The Innisfail Cyclones senior girls volleyball teams are already in next-semester country.
Cyclones coach Jeff Anderson, in preparation for an early volleyball tournament, held girls volleyball tryouts for two days for students from grades 10 to 12, on June 16 and 18 in the Innisfail Middle School gymnasium.
“We wanted to hold it in the new gymnasium, but it wasn't ready yet and our (senior high) gym has ceilings that are too low,” said Anderson. “Our turnout was very good, with 30 girls registered initially, of which 26 came out for the teams. I was very surprised that only four girls are from Grade 11, while 22 are Grade 10 students.”
Anderson noted the early tryouts and skill testing were based on a couple of factors.
“Firstly, I wanted to get the girls thinking of volleyball before school finishes,” added the coach. “Secondly, come September, we already have a tournament to go to on the weekend of September 5th and 6th at Red Deer College, so we need to have a team up and going.”
He added with the numbers of girls interested in the program there will be two teams at the senior high level in the 2014-15 school year.
“Even with 26 girls coming out, I will need to make cuts as only 12 members are allowed per team,” said Anderson.
Along with his two coaching assistants, Anderson applies a statistical tool to evaluate players based on their performance.
“Every skill has an evaluation technique connected with it,” said Anderson. “We track kills, blocks, serving percentage, digs, and shot/serve accuracy and speed. Today we are setting a baseline for the players so they know where they are now, and when they come back in September, I will test them again and I can see if they have improved or not.”
He added the girls will also know if they have improved or not, based on the numbers he can give them.
Anderson's assistant coaches, Jessica Clutton and Ashley Fehr, are former players who have gone on to collegiate volleyball.
“We will be holding tryouts as well on September 2 and 3, so this June session becomes more valuable as we endeavour to set the teams early,” said Anderson. “I have a good group of girls who came out to practice and I expect a strong season.”
