Many club sports members are with each other for over half of the year. Athletes get to experience wins and losses together, along with all of the other ups and downs. For the other half however, many athletes play their sport for their local high school. For Francis Howell North setter Luke Hollinger and Francis Howell Central outside hitter Jason Campbell, this is the case. They play club throughout the summer and fall, and then hit the courts with their high school peers.
“That’s one of the things I think separates high school volleyball from club volleyball,” Campbell, a senior, said. “I just get to play with some of my friends that I see everyday at school.”
For Hollinger and Campbell, playing together for a few years at clubs High Performance and MOVA really built up their chemistry. Many argue that some of the strongest connections are with setters and their outside hitters, which is what brought them closer together.
“Obviously he is a great outside hitter which as a setter is great to have,” Hollinger, a senior, said. “He is always willing to try new things and is always good at them.”
As all of the club playing athletes head off to their high schools, some may not get to see those teammates until after the season is over. But for Hollinger and Campbell, they share a commonality of being in the Gateway Athletic Conference, playing in the South division along with other teams such as Francis Howell and Fort Zumwalt West. This forces the two schools to play each other two to three times a year.
“I think that it definitely motivates me,” Hollinger said. “We are always teammates outside of high school, but when it comes to those kinds of games in high school season, we are always talking crap to each other which gives me a little more want to win.”
Playing against club teammates may be fun for the players, but for Francis Howell North’s head coach Robin Yuede sees otherwise.
“If you want my honest answer, I am not a fan of club teammates playing against each other in high school,” Yuede said. “I think that you can obviously say hello and go on with the match, but I have had athletes in the past spend 30 minutes with their teammates which ultimately throws them off of their game.”
As key players for Howell North and Howell Central, Hollinger and Campbell being thrown off of their game, can very much throw the rest of their teams off their game. Hollinger was one of the leaders in the St. Louis-Metro area for assists, averaging 7.42 a game. Campbell was also one of the top contenders for kill leaders in the metro area, averaging 4.63 kills a game.
“Luke really just loves what he does and is a great advocate not only for himself, but for his teammates,” Yuede said. “As far as Campbell goes, there are so many things that we do to try and stop him from getting kills on us, but he still always finds a way and is a great outside hitter.”
