WAIMEA — For many of the girls, this is their first time on “the big floor,” said Shelby Dabin of Island School. Island School and Kula Intermediate and High had their Junior Varsity girls volleyball teams on the road Saturday,
WAIMEA — For many of the girls, this is their first time on “the big floor,” said Shelby Dabin of Island School.
Island School and Kula Intermediate and High had their Junior Varsity girls volleyball teams on the road Saturday, traveling to the Clem Gomes Gym for a mini-round robin tournament format.
Dabin said that the existing gym at Island School barely makes the regulation size for volleyball.
As the girls worked through their paces against hosting Waimea High School JV, there were the digs, bumps and an occasional hit from the fledgling schools.
“This is my first year as coach,” said Jerri Grindle of the Kula team. “We got a late start coming off the starting blocks, but at least we got some games in. Last week we played this round robin format against Kaua‘i High School, and we’ve yet to meet Kapa‘a.”
Grindle said of their 18-member roster, about three-quarters are returning players with about four, or five freshman making up the team.
“We lost against Kaua‘i, but are staying close with Island School,” Grindle said.
On the Island School Voyagers team, Dabin said Jennifer Pomroy is the team’s coach, doubling as the school’s secretary off the court.
“We’ve improved a lot,” Dabin said. “At one of the Kapa‘a games, there was a Kapa‘a parent who was cheering on our girls. We ended up winning one game, but not the match.”
Dabin said the Voyagers have 19 players on the roster with the majority of the players being freshmen.
“I think we develop around our freshmen,” Dabin said with a chuckle.
“They seem to have a lot of talent and natural ability. There’s 12 freshmen on the team and they’re excited. They love volleyball.”
Dabin said the trip into the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation arena is in anticipation of the school’s new gym opening some time in December.
Pomroy said in addition to the Kaua‘i students, there are also two exchange student from Italy playing on the team who have a lot of natural athletic talent.
“The girls play good,” said Pomroy, whose family touts a history of volleyball. “There’s a lot of talent out there, but they’re not used to playing in a large gym. Playing in the JV exhibition series helps them get a feel for what it’s like.”
In the round robin format, each of the schools play each other at least once during the meeting with the hosting school’s varsity players and coaches serving as meet officials.
At Saturday’s game, Waimea was the host as Kaua‘i was hosting Kapa‘a in the KIF meet. On Wednesday, Kapa‘a will be the host as Kaua‘i travels to Waimea for the KIF contest.
“The Kula and Island School teams have come a long way,” said Stan Lazaro, the head coach for the Waimea JV team. “They’ve improved a lot on their play, and they’re good kids.”
Island School athletic director Kirk Correa said the formulation of the JV teams was just another step towards being part of the KIF.
“This is just the first step,” Correa said. “We’ll be doing more as time goes by, but everybody has to start some place.”
