More Freshman Incoming: DMV Freshman Showcase

Since I had so much trouble picking out my Top Performers and feel bad a couple got squeezed out, I'm going to highlight the rest of the group I was watching here. These are players that will likely make noise for teams in HS and I want to be able to say I told you so later.    Gabby was my early pick to win MVP and ended up coming in second in the end. She's the next up in a line of dominant Middles for Metro and she's the real deal. This is the kind of player you build a program around and who carries a team for you. St. Johns is quietly putting together a strong team out there. I should get to see them in a few weeks for a pre-season tournament and I'm looking forward to some of the new players coming in and how they are going to work them into teams. Back to Gabby, she showed huge power on the block, and good agility for getting in on the offense. The guests we had at the showcase all pretty much said, what are they feeding kids these days that there is so much size in this freshman class? They aren't wrong with three standout middles over 6 foot. She should be in the top of the rankings next month and will be a fun one to track over the next year or so of development.     Another player who caught my eye because of her size initially, I was pleasantly surprised to see her game when I made it over to watch her. A 6'2 left handed Right Side, most coaches are done and ready to go right there, but she's got intelligence and nuance to her game that I really appreciated. She was great at adjusting to balls, stretching to get some that would get away from most players, but exceptional at getting the ball in play, even from poor sets. She looks like she's at that stage of development where she's working on that snap with the wrist to get the ball more downward plane, you could see it coming, and when that crystalizes she's going to bring some solid power to the game with her long arm whip mechanics. I loved the reads she made, her IQ shined watching her play, she was anticipating instead of reacting, and that's the real secret to speed, since you can be a second ahead of other players who are still waiting to see what is going to happen. She's bringing her game to Glenelg Country this year, after they were already at the top of their conference, they get another weapon to play with. She will be fun to keep tabs on at Maryland Juniors and see what this very important development year does to her game.     Now this one was one of my favorite of the entire day. I wish I could take all the credit on this one, but it was actually my daughter who recognized her first. When hitting around pre-showcase she noticed for a middle, that her serving was outstanding, with 4 or 5 aces in a row. That lead to us watching a little more intently and we saw athleticism and easy power in there waiting to come out, and got to see some defense with some solid passing and blocking. She's so athletic she may be wasted at Middle, and looked more like a RS to me, but may even have the skill to play OH. She's playing in DC, and at a small club, so she's been under the radar thus far, but now it's my goal to see if I can ruin that for her. This kid is LOADED with talent, and I think in the right environment you're going to see her explode on the scene. I'm pretty sure I see division 1 talent lurking in there and it's just looking for the right coaching and exposure to break out on the scene. She's got a permanent spot on my watch list.     That [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Jaz team from last year was absolutely insane. So whoever was setting for them has to be a good player right? Yep. Penelope was another one that just missed out on Top Performer for me, she was on the list, it just had to get paired down and the setters lost out unfortunately. I love me some shorter 6-2 system setters, everyone knows that. Big fan of the defense and the 3 net options the 6-2 gives you, even though I know I'm in the minority there. I know I've mentioned it before but I'm pretty sure the shift is going to be setter/libero hybrids going forward where either can take first or second ball and make it harder for teams to target on serve receive. Penelope could be in that model. She showed good agility and range moving around and getting her feet squared and under her on balls. She had clean, accurate hands and delivered some of the better sets when working with the hitters. I saw a little bit of defense from her later in the day and she made some good passes and handled serve receive well when she had a chance. I think she's going to carry the torch for sub 5'5 setters in the DMV area going forward and be an ideal pick for a team looking for a 6-2 setter.     Ok this one feels like cheating. I've known Jemma more than half her life, so I've watched her come up and develop for years already. She's turning into quite the elite volleyball player over the past couple years of development. She plays like the style of DS that is more just solid, consistent play without making mistakes, always in the right spot, always getting a good pass down. Part of that is high IQ and reading the play before it happens, and part of it is just solid fundamentals and work ethic. She's got good size for a DS, which probably contributes to that solid no-mistake style of hers, versus some of the smaller, faster DS that make the flashy plays but can have some missteps along the way. Jemma has a great shot at making Varsity as a Freshman and could be a contributor right away for a Crofton team that is just on the cusp of county contention. I'll get to see her close up soon and we'll see how things go, but as a contributor on a team that's been to Nationals twice by 15s, I've got high hopes for this one.    Well, that's all for showcase season. We are on to High School prep and previews up next where we will probably hear more about these girls. Stay tuned!

Since I had so much trouble picking out my Top Performers and feel bad a couple got squeezed out, I'm going to highlight the rest of the group I was watching here. These are players that will likely make noise for teams in HS and I want to be able to say I told you so later.