On Thursday, October 12th the boys will battle it out on the court. The powderpuff events are here as a tradition of homecoming week. These games have opposite gender playing a sport. In this specific case, volleyball girls coach groups of boys by grade level on how to play the sport. For about two weeks the girls have been working on coaching methods.
There are two coaches for each grade level. Coach Kylie Barbier and Clara Freeman for the senior team. Sarah Ican and Cameron Ramey for the junior team. The sophomores have Deona Bostic and Rowan Pike as their coaches. Finally, the Freshman have Jayne Clark and Delilah Dorgan.
The star players for the senior team are Bronson Andrasa for defense and Bryce Ford for setting. The coaching methods are just making sure the boys know the basics. Coach Kylie Barbier says that “if you know the basics, you know the game.” The main skills they struggled with “hitting and diving and not jumping into the net,” Coach Clara states that the “boys have a really big problem with staying off the net.” This could lead to a penalty if it happens during the game. However, both coaches believe that the senior team will win the powderpuff games.
As the junior team practices “they are coached with support to help them improve” coach Sarah says. They do better when they are praised for learning the skills that they need to know. Coach Cameron’s coaching method was “setting a high expectation for the players” and all of them “definitely reached that”. The coaches said the boys had a hard time staying off the net and learning each of the rotations in the game. Either way, both coaches believe that juniors will win with their star players Kory Barbier, Ethan Jackson, JP Feindt and Caelan Goodwin-Slater.
As the sophomore coaches prepare for powderpuff, they try to get a handle on their practices. Coaches Rowan and Deona both believe that the sophomore team will win the games. They’re coaching methods were “making sure the boys knew all the basics of volleyball.” The things that the boys struggled with the most “were setting and not jumping into the volleyball net” states coach Rowan. All of these being key skills to up the chances of winning the game.
The freshmen coaches have been slow to practice, but they do believe that they will do well in the games. Coach Jayne states that “they will cover the essential skills” all of which include “setting, passing and hitting the ball.” They also know that the boys will struggle with “setting and ball control” says coach Delilah. All the assistant coaches will be there to help with the specific skills as well. The freshman coaches stay hopeful and are making sure the game will be fun for their team.
The coaches continue to work hard to make sure that their players play their best. The winner will be defined not only by skill but by attitude. With hard work and determination this will certainly be a game to watch. So, with this final note, let the games begin!
