BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU sand volleyball team kicked off the season with the Children’s Clinic followed by the Purple and Gold Scrimmage at Mangos’ Beach facility.
The day started off with Head Coach Russell Brock and the student athletes teaching young girls the basic fundamentals of sand volleyball. The players split the children up into small groups and rotated each group to different stations demonstrating different skill sets.
“The weather threatened the turnout, but we had a good group that came out that was excited,” Brock said. “We wanted to allow people to experience what we do. It’s a fun game. We want to grow it in the youth level and potentially get more people on our team from this area to contribute. We want to develop that passion when they are young by having them interact with the team. It gives them something to look forward to. That’s what the clinic is all about. It was great to have a good turnout, and the kids had a lot of fun. Our players enjoyed it as well. That is the perfect blend of service and teaching.”
After the children’s clinic, the athletes warmed up for the Purple and Gold Scrimmage. The Tigers played four rounds with different partners against different pairs.
“It was something we didn’t initially have on the schedule, but when we had the open weekend and knew that the indoor players would join us a couple days before, it made sense to get out here,” Brock said. “We did this last year, and it was helpful. When you put on the jersey and play in front of fans, it impacts you. You react differently physically than when you are in practice, even if you are competing hard in practice. To have this opportunity and be able to show our product to the people who came and watched was really fun, and getting some good competitive matches in was critical for us this point of the season.”
LSU begins their season this Friday as they travel to Tucson, Arizona to compete in the Arizona Invitational. The Tigers will play Tulane Friday at 12 p.m. CT and take on Arizona State at 6 p.m. The third match starts Saturday at 12 p.m. as the Tigers compete against Arizona.
“This will be the first trip for a lot of our players,” Brock said. “Part of the preparation is knowing what it means to travel and compete as a collegiate athlete. That is part of it this week’s preparation. We don’t know for sure who is playing with who and what rankings they will be playing in. Our job as coaches these next couple days is really solidifying that so we can train them as well as possible. A big part of competing in sand volleyball is the relationship you have with your partner. For us to be able to figure that out quickly as possible and give them as much time together as possible is really important.”
For the latest information on LSU’s sand volleyball team, fans can follow the Tigers on twitter and instagram @LSUsandVB and @RussLSUsand, or on Facebook by liking LSU Sand Volleyball.