Results, Photos, and Feel Good Stories From Night One of PDFL
Monday was the start of a five week Prep Dig Fall League at the Community First Champion Center in Appleton, Wisconsin. 40 matches of JV and Varsity squads, some making the close to two hour trek from Madison to play volleyball. These teams do not have a fall season as they will have their high school season in the spring, but that doesn’t mean valuable reps can be gained during this time. Throughout the night, I couldn’t help but reflect on some feel good stories as well as a glance at what is to come for the rest of the league.
40 matches to kick off the Prep Dig Fall League with all of them streamed on @BallerTV @ballertvvb – #WhateverItTakes #MaskOn pic.twitter.com/hD2qCgnNcw
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) September 14, 2020
Face To Face Connection
Talking to some of the athletes before check-in, you can learn a lot in a very short amount of time. A lot of these athletes are all coming from various types of day. Some are 100% virtual where they are checked into a screen all day, some are on a hybrid model where they attend class in person for two days and the other days are they learn on their own or may have virtual class, and others have class all day everyday in person. These teenagers have been “going with the flow” since March, handling changes to their school, athletic, and social lives. But for at least one a week they get to spend time with each other, no screens, just friends, doing what they love to do, finding some sense of normalcy. I know it may not be the same as what it was, but we will continue to find ways to “Volley On”.
Just The Start
I was able to be on all the courts, some with athletes who are just starting volleyball and then other courts where there are teams with state tournament experience and others where they will be off to play Division 1 college volleyball next year. For the JV teams, every point can be an adventure, the passion, energy, and excitement they play with reminds me that everyone starts the game somewhere. Some have been with a club since they were 9 or 10 years old, others it might be high school, and even for some coaches it could be picking up the game much later. There is never a required start date in volleyball, but there is always a chance to start no matter what age you are.
Mask Up Success
When the Wisconsin mask mandate went into effect at the start of August there were plenty of questions on how it would look like for volleyball. Long story short, athletes are wearing masks and are doing an amazing job of complying with the rules. That means masks covering the mouth and nose as opposed to wearing it as a chin strap. We know this is not easy for the athletes, but this shows they will do whatever it takes to keep playing the game. Through this whole experience, it’s been a lesson for everyone of being able to control the controllables, and these athletes are doing their part.
Some big swings from night one of the Prep Dig Fall League pic.twitter.com/ezMqRa2ktL
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) September 16, 2020
Results, Photos, and More
We will be keeping league standings of the Prep Dig Fall League for the JV and Varsity Divisions. The event results will be on Exposure as well as all schedules. Schedules for Week 4 and 5 will be made and sent out after Week 2 is complete.
Baller TV is also streaming all courts for JV and Varsity and are available for replay following the match. PDFL BallerTV
As always, we love good volleyball photos! Head on over to the Prep Dig Wisconsin Facebook page to check out the JV and Varsity Photo albums.