MCVB 2020 Starts Outdoors

As we've stated before, our season got off to an incredibly different start this year.  Once we all got through the initial testing and protocols, we were able to start practice...OUTSIDE!  The entire Athletic Complex was closed for the first couple of weeks of school as more procedures were put in place and we waited to get through the next round of testing after classes started.  We made the best of our situation because at least we could still get together to practice.  We had to mask up, as we will all semester, whether inside or out, and we had to maintain a distance of 6' from each other, so our huddles were extremely large, and there were no more high fives, which is a bummer.  To practice keeping our social distance, I told the team that I would try to trip them up and say, "great job, and then pretend to high five them!"  They were instructed to be sure to remind me politely that I needed to keep my space if I approached them.  They were great, and occasionally, they had to remind me as I tried to just get closer so I could talk to one of them, but we all quickly got used to our new "normal".

Most of the players had taken quite a bit of time off from playing volleyball since the lockdown in March, so it was good for us all to start out slowly.  We started with the basic skills of passing and serving, as we always do, but we just stayed there, working on technique and getting lots of reps with serving and receiving and platform angles etc.  And, we did this with everyone, including setters and middles.  Since we had to stay 6' apart, even once we started hitting, middles could only run 3's and slides to keep their distance from the setters.  This meant a lot of drills, and then 2v2 and 3v3 competitions, which is actually great for everyone to develop overall court sense and all around skills.

Fortunately, Mother Nature helped us out by having gorgeous Fall weather most of the time we were outside.  There was only one day where we just couldn't set up the nets because there was simply too much wind, but that was great for doing a VOLT workout.  We had a very dedicated cadre of injured players that came every day, and even when the air got a little cooler, they were still enjoying the sun from their place at the edges of our courts, and of course, spaced 6' apart from one another.  They were the self-appointed DJ's so we'd have music for our practices, which was a nice treat also!

The College tried to do what they could to help the students on campus enjoy themselves despite all of the new rules and regulations governing campus life due to Covid.  One day they had Ice Cream Trucks appear all over campus and offered FREE ice cream to all students, which was a great treat, especially as they came by just as practice was ending!  The limit on gatherings was 10 unless supervised (allowing up to 25), which meant at least we could all be together during practice sessions.  It was hard to socialize as a team since they couldn't have the usual "Team Dinner" after practice, so they just formed smaller groups to get together and eat, or walk to the Organic Garden, or just hang out together outside in small groups.

We also had several September birthdays to celebrate, which we did the same as always....with cup cakes!  My daughter Lois loves to bake, so she did most of the baking for the Team Birthdays this year, and she enjoyed the challenge of making the Vegan ones for Kelly, which were enjoyed by everyone.  Hopefully we debunked the myth that vegan treats aren't as tasty!  

Since we weren't quite sure if or when we'd get to play 6v6, we decided to have a season-long 3v3 (and sometimes 2v2) tournament each week to get at least some kind of competition.  We switched up the teams each week and kept a cumulative score of both wins and points, so at the end of the season we should have a winner, or two?!  The typical coin flip for serve became a Rochambo as witnessed here by Corley and Kelly!