Union Yellowjackets hit the net with volleyball
A new era of Union High School athletics has begun.
Led by Coach Jacob Casey, the Lady Yellowjackets are competing in volleyball for the first time. This new sport was adopted by the Union school district after the Mississippi High School Activities Association dropped slow-pitch softball last year. This is unfamiliar territory for Coach Casey and the Lady Jackets who are learning the new sport.
“The talk of having a volleyball team had been going on for a few years, but since we already were playing slow pitch softball. Union never picked up the sport,’’ Casey said. ‘’Once the MHSAA disbanded slowpitch, Union picked up volleyball to add one more female sport for the semester,”
UHS is off to a 2-2 start in 2020 and will host Clarkdale at home on Tuesday night.
“Once we decided to play volleyball, the girls had an immediate interest. During the summer, we had about 20 to 30 girls who would come to practice,” Casey said. “We also had the same amount of junior high girls. We kept 17 high school players and 17 junior high players after summer tryouts.”
Casey added that he was learning, too.
“Being that it’s my first year to ever coach the sport, I’m learning every day with the kids,” Casey said. ‘’That being said, I believe that a strong player needs to have good hand-eye coordination, needs to be quick on her feet, and needs to have good communication skills.
‘’This is definitely a game that requires communication amongst the players; therefore, team coordination and players understanding their roles and what each is responsible for is key to being a successful team.”
Casey has set some goals for the team.
“My expectations for the team is to have a high serve percentage, be able to control the ball and put it where we want it to go, and just continue to improve throughout the season,” Casey said. ‘’Of course, we want to win a lot of matches and make the playoffs, but the most important thing for us this year is to learn the game, improve daily, and have fun.’’