The list of activities and events that have been affected by the coronavirus goes on and on, even for our small community. However, the pandemic has not caused our sports teams to shy away from training during the off season. In the beginning of June, the student athletes were able to start their summer lifting program. Today, students not only continue with their lifting program but are starting to practice their sport with open gyms and camps.
The Wolfpack volleyball program, for example, is one of the teams to start working on their skills in the off-season with open gyms and camps. Despite some restrictions they still face like taking temperatures, sanitizing equipment, and keeping a little distance from one another, the girls are hard at work in the weight room and gym.
Head coach Tina Thiele-Blecher gave some insight to what open gyms are like for the team and why working in the off-season is an important part of the sport. The volleyball open gyms are usually on Friday mornings at 6:30 a.m. to accommodate everyone’s schedule and led by the senior girls on the team. “It’s great to work on skills, get a glimpse of the athletes before the season starts but it is also great for the girls to have camaraderie,” she said. “The girls can make some memories and have fun all while touching a volleyball and preparing for the season!”
Along with open gyms, the volleyball team has been able to sign up for some camps to participate in. The JV volleyball team will head over to Wayne for a team camp on July 10.
Then the girls will participate in a Wayne State skills camp as well as another team camp at Cross County. “Camps allow you to work on some skills but also girls can get on the court and see some playing time,” said Coach Thiele. She highly encourages camps in order for girls to start seeing positions and preparing for season all while having fun.
Despite all the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on other activities, it is good to know that our local sports teams are hard at work preparing for a successful season. Hopefully, our town of Elgin will see a strong Wolfpack volleyball team come fal
