Miners boy’s volleyball Head Coach Eric Damon said his team’s challenging schedule to begin the season was by design.
“I wanted to start off with playing some of the best teams in the state of Utah so that the boys could see, ‘Hey, this is where we should be striving to get to over the next couple of years,’” he said.
Park City went 0-6 to begin their season, but have been battling back ever since. Now their record stands at 7-11.
The Miners are taking time off during Park City High School’s spring break this week, then will return next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to face regional foe Murray on the road.
Damon said he believes his team can continue to improve over the final stretch of the season. If the playoffs started today, they would be playing a first-round game on the road, but they have the potential to climb towards a home playoff game or fall out of the playoff picture entirely, he said.
“The ultimate goal is to host a play-in game,” Damon said. “I think we would need quite a few things to fall into place, but we’re always going out and giving our best to increase our odds of making that happen.”
The Miners are in a building year with just five seniors. Last year’s team graduated nine players.
Park City continues to work on their fundamentals in practices and games. Damon said he’s been pleased with the play of his middle blockers, who deflect shots and execute them on offense, and the efforts on and off the court from Mason Lees and Henry Skidmore.
“Mason Lees has been pretty instrumental as our libero and in holding down our floor defense,” Damon said. “When he was away competing at hockey nationals, it definitely was felt.”
He continued, “A senior, Henry Skidmore has kind of done everything that we’ve asked of him. When we didn’t have a libero, he filled in, and he’s always a constant presence and really shows up every day at practice.”
Damon said he and his team will sleep easy at night no matter the results down the stretch if they keep improving and play solid volleyball. Including next Wednesday’s Murray game, the Miners have four more away games. Their last home game, senior night, is scheduled for next Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Juan Diego Catholic.
Park City would appreciate some improved crowd support on senior night and if they host a playoff game, which are both free for fans to attend. Damon said his team, only in their third season, is often overlooked because of their newness and that the sport of boy’s volleyball is growing in town.
“It’s been kind of lackluster this year,” Damon said about crowd support. “We are competing with boy’s lacrosse and baseball, which are two really big, prominent sports within the community. … Come check out a growing sport in the Park City community.”