The Jasper Junior/Senior High School volleyball program is having a landmark year.
For the first time ever Jasper has been able to field six teams, with close to 60 players enrolled in the program from every grade.
“That’s significant when we’ve only got about 200 students in the school,” explained junior coach Marshall Corbett. “There’s a big percentage of kids playing volleyball.”
And those numbers have translated to success, especially at the junior level, where after five games each, the girls have gone undefeated, and the boys have lost only a single game.
Part of this year’s massive turnout is due to the much larger gym provided by Jasper’s recently completed joint school facility. The size of the gym allows the space to be separated into more than one court, meaning that for the first time ever Jasper has the infrastructure to support B teams at the junior level.
According to Corbett, past years have seen only a handful of Grade 7 students make the cut, and even then they didn’t get much court time.
The B teams allow these players a spot to develop their skills, instead of sitting out for a year.
“It starts at the junior high level and when the junior high starts cranking out players it benefits the high school down the road,” explained senior coach Terry Lanigan.
The junior B teams have also been great for helping high school players develop leadership skills. Players from both the senior girls and boys teams have been volunteering with their younger peers, coaching and mentoring them throughout the season.
“It’s a really good opportunity for them to learn a different perspective, and really take on a leadership role as well,” Corbett explained. “Watching what these senior girls are doing with the junior girls B team is really impressive.”
This weekend eight teams will travel to Jasper to compete in a senior tournament Oct. 24–25. The seniors don’t really compete in league play, so tournaments are their opportunity to show their stuff and suss out the competition ahead of zones next month.
Lanigan explained that his teams will be going hard for the next month, with tournaments and games every weekend, culminating in the zones championships in just over four weeks.
He encouraged Jasperites to come to the new school to check out the tournament. The new gym is an impressive sight with the single court and bleachers set up, and the volleyball should be competitive and fast-paced.
“We encourage people to come out and watch. It’s going to be some good volleyball.”
Trevor Nichols
[email protected]
