Brick by Brick

Last Spring, we interviewed Coach Susan Foy, among others, for our Head Volleyball Coaching position. I remember talking about our current high school and junior high programs, what was good, what could be improved on etc. Her next question to me was, “What about Little Diggers?” That’s when I had to tell her that we didn’t currently have a Little Diggers program to be a “Little League” for our volleyball program.

I told her that with a few exceptions of individuals that would go play volleyball in surrounding areas, most of our girls were just learning how to play the game when they began playing in seventh grade. That put us years behind other schools and other programs that we compete against every year for district titles and in the playoffs.

Our goal was to find someone that would come in here, and not only work with our junior high and high school student-athletes and coaches, but also begin working with our younger elementary students to establish a feeder program that starts well before they reach Navasota Jr. High. We listed the following thoughts and ideas to build a winning program from the ground up:

• Starting a Little Diggers program.

• Starting youth camps and clinics in the Summer and possibly throughout the year.

• Starting a program to develop youth coaches and teach them how to develop young players with clinics and camps.

Coach Foy and her staff have done just that! This past fall we had our first ever Little Diggers Volleyball League and had a great response. And right now, in February, we are about to wrap up five weeks of practices and games for our Little Diggers Spring League that included students in grades second through sixth in two age divisions learning and competing against one another every Saturday.

Coach Glendening and his staff started a pre-athletics program for sixth-graders this year that teaches sixth grade boys and girls the fundamentals of the game and what it takes to become winners both on and off the court/field. They are making a difference and building a foundation from the ground up.

In just that short time, you can see what a difference that has made and how our young girls have improved because they are learning at an early age. It is easy to tell how much these students have learned from week one to week four and five. And they are having fun and getting better.

Thank you to Coach Foy, Coach Glendening, and their staff for helping us build a program.

Dr. Stu Musick is the Superintendent of Schools for Navasota Independent School District.