Player influx

An influx of juniors into its Monday night program has created a scheduling nightmare for Volleyball Horsham administrators.

Junior team numbers have increased with eight teams participating, while an increase in female participation has led to the creation of a standalone female competition with six teams.

A traditional C Grade competition will also continue with six teams.

It’s a great problem to have, even though putting the draw together has been a challenge in scheduling 10 time slots across one night with only two courts.

Because Monday nights have more juniors than seniors, the challenge was to ensure the scheduling did not run too late.

Starting the juniors at 4.30pm and giving them 45-minute games means breaking away from the traditional 55-minute games. As it is we should finish by 9.10pm.

Sometimes tradition has to be discarded and while we like to see kids playing for as long as possible, it was not feasible with the numbers we had and the lack of court space.

To create a standalone female competition is a bonus, especially for the girls who have been mixing it with the boys in recent seasons.

Horsham College has done a great job in building numbers, especially with girls, and now those girls have had a taste of Schools Cup, they have the appetite for stronger competition.

Moving those girls into a female only competition against senior girls will satisfy their hunger and keep their enthusiasm high.

Volleyball Horsham was successful in obtaining a Vichealth Active Club grant to help with the development of a female competition.

Funding will assist with accrediting referees, so each team will be encouraged to nominate two players to complete a foundation referee course, which upon successful completion will see them get reimbursed the cost of their accreditation.

Having accredited referees means the standard of competition should build as the players get a better understanding of the rules of the game.

Volleyball Horsham is in a good space, ticking all the boxes associated with participation.

There is now a competition structure that suits all levels of play, from A Grade to B and C grades, women’s competition and juniors.

We’ll also look at our Spikezone program for term two, aimed at upper primary school children, and we are building our capacity to assist schools in offering volleyball through the Sporting Schools Program.

Never before has the opportunity to play volleyball been so broad and diverse.

Anyone interested in playing volleyball in Horsham in the upcoming season should contact info@volleyballhorsham.com.au.