317 Project: Life lessons in 3 moves for 6th grade girls volleyball players
The 317 Project tells stories of life in all of Indianapolis’ vibrant neighborhoods – 317 words at a time.
A ball hits the floor, followed by fists raised and someone screaming, “no!”
Ten girls, ages 11-12, pause in frustration. And fear. The possibility of punishment awaits.
Team Indiana Thundercats head volleyball coach, Rebecca Murray, gives them two options: 20 tuck jumps (an upward bound, both knees to the chest), or redemption, another attempt at the practice drill under the condition that if the ball touches the floor again, before the 30-second timer stops, they’ll have 30 tuck jumps.
They choose redemption.
“Let’s go,” Murray yells, starting the timer.
In her 19th season with Team Indiana’s 12-and-unders – including one national championship appearance in 2009 – Murray’s coaching principles appear equally applicable on and off the court.
“We’re always working towards a goal,” she says.
“It’s not about the outcome but the process.”
Murray loves this age group, she said, because the girls are “just getting ready to really take off in their personalities and who they are.”
For Murray, society doesn’t do enough to encourage women, particularly young women, to be daring and confident.
Sights of girls sprinting and sliding, double-arm passing and single-handed spiking are all signs of progress.
So is risking 30 tuck jumps instead of 20, which the girls avoided by successfully serving and passing the ball without error.
One of the hardest things though, “for as much as 12-year-olds like to talk,” is communication, Murray said.
For this, she’s devised a “chaos drill," where the ball’s direction is instructed in a different direction from the girl’s movement, lending itself to confusion unless they, “Talk to each other!” Which Murray exclaims often.
It starts. Back and forth the ball flies, bodies scrambling below, until suddenly it hits the floor.
They do five pushups, get back up and start over.
In life, and in volleyball, “If you can regroup and refocus,” Murray said, “there’s always time to come back. There’s no game clock.”
Contact IndyStar reporter Brandon Drenon at 317-517-3340 or BDrenon@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BrandonDrenon.
Brandon is also a Report for America corps member with the GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 317 Project Thundercats volleyball coach Rebecca Murray life skills
