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Volleyball program increases in strength, numbers
Nov 1, 2002 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
Darlington volleyball teams reached for high goals this year and obtained them. The Middle School team exceeded last year’s wins and ended the season 5-5. The junior varsity team finished the season undefeated. Jim Linos, head volleyball coach, attributes that team’s winning season to a strong core group. “The team had the ability to be flexible without ever losing a lot of skill on the floor,” he said. The varsity team finished 21-17, eight wins more than its previous record.
The three teams all face different challenges throughout the season. This was only the Middle School’s second year and they learned the basic skills and strategies of the game, while developing continuity among the sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders. The JV team, comprised of ninth-, tenth-, and eleventh-graders, mastered a wider range of skills, ranging from basic skills for ninth-graders, who had never played, to those who possessed a “varsity” level of knowledge and needed to help the other players. The Varsity team worked hard to continue improving while winning throughout the season.
“The best part of being a volleyball coach is seeing the girls grow and sharing the ‘love of the game’ with them as they experience the highs and lows, joys and sorrows of volleyball, school, and their personal lives,” Linos said. “To simply be able to share the hours on the court (and off) as each athlete discovers her abilities are improving and that she is contributing to the team in a positive manner is amazing. To teach and to share experiences is a wonderful goal for a coach to have.”
Having a Middle School program will help the volleyball program continue to build. Linos said, “I have been building the program to continually strengthen itself while putting the need for victory in proper perspective. We do play to win, but we want to play well most of all.”
During practice the different teams did their warm-ups together and then they separated onto two or three courts. The JV and varsity teams practiced one and a half to two hours a day, Monday thru Friday, while the Middle School team practiced for an hour a day, Monday thru Friday. Sometimes the JV and Middle School practiced together for the first hour and there were days when all three teams did certain basic skill drills together.
According to Linos, he and Coach Braden encouraged the older, experienced players to work with the younger, inexperienced players during warm-up and practice sessions where the three teams worked together.
The three teams all face different challenges throughout the season. This was only the Middle School’s second year and they learned the basic skills and strategies of the game, while developing continuity among the sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders. The JV team, comprised of ninth-, tenth-, and eleventh-graders, mastered a wider range of skills, ranging from basic skills for ninth-graders, who had never played, to those who possessed a “varsity” level of knowledge and needed to help the other players. The Varsity team worked hard to continue improving while winning throughout the season.
“The best part of being a volleyball coach is seeing the girls grow and sharing the ‘love of the game’ with them as they experience the highs and lows, joys and sorrows of volleyball, school, and their personal lives,” Linos said. “To simply be able to share the hours on the court (and off) as each athlete discovers her abilities are improving and that she is contributing to the team in a positive manner is amazing. To teach and to share experiences is a wonderful goal for a coach to have.”
Having a Middle School program will help the volleyball program continue to build. Linos said, “I have been building the program to continually strengthen itself while putting the need for victory in proper perspective. We do play to win, but we want to play well most of all.”
During practice the different teams did their warm-ups together and then they separated onto two or three courts. The JV and varsity teams practiced one and a half to two hours a day, Monday thru Friday, while the Middle School team practiced for an hour a day, Monday thru Friday. Sometimes the JV and Middle School practiced together for the first hour and there were days when all three teams did certain basic skill drills together.
According to Linos, he and Coach Braden encouraged the older, experienced players to work with the younger, inexperienced players during warm-up and practice sessions where the three teams worked together.
