From left to right: Christine Hames, Nicklin Hames, Jason Hames
Photo Credit: Christine Hames
Indoor volleyball is a team game which has six players that play on either side of a net. There are a set of rules that decide the end score that each team is able to make against the other team. The game begins with a player from one team serving the ball over the net so that the opposite team can receive it on their side of the court.
The most basic rule is to prevent the received ball from hitting the ground so that it can be delivered back to the other team with up to 3 touches from them. A team scores a point by getting the ball across the net to the other team’s side so that it directly hits the ground or the opponent fails to send it back over the net. There are two ways to score a point. One is by throwing the ball on the ground of the opponent team passing over the net and the other is if the opposing team is unable to deliver the ball back into the court of the serving team.
There are some rules for the serve in the game of volleyball. For instance, the ball has to be served underhand or overhand. The player who serves the ball must stand behind the end line on his or her side of the court while serving. The served ball must cross the net and reach the opposite side in order to potentially get a point. Lastly, the ball has to be clearly visible to the opponent team.
Similarly, there are rules for court rotation. Teams change sides as the other team wins the serve. Clockwise rotation of the players happens. The minimum number of players on each side for a game is four while the maximum is six.
Indoor and outdoor volleyball are two variations of the game. Outdoor volleyball correlates with the rules talked about above. Beach volleyball is played on a beach court. Indoor volleyball has six players in each team while beach volleyball has even two persons on each team.
Katie Goodwyn, a senior at The University of Tennessee, played indoor volleyball for nine years of her life. Goodwyn graduated high school and went to play for The University of the Cumberland’s as their libero and defensive specialist for two years before ending her career and transferring to The University of Tennessee. Goodwyn remarked, “Volleyball has always been my passion. I was sad to leave my team and stop playing for Cumberland’s, but, I still play intramural here and go and watch my old team play occasionally. Being able to play on a collegiate level has always been a dream of mine so I am so honored to have had the opportunity. I definitely could not have done it without my previous coaches and teammates.” Before Goodwyn committed to play for The Cumberland’s she played for K2 Volleyball Club here in Knoxville for three years.
Christine Hames and Jay Hames are the founders of K2 Volleyball Club in Louisville, Tennessee that opened in 2009. Christine Hames is the co-director of the club and she is in charge of directing the coaches, players, and parents. She also sets up tournaments for the teams to play at and has K2 tournaments as well. Christine said, “We named the club K2 because we wanted to name it after the second highest mountain in the world.” Jason Hames remarked that they have always talked about opening their own volleyball club because they wanted to increase the popularity of volleyball in the Knoxville area and share all of their knowledge that they have. Christine and her husband Jason both serve as the directors of K2 Volleyball since it’s opening. They have three children who play for the club: Nicklin Hames, a setter at The University of Nebraska, Kayleigh Hames, 2019 Outside Hitter committed to Pepperdine University, and Eli Hames sets for 12 Cory at K2.
“To see two of my children commit to play volleyball has been amazing. I always knew they had it in them. They basically came out of my womb playing volleyball,” Christine Hames said. “Both of my daughters have set a legacy at Webb High School and had a huge impact on us winning six championships.”
Christine’s love for coaching began in Australia when she was assisting state level teams. Since then, she has had over 25 years of coaching experience at the high school, club, and collegiate level. Christine was an assistant coach at Maryville College from 2002 to 2003. She has also helped train volleyball camps at The University of Tennessee and The University of Nebraska.
Christine is the current Webb High School varsity head volleyball coach. She has helped lead Webb to six consecutive TSSAA State Championships from 2013 to 2016. “I remember playing volleyball games against Webb when I was in high school and they were always so good. The team definitely got better once Chris became the head coach because she is such a great coach,” said Katie Goodwyn. “Chris makes sure she gives each person one on one attention and really helps her players learn the fundamentals. I think she was one of my favorite coaches because she made sure make personal connections with everyone, even when I was playing against her in high school games or if she was my coach for club, Chris never made you feel like you were not good enough.” The club has had more 80-90 recruits go through since the opening in 2009.
Hames has also brought beach volleyball to Knoxville in 2012. Christine and her husband wanted to widen the playing field and have girls that were interested compete in small beach tournaments and lessons. They had no idea that this was going to blossom into something huge. Now, K2 has multiple alumni that have signed to play beach volleyball collegiately such as The University of South Carolina and Pepperdine.
The indoor season has just kicked off and Christine is excited to see how the girls and boys perform this year. Beach volleyball will start in May with try-outs and then the teams will dive into practice and tournaments.
StevieTurski 