Southside volleyball camp stresses fundamentals

CHOCOWINITY — On the surface, the final drill of the third annual Southside Seahawk Volleyball Camp could be perceived as systematic, organized chaos.  Volleyball players frantically covered the court, swiftly rotated out and were replaced by a new set of five.

A grouping of acquired skillsets, the activity, “Queen of the Court,” showcased everything from hitting to bumping to digging, allowing Southside head coach Rosalyn Grimes to analyze and critique each player’s form. Although, by the fourth session, there wasn’t much left critiquing left to do.

“In the three years we’ve been hosting this camp, I felt that this is the best one I’ve had,” Grimes said. “I’ve seen so much maturity out of the girls, each one of them helping each other to actually learn the game of volleyball.”

The intermediate camp, consisting of instruction, drills, contests and games, built its foundation on proper form and basic fundamentals. While working to grow each student’s game individually, Grimes assessed where her current players were and took the opportunity to scout some potential rising stars. In other words, evaluating the current standard, while building upon the future of high school volleyball in Chocowinity.

Then, there were the newcomers to the game, including rising sixth-grader Sarah Petty. Leaving no player to her own devices, Grimes demonstrated an elastic mechanism made to improve bumping technique through repetition.

“I have what I call a lot of ‘chicken wing passers.’” Grimes said. “(The device) is meant to strengthen your bumps and keep your arms straight. In order to release the tension, you have to bend your knees.”

Once Petty was introduced to this device, Grimes watched as the young protégée’s bumps improved significantly.

As the newer players learned the fundamentals of the game, the older girls concentrated on evolving and sharpening their skills.

“In the three years we’ve been hosting this camp, I felt that this is the best one I’ve had,” Grimes said. “I’ve seen so much maturity out of the girls, each one of them helping each other to actually learn the game of volleyball. In previous years, there were a lot of my players here and they were just going through the motions. It was like a practice for them, but this time around, these girls wanted to learn.”

On Monday, Grimes focused primarily on serves, familiarizing the students with different serving styles, which varied among the different age groups. Tuesday’s session concentrated on proper passing techniques, as students participated in various moving passing drills.

Grimes took the students through spiking and team exercises on Wednesday and finished the camp off Thursday by recapping everything that was taught.

“To me, the season has started before the end of the school year was out,” Grimes said. “I’m really excited about this season. (I’m) looking forward to getting started and working with the new girls. I see a lot of great potential coming up.”

Next week, Grimes will take a handful of Southside volleyball players to Conway, S.C. for the annual Coastal Carolina Team Volleyball Camp, where the Seahawks will spend three days learning from coaches familiar with college-level volleyball.