Drury, Hoosac Valley Serve Up New Opportunity for Student-Athletes
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The first day of practice for high school sports can bring a wave of emotions for student-athletes … and sometimes for their coaches.
“I am fired up,” Morgan Shafer said last week. “I’m excited, nervous, all those things wrapped up into one.”
On Monday morning, Shafer conducted her first practice for the brand new program at Drury High School, a cooperative team drawing players from Drury and Hoosac Valley, neither of which has played interscholastic volleyball before.
“From my understanding, there was club volleyball at Hoosac Valley,” Shafer said. “Some of the girls co-oping with us have some knowledge.
“I know some of them are general athletes, so we should be at least competitive with some of the teams that have been established for a while.”
The addition of the Blue Devils gives Berkshire County nine volleyball teams at its 11 high schools. Players at 10 of those schools, counting Hoosac Valley, have the opportunity to play the sport at the varsity level.
Monday was the first day of practice for all fall sports in the commonwealth, except football and golf, which got underway on Friday.
Shafer said last week the new program had about 30 players signed up, though that number had climbed by Monday, according to Drury/Hoosac Valley Athletic Director Jeff Puleri.
A veteran softball coach at both Hoosac Valley and Drury, where she is a science teacher, Shafer is coaching volleyball for the first time this fall. Her athletic background is in soccer, swimming and softball, though she did play intramural volleyball at Utica College and has played recreationally for years.
“I got a book for coaching volleyball to help me plan some things,” Shafer said of her preparation this summer. “I needed some drills and ideas and things that are different for an indoor sport.
“I don’t really know [other area volleyball coaches] or have gotten the chance to get out there. I’m just learning through watching and reading and getting what I can online. There’s some practice plans out there from USA Volleyball where they give you videos to show you how the drills are done. I’m basically doing my own research right now until I get to know some people because this is all new.”
One way or the other, Shafer will get to know a lot of her fellow coaches around the county this fall.
Drury, which opens the season on Sept. 5 at Mohawk Trail, plays its first home game the following Monday against Monument Mountain, the first of six Berkshire foes on a 13-game slate that ends Oct. 15 at Turners Falls.
Unlike some other nascent programs that ease into things with a junior varsity schedule their first season, Drury is jumping in with both feet, taking on established varsity teams right out of the gate.
“I asked [Puleri] about that, and he said we have the numbers and they’re in high school, so we should go varsity,” Shafer said. “I guess we don’t compete in the league for Berkshire County, that takes a couple of years..
“Basically, we’re doing these games for experience. Hopefully we can get into Western Mass, but we’re just here to establish a program, get it going and get the girls excited.”