It’s common in several club sports on the University of Idaho campus for students to struggle to recruit players.
But this year the Idaho women’s volleyball club team is sitting comfortably with two teams after ending last season with only six players.
Idaho outside hitter and club president Linsey Courtney said having a head coach and a structured team this season has helped the club grow.
“All these girls have a competitive drive,” Courtney said. “The fact that it wasn’t going to be another player telling them what to do or do better – they actually are going to have someone that (is) going to be as subjective as possible … that person that isn’t just sitting there playing with you but is actually watching you and helping you get better.”
Idaho volleyball club coach Samantha Delmer, who played for the Idaho varsity team for two years, said playing club volleyball gave her another opportunity to play the sport and she wasn’t hesitant to accept the coaching job.
“I thought I was done playing volleyball and it was kind of sad for me,” Delmer said. “I figured out that we had this club volleyball team and they allowed me to play and made my skills better, which allowed me to get onto the University of Idaho’s varsity team. When I was asked to coach, I couldn’t say no.”
Delmer’s responsibilities include scheduling, preparing practices and encouraging the team to work together.
Delmer said she and Courtney have established rules for the team to follow.
“When we make rules, we both stand behind them and it’s something we talked about at the beginning of the season,” Delmer said.
Outside hitter Lindsay Martin, who is a graduate student in her second consecutive year in club volleyball, said having Delmer as head coach has helped the team improve.
“It’s a really big motivator for girls to know they can come practice and feel like they’re going to get better at practice,” Martin said. “Last year, when we didn’t have a coach, we were doing the same drills and kind of working together but we weren’t all working on what our weaknesses are.”
Martin was a part of the club her freshman year, but got lost in the shuffle with her schoolwork and other clubs.
Martin returned playing club volleyball last semester and said her schoolwork hasn’t stopped her from being a part of the team.
“I really wanted to come back and play for the love of the game,” Martin said. “I also have really great teammates and a great support system here. Either with schoolwork and stuff like that, you still have people backing you up just like they do on the court.”
Martin said being active in a sport actually helps students to concentrate on their schoolwork..
“Having a sport with some sort of release is a great thing to have,” Martin said. “Even if you have a ton of school work, it’s always good to come out and play a sport to get all of your energy out so that you can focus on your homework instead of having it all built up inside of you.”
Courtney said club sports don’t require a lot of time from her schedule and allow players to continue playing volleyball.
“It does get people involved and walking to class you have people to say ‘hi’ to and I think that’s really important, especially for freshmen to be involved in club activities,” Courtney said.
As part of the Pacific Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, the Vandals play with other Division I schools and compete in five tournaments throughout the season. Idaho will head to Boise Saturday for its second club tournament of the season.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected]