ROCKINGHAM — Being ahead of schedule is always a plus, and that’s right where the Richmond Senior High School volleyball program is according to head coach Ashleigh Larsen.
Thursday marked the official start of the 2019 high school fall sports season, and Larsen and the Lady Raiders held their first day of tryouts inside Richmond’s gymnasium. Approximately 40 girls tried out for the varsity and junior varsity teams, a number that exceeded Larsen’s expectations as she begins her second season as the head of the program.
“It was a really good first day,” Larsen commented. “Many of the girls who showed up have been coming to a lot of our summer workouts. The amount of girls we had was a large number for tryouts considering past years.
“I’m really pleased with the good showing of girls who came out,” she added. “All but a couple of the girls who played last year are returning, and there was a really good mix of players for both the varsity and junior varsity teams.”
The 40 girls were split into two groups — rising seniors and juniors, and rising sophomores and freshmen — and Larsen explained that the groupings didn’t hold any weight for varsity or junior varsity status. Helping out with tryouts was first year junior varsity head coach Melissa Dennis.
Players spent the first hour and a half of Thursday’s practice working on volleyball fundamentals, with Larsen overseeing the older group. Some of the things done were passing drills, small-sided scrimmages and serve-receive. Dennis mirrored many of the same drills with the younger group before both conditioned together the last bit of practice.
With more time and a season of head coaching already under her belt, Larsen noted Thursday’s first day of practice helped keep the Lady Raiders ahead of schedule in terms of where they were at this point last summer.
“A lot of the girls participated in our summer workouts, and that in itself puts us ahead of schedule,” Larsen said. “Both groups were really competitive, which is a plus. The girls are a lot stronger and better prepared.”
With two more days of tryouts slated for Friday and Saturday, Larsen will soon be shifting the program’s focus to the start of the regular season. During the last two days of tryouts, she said her and Dennis will be “focusing on the individual skills” of players to help determine who makes which team.
Monday will mark the start of regular practices, and the Lady Raiders will host their first scrimmage of the preseason on Wednesday against Uwharrie Charter Academy (4:30 p.m.). That will be followed by a jamboree at Lee County High School on Saturday, Aug. 10, and lead up to the team’s first match on Aug. 20 at home against Anson High School.
