Spikers hone skills at week-long summer camp

Lucas Punkari

Spiking, digging, and blocking were the order of the day at the Fort High gym all last week as area volleyball players participated in the Fort Frances Vipers’ volleyball camp.
The five-day camp was designed to not only give local players a chance to take to the court during the off-season, but also to work on developing their skills.
“We go through all of the different aspects of volleyball,” explained Duane Roen, who coaches both the Muskie and Vipers squads.
“We worked on forearm passing, setting, blocking, and especially swing blocking because that is something a lot of the kids don’t know much about,” he noted.
“Then, of course, we work on their hitting, their serving, and their overall game play,” Roen added.
All but one of the 27 participants in the camp were local players, with the lone out-of-towner being 14-year-old Harrison Mather, who came all the way from Sandwich, Mass.
Joining Harrison was his father, Andy, a coach for Beantown Volleyball who helped out at the camp last week.
“I think it’s neat for us to come up here,” said Andy Mather, who originally hails from Ottawa.
“The athletes that we have might be a little bit bigger, faster, and stronger, and the technique might be a little bit more refined, but it’s a good change to come up and work with a different group of kids,” he added.
“Plus, I also like to fish, so I’m able to do some walleye fishing when I come here,” Mather smiled.
The third coach at the Vipers’ camp was Bob Kowal of Kenora, who is involved with the Lakers’ club program there and also coaches at St. Thomas Aquinas.
He cited how big camps such as this are for volleyball players in the region.
“When you compare our area to southern Ontario, they have a huge club system and it is much easier for them to access,” Kowal said.
“For people like Mr. Roen here in Fort Frances, they have to travel all the way to Winnipeg or further to get that sort of competition, and it’s always an overnight thing for the teams,” he noted.
“I talked to Coach Mather on the way back from practice the other night, and he said to me that ‘you almost get a month or two months of practice in this week of time.’
“So for the kids, it really is valuable to have these types of camps,” Kowal stressed.
With three different coaches giving advice to the players, it sometimes may be hard for them to determine what and who to listen to. But Roen feels that’s just part of the learning process.
“One of the things we say to the kids is to keep an open mind,” Roen said.
“The way that I present something in practice might not be the same as Andy or Bob presents it to them,” he conceded. “But if it’s something that they can use that makes them better, it certainly can be a benefit to them.
“The coaches bring a wealth of experience from all over the place, and we are really lucky to be able to get them here for a whole week,” Roen added.
And with some news skills to build upon, Mather feels all of the participants at the Vipers’ camp will have a fine advantage heading into their upcoming club or high school seasons.
“Learning these new techniques is going to make them a better player in the long run, and it’s only going to enhance their level of play when the get into the high school or club season,” he remarked.
“I can’t say enough about the kids here,” Mather added. “They are polite, open-minded, and they are all working very hard.
“And as a coach, what more can you want?”