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