Volleyball camp shows there’s more than just jumping high
MARBLE FALLS — Marble Falls High School volleyball coach Julie Downs is known for her patience.
Before coming to Marble Falls, she took over programs looking to instill a winning attitude at her previous stops, Thorndale and Taylor.
And she knows that comes from working with elementary- and middle-school-aged players.
So when 21 campers were at her camp this week, the coach noted she had 10 eighth-graders and 10 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders.
Reann Hall learns the correct steps to jumping high for a set to end a rally with a spike during the Lady Mustang volleyball camp. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
“They’re working really hard,” she said. “They’re a lot of fun to be around.”
The first two days were devoted to proper fundamentals, which isn’t as much fun as spiking the ball to end a rally, Downs said.
But she was pleased the players embraced learning proper technique as well as they have.
“We have to do a lot more repetition, over and over and over,” the coach said. “So sometimes, it gets a little monotonous for them, but they retained a lot from Monday. And they’re tired. But that’s what we get paid for, working that hard and sending them home. Footwork, tons and tons of footwork, tons and tons of making sure that the ball is positioned correctly and the passing is correct, so lots and lots of fundamentals.”
Because it takes more than just being able to jump to play the sport, Downs said coaches are aware they must have persistence in continuing to teach.
“I don’t think they’re really going to get it, but we’re going to set the basic framework and when they come into a season, it won’t be brand new to them,” she said. “Four days in camp, no they won’t, but they’ll get better at it. And I’ve seen a lot of improvement from yesterday to today. It’s a great start.”