Interest spikes in volleyball camp

Details

Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner

Young setters and hitters from across the region converged on Neepawa last week for the inaugural Dig It Westman Volleyball Camp.  The event was co-ordinated by Amy Spring and Drew Korman and took place from Aug. 22 to 26 at the NACI gymnasium. The camp was split into two groups, middle years (grades 7/8) and junior varsity (grades 9/10) and consisted of a combination of game technique and cardio training each day. Korman said the feedback they’ve received from the camp’s attendees was very positive. 

“We have had kids here before the doors open and they’ve been ready and looking forward to the day. While they’ve been here, they’ve been putting their max effort in and most importantly, we’ve see them improving as the week progressed,” noted Korman. “It’s great to see the skill level and conditioning level improve as it has. It shows that they’re committed and willing to learn. We have been really impressed with the attitude.”

Spring concurred with the positive response and added that having former University of Winnipeg Wesmen player Alica Perry in as an instructor for a portion of the camp, helped to enhance the experience.

“Having Alica here during the week, helping with the camp, provided a fantastic player perspective. [Perry] has so much experience on a university level, that it really enhanced the education the players received. Everyone really enjoyed having her here,” noted Spring. “It’s been a good camp. Everyone came in with an excellent attitude and were really focused. It’s been great to see with both the [junior varsity] and the [grade] 7/8, working so hard.” 

Perry has been involved in volleyball programs like this for several years. She said serving as an instructor and seeing the youngsters develop their game so much was gratifying.

“For the younger players that are out [at the volleyball camp], I hope that they gain a bit more confidence in their game, as well as learn ball control, footwork and just generally get a good understanding of the basic principles of the game,” stressed Perry. “For the more experienced players, we’re able to take a different approach. We can work on the nuances of their game. Improving their footwork on the court, how to put more power into their serve or how to use their physicality to maximum benefit. We also discuss the mental portion of the game, because that’s a big facet of the game. In that way, we focus on leadership and supporting teammates. It’s really a complete evaluation of the player.”

The primary goal of the camp was to allow young volleyball players from across the region to improve their skills with the help of some top level instructional talent. Dig It has stepped up this year as a replacement to the Beautiful Plains Extreme Volleyball Camp, which ceased operation in 2015. Both Spring and Korman noted after the week had concluded, that they were very optimistic about Dig It’s long term future.