This school year brought many new athletic opportunities for our Hamlin Robinson School student body. In addition to the fall launch of basketball (boys varsity and junior varsity and girls varsity teams), this spring ushered in the inaugural Middle School Girls Volleyball team! With an awesome response of participation from our Level 7-8, HRS joined an independent school league for the spring season. Coached by Head Coach Natasha Tresh (Middle School Faculty) and Assistant Coach Dominic Sullivan (Lower School Faculty), the team experienced tremendous skill development over the course of the season. Coach Tresh shares insights into this year’s team development:

Creating a volleyball team this year was both exciting and intimidating. This was a completely new experience for both the students and myself. However, the enthusiasm and determination of the students quickly diminished the fear and uncertainty we initially felt.

During our first practices, I noticed that it was challenging for students to process multi-step instructions with many possible outcomes during gameplay. This led me to adapt the Slingerland^® method into our volleyball practices.

Practices were intentionally broken into clear, structured steps. We began by focusing on foundational volleyball skills such as receiving, hitting, and serving. From there, we built upon those skills through guided drills before moving into more independent game-play situations.

Similar to the Slingerland method, I used consistent terminology and predictable routines during each practice to minimize confusion and increase student confidence. As practices became more structured and predictable, students were able to enter the gym knowing what to expect and how to be successful. Not only did we grow together as a team, but we also began to see that growth reflected in our performance during games.