July 24, 2019 at 11:49 a.m.
Fundamentals the focus at RHS volleyball camp
Fundamentals the focus at RHS volleyball camp
A five-day team camp that runs through Friday will put a bow on the volleyball team's offseason program and, for second-year coach Brianna Scheuermann, it all boiled down to fundamentals.
"I think it's really hitting home fundamentals, footwork for passing. We've always struggled with that in past seasons. If we really can hit home on the fundamentals of volleyball, that will really help us this year," she said.
If nothing else, more structure this offseason will help the program. The team was in flux last summer following the retirement of former coach Kathy Wawrzynowicz. Scheuermann was not hired to fill the vacancy until July. That created a summer where there were not as many opportunities for the team to work on its game. Coupled with a young squad that had only two seniors, it made for a long 2018 campaign on the court as the team dropped its final 37 matches after beating Chequamegon in three sets during its season opening invitational.
This summer, there have been several more opportunities to improve.
"We've had open gyms three nights a week and they've been going down to Tomahawk in the Tomahawk League (on Monday nights) and I think they took third out of the six teams," Scheuermann explained. "They've done pretty good with that. Some of the girls helped out with the youth camp two weeks ago.
"You can already tell it's definitely going to change. Girls are getting more touches. They're passing, serving, hitting, working on their skills early instead of just two weeks before the season and then trying to play the weekend after season starts. It's going to change just them being in game-mode."
Scheuermann said roughly 20 girls are in attendance at the camp this week, which is for new and returning high school players. She said that number is off slightly from what her goal was but that summer vacations and employment may have played a factor in the attendance.
While fundamentals have been the No. 1 priority, Scheuermann said the team will focus more on specific training for individual positions during the last couple of days of the camp today and tomorrow.
The good news for the Hodags is that the majority of players from last year's squad are slated to return. Outside hitter Brooke Mork and libero Mikayla Evenstad - who suffered a season-ending knee injury midway through last year - are the only two starters the team graduated.
Practice for the RHS volleyball team will begin Monday, Aug. 19. The team will scrimmage at Merrill Aug. 24 and host the Hodag Quad to kick off the season Aug. 27.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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