What To Look For At The Final Night Of The Prep Dig Summer League @ MSC
The Prep Dig Summer League is coming to an end which closes out the summer leagues and will give athletes a little time off before they start the high school season with the opening day of practices being Monday, August 19. Only two weeks away! Here are a few things to look for heading into the last night as a champion will be crowned as all teams look to build some momentum into the start of the season.
Who Shows Up?
We’ve talked about how the month of July can be a little bit of a whirlwind when it comes to Sundays and summer leagues in general. Athletes are heading to various camps, some take vacations, and there are plenty of conflicts as teams will be patching teams together. This is also a time if there is any type of nagging injury players will rest. The last thing teams want is any type of injury to start a season.
If Mckenna Wucherer shows up for Brookfield Central, that changes the dynamic quite a bit as to who will be the favorite heading into the final night. Manitowoc Lincoln has been blazing their way to a top seed heading into the gold bracket. Their balance is extremely tough to compete with and they have really solid pin hitters in Katie DiRaimondo and Lauren Borchardt. A potential second round matchup with Germantown would be a really interesting matchup.
How Will This Be Used For Momentum In The High School Season?
Being in a tournament heading into the end of summer league has a lot of benefits at any level of bracket. Athletes are able to play with each other in a little more pressure packed situation. How will athletes respond to adversity? How will athletes respond to various lineups? There are still plenty of “What If” situations for teams who even have a large number of returners coming back. There is no such thing as easy growing pains.
Solidifying Roles
Practice starts in a few weeks, there are still spots up for grabs. For some, it might just be making the team, others it can be what position or even leadership spot they will have. Who will be the vocal leader? A leader by example? Who is someone who can bring energy on the sideline? This is also the time of year where it gets closer to the Sophomore potentially can take the spot of a Senior. A harsh reality sometimes, but again, successful teams have athletes who accept their roles, everyone is a leader of something…teams just hope it is the leader of something positive.
Adding Depth
Depth at the high school volleyball team doesn’t mean that everyone runs a 6-2 offense with equal playing time, and five to six attackers all receiving the same amount of sets. Depth often means what the other side of the net can do during practice. Can coaches mix up the teams and create a very competitive practice day in and day out. Are players challenged by others in drills and training. The high school season can become a mental grind towards the end when teams start to play less matches and train more for the postseason. Within that window of time towards the end of October, a huge amount of improvement can occur and momentum can build. However, in these last summer play dates, who can show they are being one of those competitive players in practice.
Staying Healthy
As I previously mentioned, athletes need to come into the season fresh mentally and physically. For those who have played club all offseason, combined with camps and other volleyball events, rest is essential to coming into the season ready to go in all facets. Teams will be looking to compete and win this weekend, however they would much rather win three months from now. Let that sink in….three months from now we will be talking about the state tournament!