After several phone calls and several closed gymnasiums later, the Austin High School volleyball finally found a place to practice this week.

Friday, August 13, 1999

After several phone calls and several closed gymnasiums later, the Austin High School volleyball finally found a place to practice this week.

Near the end of July, AHS captains Erin Coleman and Brooke Gentzler made calls to all the Austin schools, checking for an open gymnasium to hold a captain’s practice. The two seniors ran into the same problem at all the schools. All the floors were being revarnished and were unable to be used until Aug. 16., the first day of sanctioned Minnesota State High School League practice with head coaches. A captain’s practice is for players only.

With the help of suggestions from Ellis Middle School athletic director Todd Waterbury, retired teacher John O’Rourke and Mayor Bonnie Reitz, the two captains approached Riverland volleyball coach Helen Jahr about using the Riverland facilities. After clearing the idea with her supervisors, Jahr had no problem letting Coleman and Gentzler get in some early work with some of the new players on the team.

"We wanted to be supportive of the team," Jahr said. "I’m just glad we were able to help them out."

Last year Austin held its captain’s practice at Ellis Middle School.

"We evaluate all the gyms at the end of every year and we felt the auxiliary gym at Ellis could go another year before being redone," said Austin Public Schools facilities director Bruce Huffer. "We need down time for these gyms every year."

Huffer said the revarnishing couldn’t have been done earlier because of other activities sponsored by the district.

"If you look around the Big Nine, our floors compare favorably to the other schools," Huffer said. "Sometimes it may be inconvenient, but they will have a pristine floor to play on for the season."

Coleman and Gentzler said the early practice time helped, but wasn’t crucial.