Sports
Faulkner staff holds clinic for EA volleyball
By Griffin Pritchard
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Chandler Thornton of Edgewood Academy returns a volley during the Lady Wildcats teamcamp Thursday morning. The camp was under the direction of coaches from Faulkner University. Herald Photo/Austin Nelson
Edgewood Academy’s volleyball program is young.
But with youth comes the willingness to learn and learning was the focus Thursday morning as the Lady Wildcats took part in a team camp directed by Faulkner University.
Tori Bartels and her staff made the trip from Montgomery to Elmore to help the children improve their knowledge of the game.
“This is a chance to increase the skills of volleyball teams in Montgomery and the surrounding area,” said Bartels, coach of the Eagles volleyball team.
Bartels and her staff have spent the better part of the summer conducting camps at Prattville High, Andalusia High, Trinity Presbyterian and Southern Academy with more dates to go during the months of July and August.
“We are doing 14 camps total,” said Bartels.
“It’s a way for me to get out and meet all of the volleyball coaches that could help me build my program.”
But for first-year coach Angela Cook, the camp serves as an opportunity to assess the level of talent that she’ll be working with on the court.
“I know that they are going into their second year as a team and quite a few of the girls have never played volleyball before,” said Cook.
“But we’ve got a good group returning. A majority are returning from last year.”
The inaugural Lady Wildcat volleyballers won a handful of matches during the 2007 season.
Cook is planning for a better outing in year two.
“These girls are working really hard, and have a good work ethic,” said Cook.
“They want to learn, and they want to be here.”
One of the advantages of Bartels’ camp is that it’s done on campus.
“This is a good chance for us to look at the girls and see what talent might be out there,” said Bartels.
“I coached high school for years, and I miss coming back to that level. So this lets me get back to basics.”
The basics involved more than just bump, set spike. Bartels, and her assistant Theresa Berry, helped the Lady Wildcats learn positioning, proper technique and proper footwork.
“We talked and made it clear in our first meeting that we wanted to get better as a team,” said Cook. “That’s our No. 1 thing. I think the varsity won eight games last year and that is amazing for a first-year club. This is a good group and I think that they want to get better.”
Bartels, whose Lady Eagles posted a 24-14 mark during 2007, also can use the camps as a way to scout potential players for her Young Eagles Volleyball Club that is starting in August.
“It’s going to be for fifth through eighth grade and help teach them the game,” said Bartels. “We are going to have another club, the Capital City Juniors, that will give the elite players in the area a chance to play. I’ve been telling the other coaches about it and they have been recommending players.”
For the Lady Wildcats, however, their summer camping experience is not quite over. Cook plans to take the group to a team camp at Huntingdon College this month.
