices go a lot smoother.

S = Setter
O = Opposite (back-up setter if the setter gets the 1st ball)
M = Middle Blocker
H = Outside hitter

Some of you I have a good idea where I will play you, others I will want you to learn 2 or 3 of the positions. If you want to know what positions to focus on, leave a message and I'll tell you the positions most important for you to learn.


(If you click on the image it should make it bigger.)

Try-out Form

Here is a copy of the sheet that we will be using during try-outs. As you can see, we are looking for a lot of things, not just where the ball goes.

Passing			Setting
Displays ready position	1 2 3 4 5		Quick to get under the ball	1 2 3 4 5
Good platform	1 2 3 4 5		Contact the ball above the head	1 2 3 4 5
Quick movement to ball	1 2 3 4 5		Anticipates well	1 2 3 4 5
Gets low before every pass	1 2 3 4 5		Good communication with hitters	1 2 3 4 5
Calls the ball	1 2 3 4 5		Team leader	1 2 3 4 5
Accuracy to target	1 2 3 4 5		Accuracy to the target	1 2 3 4 5
Passes off serve	/ 3		Sets to hitter	/ 6

Hitting			Serving
Drops back to 10ft line	1 2 3 4 5		Consistently over the net	1 2 3 4 5
Proper 3 step approach	1 2 3 4 5		Executes controlled toss	1 2 3 4 5
Cocks arm before hitting	1 2 3 4 5		Makes good contact with the ball	1 2 3 4 5
Follows through and snaps wrist	1 2 3 4 5		Good floater serve	1 2 3 4 5
Accuracy	1 2 3 4 5		Accuracy to target	1 2 3 4 5
Line Shot Crosscourt Down Ball	/ 3 / 3 / 3		Serves to LB Serves to RB Serves in	/ 3 / 3 / 3

Athletic Ability
Quickness	1 2 3 4 5		Shuttle Run time ___:___
Endurance	1 2 3 4 5		Situps / 30 sec
Strength	1 2 3 4 5		Height
Jumping Ability	1 2 3 4 5

Attitude
1. Coachable (tries new ideas, listens, respects authority)	1 2 3 4 5
2. Reliable (always on time, never misses a practice, attends extra practices)	1 2 3 4 5
3. Aggressive/Energetic (hustles, talks loud, goes on the floor)	1 2 3 4 5
4. Never gives up (gives 110%, never complains)	1 2 3 4 5
5. Team player (supportive of teammates, helps setup and breakdown)	1 2 3 4 5

Pencil us in

I want to let everyone know that on Thursday, August 23rd the girls that make the team will be fitted for shoes, socks and kneepads during our regular practice time. Following practice we will have a parent meeting in the gym at 5:00 pm.
We will be collecting money that day at the meeting. I will have to get back to you with specific costs for this year, but to give you an idea, here were the fees last year.

Shoes: $65.00
Socks: $5.00
Kneepads: $15.00
Gameday Shirts: $25.00
Bags: $25.00

Girls new to the team will be asked to purchase team shoes, socks, kneepads, and gameday shirts. There are Pryor dufflebags that are optional to purchase. If you don't want to purchase them they will be loaned to the girls for the season, and returned with the uniforms.
For those girls that are returning, we are using the same shoes, socks, kneepads, and gameday shirts from last year. If you would like another set of these items you will need to decide at this meeting and we will place the order.
I know that this is looking a bit far in the future, but please mark this date on your calendars and be prepared to attend if you make the team.

Summer Camp Begins

Summer camp has officially begin. It was fun to get back into the gym and play a little volleyball. It was nice to have some new faces and it was good to see the familiar ones. We had a good time, but most of the girls left with sore arms and will probably be waking up with some sore muscles. It's a good thing we have a few weeks to get in tip top shape.