ROCKINGHAM — Richmond Senior High School’s gymnasium was transformed into a developmental zone this past week, as nearly 40 local girls participated in the Lady Raiders’ volleyball summer camp.
Making its return after a three-summer hiatus, second-year head coach Ashleigh Larsen followed through with her promise to help broaden the sport’s interest in the county.
Joining her help coach the rising third through ninth graders during the four-day camp were first-year junior varsity coach Melissa Dennis, current college players Madelyn Chappell and Altman Griffin, along with a handful of current Richmond volleyball players.
Some of them included rising seniors Layne Maultsby, Jadyn Johnson, Carley Lambeth, Madison Jordan, Jasmine Ewing, rising junior Taylor Chappell and rising sophomore Kaitlyn Huff.
Chappell graduated in 2016 and is a current rising senior at Salem College. Griffin, class of 2018, was a big part of the Lady Raiders’ back-to-back conference titles in 2017 and 2018. During those two years, she was also named the conference’s “Player of the Year,” and will soon start her sophomore season at UNC-Wilmington.
“I was surprised to see so many campers come in Monday morning to sign up,” Larsen said of the turnout. “It was a blessing to have 37 girls interested in playing and being a part of our camp. I know we were missing a few more because of the BETA Club trip, but it was awesome to see the number we produced after not having it for a few years.”
Each day offered campers new activities and skills, and the week culminated in scrimmages on Thursday. Larsen explained the camp was mostly based on developing the sport’s fundamentals, including drills on bumping, setting, serving, jumping, hitting and footwork.
Larsen stressed the importance of developing solid bumping and setting skills, and explained that some of the older campers “moved a little quicker” getting to serving, serve-receive and hitting. To add some fun, campers played a variety of games, including “head, shoulders, knees and ball”, which saw them battle it out to see who was the quickest.
Lambeth, who will play her second varsity season as the team’s setter, saw the development camp as a great way to share her love for the sport with those wanting to learn it, while offering her expertise.
“This experience was definitely special,” she commented. “To be able to share the sport I love with so many younger girls was so much fun. It gave me the opportunity to pour the love I have for the game and the skills I’ve learned into future Lady Raiders.
“I think the younger girls look up to us as players,” Lambeth added. “It’s important for us to open up and form connections with these girls so that the see how much we really do love the sport. Helping out sets up Lady Raider volleyball for a bright future.”
A four-year varsity veteran, Maultsby, Richmond’s libero, echoed Lambeth’s comments and added how much campers developed throughout the week.
“I’m glad all of the Richmond girls could come out and help these younger players learn more about volleyball,” Maultsby said. “It was a lot of fun to watch them learn and develop new skills that will help them when they play at the high school level.
“The best part of the week was seeing how each girl improved from day one,” she continued. “They all seemed to have fun, which is most important.”
For Larsen, the help from her current and former players not only served as a helping hand throughout the week, but it reminded her of what the Richmond program is all about.
“It was great to have Altman and Madelyn come back and work with the girls,” Larsen said. “It shows their dedication to the program and wanting more girls to become interested in the sport they have fallen in love with.
“The current players made things even better since they were able to provide their input and how they were also able to develop their skill set,” she added. “Watching the girls run up and ask the current players questions was pretty awesome. It was also great to have Coach Dennis there to introduce her to the program.”
While she’s competitive by nature, which has been evident in the year she’s been in charge of the program, Larsen noted her favorite part of the week was watching campers “get so excited to work with the current Lady Raiders.” The relationships formed, she said, were a special part of the week that meshed playing and learning.
The Lady Raider volleyball team has been holding pre-season workouts in the evenings and will switch to a higher gear in the coming weeks ahead of official tryouts.
“I would love to continue the tradition and expand the camp each year,” Larsen closed. “My goal would be to break up into age groups and definitely have more of a fundamental age group, along with a specific skill age group.”
