After a long layoff from any kind of team sports, the Camp Verde volleyball team is back in the gym and playing together — though not all at the same time.
Due to COVID-19, a number of restrictions are still in place. But just getting back on the court and around the team has been welcomed by the Cowboys coaches and players.
“It’s so fun to see familiar faces again and get together with our volleyball family,” coach Britney Armstrong said. “We’ve been doing texts here and there but it’s been a joy to have everybody back and seeing everybody.”
“I was going crazy without volleyball and I got really out of shape,” senior Paige Seneca said. “I’m glad to start working so we’re not going into the season cold and we’re all becoming more of a team, even though we’re separated.”
While practices are happening, it’s not business as usual. Practices are limited to no more than 12 girls at a time. Armstrong noted that one group of 10 has been made up of the returning players. The second group, which has been four to eight, consists of either incoming freshmen or girls who are new to volleyball. Being separated makes it harder for the more inexperienced players to fully integrate with their teammates.
Furthermore, drills are limited to one-on-one activities which don’t do much to simulate in-game scenarios.
“It’s harder to get ready for that game-like situation that you’ll be in when the season starts,” senior Tierney Schuh said.
However, Schuh also noted that despite those challenges, there are some advantages that come with practicing in smaller groups.
“You get to work more in person with each of your teammates,” Schuh said. “You get to learn more about what their strengths and weaknesses are when the season comes.”
Armstrong said that like everybody else, she doesn’t know when her team will be able to practice more intensely. She added that she’s received invitations for offseason tournaments or scrimmages but those have all come with the qualifier that the situation may not allow for them to actually take place.
Regardless of when the next step comes, Armstrong has been encouraged by the commitment that the team has shown in the early practices.
“Coach Crystal [Drake] and I can teach them how to play,” Armstrong said. “But that passion and that desire is something that just comes from within. That’s something that we see coming up from some of the younger girls. You can tell that they’re just really excited to be playing volleyball, which is great.”
That passion is something that the members of the team credit the coaches for instilling, especially during the lengthy quarantine when everyone was left on their own to keep their games as sharp as possible.
“I’m grateful for amazing coaches that keep us together,” senior Ashlee Bueler said. “Even when we’ve been all over the place during quarantine. They’ve really circled us back in and now it’s time to get to work again.”
