Gilmer High School volleyball players started their preseason preparations Aug. 6.
The Lady Cats graduated a nucleus of four starters off last year’s team who were consistent contributors during their time at GHS. Even with those losses, head coach Donna Parks remains optimistic about the direction of this year’s team.
“Those four were on varsity pretty much since their freshman year and we’re definitely going to miss them,” Parks said. “I had in mind what we have coming back and what we needed. I knew I had a pretty good group to lean on from what varsity players I have left plus those coming up from JV.
“I think we’re still going to be fine. We had a new girl who moved in from Nevada. She’ll be on varsity and is a really good player and played club out in Las Vegas.”
Following a week off, GHS hit the road for a training camp in Gainesville last Monday and Tuesday. The Lady Cats played four matches over the two-day span, which Parks described as “intense, fast-paced play.”
Each match consisted of two sets to 25. GHS split with Gainesville and won both versus Lakeview Academy on the opening day. On day two, Gilmer lost to West Hall and George Walton Academy.
Parks noted the event offered more than just court time to players.
“It was more or less used to train new officials,” she said. “It was stopped a little bit more than a normal match so trainers could train the officials. It was also for our scorekeepers and libero trackers and table workers so they could get some experience before that first real match.”
The Cats were back at home for their annual All-American camp last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Two instructors were present for the camp and each day was catered specifically to the skills and fundamentals Parks wanted to sharpen.
“We lost our two setters from the past four years and we struggled to find setters on JV while they were still on varsity,” Parks said. “Our main focus was getting help and training our setters to get those nice soft hands. We worked on that a good bit and digging, too. So we worked on basic skills but at a higher level. On the last day we worked on rotations and serve-receive.”
GHS will continue to shore up fundamentals and rotations in the days leading up to its first match Aug. 9.
“We’re working on the rotations. We worked on one yesterday (Monday) and worked on a different one today,” Parks said. “We’re trying to see what works best and are also working on communication. With only three of these girls playing together last year, we’ve got to get everybody to understand their place on the court and communication is the biggest thing right now.”