GETTING SET

PALMER — There are intricacies to the game of volleyball, but Brent Aldridge is the first to admit it’s not rocket science.

That’s why, rather than spiking players with mass amounts of information, Aldridge prefers to keep the presentation of even the sport’s most sophisticated of techniques simple. And that’s exactly what Aldridge, an assistant women’s volleyball coach at Division I Arizona State, has done for the last four days during the Northern Lights Volleyball Club Summer Volleyball Camp at Palmer Junior Middle School.

“We’re trying to help them simplify,” Aldridge said as he took a break from teaching a group of high-school-aged players the proper way to place their hands while setting the ball Thursday afternoon. “What we try to do is use teaching keys to keep it simple.”

Aldridge, who served as the camp’s guest lead clinician for the third straight year, said he could certainly fill the young players’ minds with all he knows about the sport. But instead, it’s his goal to leave the athletes with a few key lessons.

“Four to five chunks of key information to help them be better,” Aldridge said.

The method is working. Each time Aldridge returns to the camp, which this year included about 90 boys and girls separated into a pair of age divisions, he continues to see overall improvement.

“I really enjoy the process of kids getting better,” Aldridge said. “Some of these kids have been here three years and I watch them, and they’re getting better. They’re following the process of how we do things.”

Aldridge also brought Arizona State sophomore middle blocker Sonja Markanovich to Palmer for the four-day camp. NLVC director Diane Clawson said the camp presents an excellent opportunity for the clubs’ players to interact with the college athlete and coach.

“It’s amazing to have a Division I coach up here to talk to our players, especially the younger players,” Clawson said.

Summer camps present a range of opportunity for the local athletes, but sometimes it’s merely the fresh perspective that makes the experience worth while. That can be said for the coaches as much as the athletes.

Clawson has coached volleyball for about 20 years. But this week, as she watched her players learn, Clawson picked up something herself.

“This camp taught us a new way to pass,” Clawson said. “(I thought) this is different from what I’ve been teaching, but I’ve converted to his way to pass. And now my players are saying, ‘This is so much easier, Mrs. Clawson.’”

Aldridge recently completed his second year on the Sun Devil coaching staff. In a career that spans nearly two decades, Aldridge has coached on the college, high school and club levels. Before heading to Arizona State, Aldridge was an assistant coach at Brigham Young University for three years and a head coach at St. Mary’s College for two seasons.

Aldridge said he hopes to continue his annual trip to Alaska for the camp.

“If they’ll have me, I’ll keep coming back,” Aldridge said.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.