Marysville’s Alyssa Codner (5) digs the ball before it reaches the floor during a 2019 match. The Lady Monarchs are going through workouts to prepare for the 2020 season. Also pictured is Morgan Shick (3). (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The second phase for high school sports workouts began on Monday.
Coaches are allowed to work in more athletes in one place.
Marysville High School varsity volleyball boss Bethany Bentz said her squad went through the initial phase with coronavirus restrictions and was looking to open up workouts a bit.
“We’ve been working with 10 players per session and now we can go to 15,” she said Monday morning.
Bentz has been putting 45 players (freshmen through seniors) through their paces in small groups the past couple of weeks.
She is very pleased with what she has seen.
“I think this is the best off-season we’ve ever had,” said Bentz. “Our motto this season is ‘We control what we can control.’”
The Lady Monarch coach said she has seen more energy and connection within her squad than during past off-seasons.
“Their desire to compete is much higher and they are building themselves up skill-wise,” she said.
Bentz admits she was a little apprehensive about what the off-season would look like during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was nervous when the virus hit and we had to shut down everything,” she said. “I didn’t want to see our off-season momentum fall.”
So far, the coach hasn’t had too much of a concern.
“The girls have been more hungry for success during this off-season,” she said. “Our desire to compete is very high and I think we can have a very good season (coming off an 8-15 mark in 2019) this fall.”
Bentz and her coaching staff are putting girls within the program through their paces Monday through Thursday of each week.
“We’ve been in the weight room working to become stronger and we’re also going through a lot of agility drills,” she said.
The Lady Monarchs are also hitting the gym to work on court skills.
“We can now have a few more players on the court than we were able to during the opening phase of workouts,” said Bentz. “Moving up to 15 players from 10 shows we’re making progress.”
The team is on the court at Marysville High School for a few hours on Monday and Wednesday evenings.
“It’s good to get on the court and get our hands on the volleyball,” said Bentz. “We’re working some long hours, but I feel it’s going to be worth it.”
The Lady Monarchs are still observing virus safety guidelines.
“Our parents have donated a lot of hand sanitizers and wipes,” said Bentz. “We do a good job of keeping the volleyballs clean.”
The temperature of each player is also taken by the coaching staff prior to the start of any workout.
The Lady Monarchs, like all high school sports teams, will proceed through Phase II of workouts for the next couple of weeks.
If all continues to go well, the third and final phase will be enacted toward the end of the month.
“We’re looking forward to Phase III, even through we’re not sure yet what that will look like,” said Bentz.