Staley played her second season of volleyball this winter. And with my stellar knowledge from my several years of playing middle school volleyball, I helped out as her assistant coach. Although her season came to an abrupt end due to the coronavirus, it was still another sport's season that Staley enjoyed and progressed in her skills. She was very disappointed when the final tournament of the season was cancelled.
Staley's team
This year Staley moved up from the 1st/2nd grade league to the 3rd/4th grade league. What a difference!! There was a huge jump in the skill level between the two leagues. There were volleys. There were girls that served overhand. It seemed like there were girls on every team who also played league volleyball, elevating the level of competition for everyone.
Staley learned a lot throughout the year. There were several strong players on her team, which I think intimidated Staley as she would often just watch the ball and hope one of them would get it. However, with a little incentive the last game of the year (a special dessert treat for the family if she tried to get the ball 5 times throughout the game), Staley had the best game of the year as she was being more aggressive and trying to get to the ball. I was looking forward to watching her build off that for the tournament, while also wishing we had put that incentive in place at the beginning of the season rather than the end.
Nevertheless, by the end of the season, Staley was pretty consistently getting her serves over and had returned the ball over the net a few times. She even scored the game winning serves during 2 different games during the season. She also made some new friends on her team and had a lot of fun.
Although the end of the season wasn't what anyone hoped for, Staley enjoyed her season, had fun with her friends, and progressed with her volleyball skills. I'll call that a success!!
