Bump, set, spike! Since the fall sports season starts before school, tryouts for sports teams are held much earlier as well. From Aug. 22-25, volleyball tryouts were held in the Terraceum.
During tryouts, all of the athletes were tested based on their volleyball skills and the coaches also observed how the athletes got along with one another.
“We go through every type of technical skill that we have in the game of volleyball, and each skill, depending on how the girl does, is given a point system,” varsity coach Sharalee Mathews-Malloy said.
“That allows us to track data as to how every girl is doing in each skill throughout tryouts.”
When making the final decision of who makes each team, Mathews-Malloy, JV coach Jean Kellogg and C-team coach Kelsey Eyer look at the strengths and weaknesses of each athlete.
Data from tryouts helps them determine which team would fit each player best.
“It’s based on the strengths of each girl and how they fit into each team. How they fit into each team dynamic, is kind of like putting a puzzle together,” Mathews-Malloy said.
“Putting pieces together based on what the girls could do.”
During practices, all three coaches go through the fundamentals of the game, each athlete’s skills, gameplay and train the athletes to play in any volleyball position.
As a coach, Mathews-Malloy knows that every year the students change along with the way they need coaching. She also does what she can to help the volleyball team improve their strength in the game.
“I know that as a coach, I increase my knowledge of the game by doing coaching clinics, making sure that I am reaching out to other coaches to get information on what’s changed, what’s getting better, and how we improve ourselves as coaches,” she said.
The key to a successful team is communication and trust. In addition to that, Mathews-Malloy said she believes that a way to make a good team is to care about the emotional and physical strength of each player.
Although the teams are competitive, the goal that the coaches have is to make sure every athlete has fun. “We are competitive, but in the long run if a player wants to be here and have fun, they’re going to come back,” she said.
Since rosters change every year, Mathews-Malloy researches ways to mentor athletes and different perspectives on coaching.
“I do a lot of reading up on volleyball books and philosophies and things like that,” Mathews-Malloy said.
