In-Depth Blog Post #1

What is In-Depth?

In-Depth is a project in which a student will pick a field (whether it is a sport, a skill, or a hobby like yoyoing) to actively learn about it. At the beginning of the project, they set an end goal for themselves for the end of the project relating to that skill. For example, if someone were to learn skateboarding for In-Depth, an example goal could be to be able to do a kickflip by the end of the school year. This project typically spans a time period of 5 months, starting from January and going until the end of May. Along with making your own efforts to learn about your topic, you are also tasked with finding a mentor who can help you learn about your topic even further, with meetings of at least 1 hour every 2 weeks.

What skill will I be learning?

For this year’s In-Depth project, I will be learning how to play volleyball! I already know how to play a bit of volleyball, as I have taken an interest in the sport 2 or 3 months ago, and I would like to pursue it as my In-Depth topic as I truly think that it is a good topic that I can also enjoy!

Why did I choose to learn this skill?

As mentioned before, I have taken an interest in volleyball 2 or 3 months ago. This is because I watched my friends in the volleyball tryouts for the junior boys volleyball team for my school. After that day, I went home and did some more research about the sport, liking it more and more. Now, I have decided that I want to get good at volleyball, good enough to get into the senior boys volleyball team next school year. I think that a very good way (if not the best way) to get better at volleyball is to take it up as my In-Depth topic so that I can pay more attention to it.

Final goal

My final goal would be to get into the senior boys volleyball team for the next school year, as mentioned before. As it stands right now, I would like to get into the team in the setter position, although I am still a bit unsure of what position I would like to play in. If there is already a setter in the team, I would be fine with being a backup setter or another position if needed. I would also like to be able to comfortably set, serve, and hit the ball. All of these aspects of volleyball require a good amount of time and effort to work on and develop, but I am willing to put in the work and the hours to perfect them.

Where am I now?

Right now, I have a basic understanding of how the game works and about all the positions. I am alright at setting, passing, and serving, not very good at hitting, cannot dive comfortably, and my vertical jump is relatively short. Over the course of my In-Depth project, I will be spending one month each practicing setting, serving, passing, and one month doing cardio and leg workouts (for my vertical jump).

About my mentor

At the time of writing this, I do not have a mentor. However, I have sent an email out to someone who I think could be a very good mentor for me, and am now just waiting for a response from them.

Timeline

Throughout the year, I will be going to volleyball drop-ins at both Centennial Secondary School and the Pinetree Community Centre. At these drop-ins, I will pay very close attention to my form and ask others for advice on how to improve. Here is a timeline specifying what months I will be focusing on what areas:

Feb 1st: Come up with a good cardio and leg workout routine.
Feb 2nd – Feb 28th: Follow the cardio and leg workout routine daily.
Mar 1st: Come up with a good setting practice routine.
Mar 2nd – Mar 31st: Do the setting practice routine daily.
Apr 1st: Come up with a good passing practice routine.
Apr 2nd – Apr 30th: Do the passing practice routine daily.
May 1st: Come up with a good serving practice routine.
May 2nd – May 31st: Do the serving practice routine daily.

So, as you can see, the timeline is pretty simple. However, I do think that practicing each of these aspects every day for a whole month will definitely show results in the end, and I think that it will have developed those aspects to such a point that I can comfortably do them when needed.

To track my progress

I will be posting every 2 weeks on this blog talking about my progress so far. Also, when I go to a drop-in at Centennial and Pinetree, I will try my best to record them and post full recordings on my YouTube channel for form inspection. If I do post one of those videos, I will post a link on my blog for proof of progress.

What can others do to help?

The most others can do to help is to give me advice when I am playing volleyball. I will try to encourage this by asking others directly for advice or criticism when I do something in volleyball. I want to get better and grow in volleyball, and the best way I can do so is by getting advice from others who have been playing volleyball for much longer than me.