Plains Trotters get ready for season

Walking into the Plains gymnasium it’s a scene of movement and noise, a percussion of volleyballs slap against clenched palms, tennis shoes squeak against the floor and intermittent shouts are heard reverberating off the walls. This is the home of the Plains Trotter Volleyball Team and they’re prepping themselves for their first game and season opener in Mission on Sept. 6.

Jesse Cahala, the trotters head coach, said that she is expecting a unique season filled with a few positive surprises.

This will be the first year that Plains has had enough girls to fill three teams: Varsity, Junior Varsity and now the new C Squad for less experienced players.

“They’re more advanced than I expected,” Cahala said, referring to the new girls joining the C Squad.

She also said that the new squad will allow younger players more experience for improvement. “The younger girls get more playing time and new freshman can play at a freshman level,” Cahala said.

She said that at the moment she wants to focus the team on fundamentals while gradually preparing them for more advanced techniques and training they’ll learn later on in the season.

“We want the players to get in shape and to just bring it all back together,” Cahala said and pointed out that the team has been doing lots of jump warm-ups to increase their jump height and are investing time with a variety of passing drills.

While there’s no heavy pressure, Cahala said that she is expecting her returning varsity players, Emma Ehret, a senior, Heather Earhart, a junior, Lacey Hermiston, a junior and Kylee Knudson, a junior to shine this year as they continue to fine tune their skills on the court.

“We’ve improved a lot and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people,” Cahala said.

Cahala said the team isn’t the tallest but should have more than enough technique and skill to progress through the season.

“We’re quick and we have some good ball control and even though we’re small we have some good hitters,” she said. “We have good energy.”

One home match she said that she was looking forward too is their home game against Thompson Falls on Sept 11. She said that the Thompson Falls team is usually a tough match and a great rivalry.

“We always look forward to playing Thompson Falls,” Cahala said. “It’s pretty evenly matched.”

Former Trotter Rose Wagoner, the new assistant coach for the Trotters, said she applied for the coaching position out of her love for the game and because of her desire to help the girls improve.

“I think a lot of them have a lot of talent and I want to give them support,” Wagoner said.

She said that she’s going to be dedicating a lot of time to making sure the team has good three-person contact to set up their offensive plays.

“You ensure a better offense by making sure you start off with a good pass, set, and hit,” Wagoner said. “This requires good ball handling skills by all players.”

By the end of the season Cahala said that her biggest aspiration is simply for her team to have a good time and enjoy what they’ve accomplished throughout the season.

“I hope they have a positive experience and that they can build some memories,” she said.