Sometimes there is bliss in starting over.
After winning the small school state championship last season and sending all of those players on to begin their high school careers, the Big Park Community School volleyball team welcomes in a whole new group of girls this season.
Big Park volleyball coach Shelley Woellmer said that while only one of the 10 eighth-graders on her “A” team have ever played volleyball before, they are all great athletes who are excited to learn the game.
“We plan on winning some games,” Woellmer said. “We’ll probably lose a couple, but these are great athletes with a lot of enthusiasm for a brand new game.
“They’re doing very well — after seven days of practice they’re learning their rotations and how the game is played, and it’s very exciting. They’re very good girls — great athletes.”
Woellmer said that because of the girls’ inexperience, she is teaching a lot more fundamentals than she normally would, but the girls are picking them up quickly.
“Because they’re such great athletes they do have good hand-eye coordination already, so we’re refining their skills and letting them learn about the movement of the ball and the movement of the game — how fast paced it is,” Woellmer said. “Volleyball is a game where you have to think, move and do all at the same time, and they’re learning that.
“They’re doing a very good job.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Aug. 28, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.