New Morgan County High School volleyball head coach Alan Shultz had a chance to see what the future holds, as the team hosted a youth camp last week with a large number of kids in attendance.
Nearly 100 girls packed the school’s competition gym to learn from their varsity and junior varsity peers. The camp took place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. between July 8 and July 11.
“We had a fun week of camp with the young girls,” Shultz told the Lake Oconee News.
The purpose of the camp was to teach fundamentals, compete in skill contests, and create a pathway from the recreational and middle school programs to the high school level.
The campers arrived each morning at 9 a.m., stretched, warmed up, and started their drills. The high school players interacted with the campers, acting as coaches and helping them.
They worked on footwork, shifting back and forth together on the court, as well as passing skills and defensive strategies. They also went through live scenarios of what could happen in a match.
These drills can target various skills, including passing, setting, serving, hitting, blocking, as well as agility and teamwork.
The campers took a snack break about halfway through the session and then returned to work immediately. The different age groups then split up and competed against each other.
According to Shultz, the camp was a complete success because he got to see what the future holds, and also because it brought the volleyball community in Morgan County together.
“It’s great to see the high school players investing directly into the future of the program,” Shultz said.
Volleyball is popular in Morgan County, as the program has won two state championships in the past four years.
“The reason Morgan County volleyball is competing for state championships every year is because they made the effort to teach them the skills and mechanics from a young age,” Shultz added.
Shultz hopes the camp is even bigger next year.