Distractions will always be a part of a sporting event, be it fans cheering, opposing team being loud, excess sounds and possibly extra objects.
Four high school teams were tested on skill and resilience on Wednesday evening at Vanier Collegiate in senior boys volleyball action. In round robin, best-of-three matches, Central finished 3-1, as did Caronport. Vanier finished 2-2 and Rouleau 0-4.
With two games going on at the same time at Vanier, the players had to adapt to the differences on and off the court.
“Two different whistles, two different fans cheering for different teams,” stated Joel Gellvear from Rouleau. “We got confused a couple of times and took some time to adjust.”
At some points during the matches, balls would end up in the other court and cause a bit of a distraction during play.
“We are used to distraction from people all the time, but having balls coming on the court while serving gets you out of the motion, for sure,” said Zeph Moore from Caronport. “For the most part, we are used to the noise, it is just the different objects on the court that causes problems.”
With the stands only on the one side, many fans were mixed and cheering at different times. Being the loudest team on the court proved to be effective for Vanier, especially in their final match against Rouleau.
“You definitely have to be louder and have better communication and lots of energy,” explained Graham Brunwald from Vanier. “We just have to be in control, be loud and just focus on ours.”
For more on this story, read an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
