Gone Camping...

It's hard to believe, but we are already hosting our summer volleyball camp at Highland High School this week. For this camp there will not be any campfires (although they did a fire drill yesterday), s'mores, snipe hunts, or any of the sort. Just some hard working, focused, sweaty athletes, working hard to get better at what they love to do. Deb Parrish is our Head Coach again this year and I feel so secure having her at the helm of our team. She has so much knowledge and experience. Cory Johanson and I are the assistant coaches again. This year we decided to bring in coaches from Chad Tiechert's Volleyball Camps to run our summer camp. Bill Thompson, and his daughter, from Wyoming are our presenters. They do everything. So basically we are just there to make adjustments and handle any problems. (I don't like problems!) Luckily no injuries or upset people so far.

I must admit that I felt some sadness when I went to the gym today and realized that half of our varsity team from last year has graduated. Sure I knew that they would be moving on with their lives, but I miss those young athletes already. We gradutated some strong athletes. Three of the five are going on to play college ball at various universities. Because we lost a few great athletes, I'll admit that I have had moments of anxiety about what we are going to do to stay strong as a team. I am not sure that we are as strong as we have been. Hey but that's why we practice and why we have an awesome coaching staff. We really seem to complement one another.

We do have some strong incoming seniors. Breanne Van Every and Emma Filiaga are outstanding athletes. Both have already been recognized with athletic excellence at the state level, First and Second Team respectfully. I have worked with them since they were young girls. I have watched them as they have grown from young girls to young women. Both played on my travelling 14's Intermountain Volleyball Team. We also have Amy Teuscher and Kelsie Burup coming back as seniors, each played on my travelling team too. These girls are fantastic and I am sure are hoping to fill vacated spots left by the graduated seniors who played ahead of them last year. Hopefully they will have the opportunities that they expect. We are so lucky to have Nikki Meline, our setter, and Jordan Holman coming back too,. Both will be juniors. These girls are so athletic and such fun to be around. They teach me so much. I love to watch them interact with one another and the support that they give to each other. They are positive role models for those who are around them. These ladies are kind, friendly, hard-working athletes, but more importantly people. I have seen each of them sacrifice many times for the team. Sometimes they play even though they are tired, hurt, and in pain. It is fun to watch them as friends too. They have so much fun doing this.

I really believe that children who are involved in extra-curricular activities may have an edge in some aspects of life. Not that others can't learn these things but I know that those I work with learn so many things. They learn to work hard. They learn the importance of team work. They develop self-confidence. They are physically active. They gain friendships. They contribute. Of course I see the benefits of the girls that play volleyball, but kids can get involved in a variety of things. I just think it is important to get involved in something.