Home

Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs High School volleyball coach Wendy Hall was pleased to see the girls who will be trying out for her team next week already playing six-on-six games before their first official practice.

"We will be able to really jump ahead this year," Hall said, watching camp coach Brad Collins instruct a high-intensity six-on-six game on Thursday morning in the Kelly Meek gymnasium.

This is the first year Hall has decided to line up a skills camp directly before the beginning of practice.

"It gives us time to get in shape and to get the fundamentals back," said Shannon King, one of three senior girls at the camp. "It's a good start."

Hall brought in Collins and coach Brian Crawford from Gold Medal Squared volleyball camps and clinics to host the one-week camp running from Monday through today.

"We work for Olympic coaches and former Olympians," Collins said. "We teach the same stuff they learn at the Olympics. It's fun, and it gets intense. Plus, we're teaching life skills about working hard and competing."

Hall said she chose to use the trained "satellite" coaches from Gold Medal Squared because she has coaching experience with the company's clinics.

"They teach the same stuff I do," Hall said. "It's so valuable to all be speaking the same language with the same philosophy and same systems."

Hall said 31 girls were signed up for the camp, about half of whom were incoming freshmen working with coach Clint Koehler, but that she thought at least 10 more should show up for practice, starting Monday with two-a-day practices.

For now, Hall is pleased to hand over the reins and watch from the sidelines.

"When you're not doing the whole verbal thing, coaching, you see a whole lot more and notice who's working hard," said Hall, ready for the season to begin. "But next week, they'll be hearing my voice a lot."