As the season was coming to an end, the coaches recommended CFJO to the players to get some extra volleyball playing time in before going back to the school ball season because they want to see who is willing to put the extra work in. CFJO means Cannon Falls Junior Olympics. JO is a volleyball season in the winter with hard working girls trying to win and getting better for the next school season for volleyball. CFJO is really important to Cannon Falls because volleyball players get extra playing in the winter to stay in shape for the future school ball season.
The CFJO (Cannon Falls Junior Olympics) 14-1 team has just recently started their winter volleyball season. With only four practices into the season, they already have a tournament coming up and have been starting to prepare. The 14-1 team has been doing hitting lines, defensive or offensive drills, and scrimmaging to prepare as well.
The roster of the CFJO 14-1 team consists of 11 players: Makenna Otterness, Morgan Robinson, Piper Gergen, Magdalena (Maggie) Jordan, Kaitlyn Kapp, Brekkyn Ayres, Emma Paul, Amelia Davis, Lily Anderson, Reagan Nordling and Keirra Kleffman. The first six go to Cannon Falls, the following four go to Randolph, and the last one goes to Hastings. The coaches are Alan and Heidi Gergen. They mostly have practices every Sunday but during the week it sometimes varies. During the season they have tournaments or “play dates” instead of just one game.
To find out what team everyone is on, the JO organizers have tryouts a few months in advance to when the season starts. The tryouts were in November and Kaitlyn Kapp, a seventh grader, who made the 14-1 team says her experience of the tryouts “Was fun to be around everyone and not worry about how good or bad I might do and it was overall just a great experience.” Every coach for CFJO was at the tryouts watching the people they think should be on a higher team or stay with their grade. Also at the tryouts there is a mix of different schools including Cannon Falls, Randolph, and Hastings because some schools don’t have JO teams.
When they have tournaments, they have two jerseys to choose from. They have a black jersey with their number on it and their name on the back. They also have a red jersey with just their numbers. Sometimes the teams have two day tournaments so they bring and wear both of their jerseys. One of the 14-1 two day tournaments is in Wisconsin Dells and they play in a dome. Piper Gergen says “I want our team to accomplish a win from the Wisconsin Dells Tournament, because we are one of the smaller schools playing there.” Most of the players on the 14-1 team have played in a tournament there already, so they are really excited to go another year and come back with a win.
The rotation that the 14-1 team runs is called a 6,2 with two setters. The two setters, Makenna Otterness and Brekkyn Ayres, rotate in and out depending on where their opposite, the right side, is on the court. There are also several middles, and outsides too with only one libero who plays “middle” but is still the libero.
In conclusion, the volleyball coaches want the players to join CFJO in the off season to stay in shape and put the extra work in so they are ready for the next volleyball season. The coaches want to see who is willing to put in the extra work and try their hardest for the next school season for volleyball, and yet the future years to come. JO is important to the players who want to continue volleyball in the future years and for a higher number of players in seasons still to come.
