Practice officially began for the Volley Hounds on Monday.
Thanks to the past few weeks, that transition should be rather seamless.
Jones County not only has taken on outside competition in the past few weeks, but it also for the first time went to a team camp, doing so last week at Emory University in Atlanta.
“I think being able to go to camp and be together, it helps us not just with building skill and teamwork but also enables them to be together as friends,” Lady Hounds head coach Leah Bodnarchuk said. “That, to me, is what will propel us through the season.”
Last Friday’s scrimmage against West Laurens and Mary Persons followed previous July scrimmages against Lamar County and Jackson.
The latter of those came the same week that JCHS was at camp, and the Lady Hounds’ willingness to get after the competition was noticeable to the Volley Hounds’ head coach.
“The fact that they showed up and did so well, that was exciting,” Bodnarchuk said.
The offseason scrimmages serve as a barometer, helping to see where the Lady Hounds stand outside of practicing amongst themselves.
“You can work on drills and serving at practice, but that court time, it’s crucial to help us see what we need to work on,” Bodnarchuk said. “You gain a lot, because what you use in drills is not what you see live, it helps us see what we need to read better.”
