Camp helps get players ready for the season
Posted By TINA PEPLINSKIE TPEPLINSKIE@THEDAILYOBSERVER.CA
Updated 6 months ago
- Fifteen area volleyball players are spending the week honing their skills to get ready for the upcoming season.
About half of the girls, born between 1992 and 1997, are already involved in the Renfrew County Knights Volleyball Club although the camp was open to other players interested in improving their skills, noted club president Matthew Monych, who also coaches the 16U team.
The camp has attracted players from Pembroke, Petawawa, Deep River, Eganville and Ottawa.
Throughout the week, the players will complete a number of drills aimed at helping them improve their individual skills as opposed to focusing so much on the team game.
The girls are divided into beginner and advanced groups, with the advanced group working on multi-skill drills that will be required at the next level of competition.
"We want everyone to finish this camp with better technical skill than they started with," Monych said.
"They are learning specific skills because they won't be a complete player until they learn these skills to help them evolve into an overall player."
Because the girls are still young, they are learning all of the positions, not focusing on only one, he said.
Monych admitted the first day was meant to help the players get the rust off after being off the court for a few months, so he is hoping to see some improvement by the end of the week.
"We want everyone to reach their own potential by the end of the five days," he said.
"The camp is meant to improve everyone in all facets of the game."
The Knights Volleyball Club is the only organization in the Upper Ottawa Valley dedicated to the development of youth in the sport of volleyball.
Its 14U and 16U teams are selected in June and the girls are given a physical training plan for the summer months in order to be prepared when the teams start practicing the first Wednesday of the school year. The program allows the players to focus more on the volleyball skills as opposed to their athletic skills once the season starts, he explained.
Aside from the indoor sessions, each day the girls also moved to Dundonald Hall for beach volleyball to help the players work on a cross section of skills.
With the advanced girls, Monych's assistant coach is Brenda Beauchamp and handling the beginner camp is Daniel Miner, who coaches the 14U girls and his assistant Lindsay Sinclair.
Tina Peplinskie is a Daily Observer reporter
