Jill Festival – Born to Play Volleyball

www.krammag.com
Jonas Emilsson

There’s being an athlete, and then there’s being a naturally athletic athlete.

A naturally athletic athlete can stand on the sidelines and watch any sport for a few minutes, figure out how to play the game, and then step in and use their natural talent to fit right in. Sometimes they even dominate right away.

Once they find a sport they love and have a chance to practice and play a few games, they’re usually a dominant force on the court or the field.
Jill Festival – Born to Play Volleyball

Jill Festival, a centre/right-side hitter with the Western Canada Redmen senior girls volleyball team fits the mould of a naturally athletic athlete to perfection.

She is a gifted athlete that has stamped her name all over the Alberta volleyball map.

She’s also a gifted basketball player, another sport that requires all the tools in an athlete’s toolbox.

Festival has been a standout in both sports, which sometimes leads to a difficult decision for athletes who excel at different sport.

Which one do you focus on in hopes of getting to that next level?

Festival went the volleyball route, and hasn’t looked back since.

“Originally I was a basketball player but I like volleyball because you have to control yourself that much more and it’s all about momentum and execution,” said Festival. “I think it’s a harder game than basketball.”

According to Redmen’s head coach Deb Ingram, Festival is an extremely well-rounded player who does all the little things extremely well.

“She a really strong hitter, but she’s also a really good all-around player and she has really good basic skills in all areas,” said Ingram. “She’s very collected on the court and she’s a calming source for the team. She doesn’t lose her cool, ever.”

Festival is one of the many extremely talented players that make up the Redmen’s senior girls team, who have their eyes set on a city championship this year.

“Our goal is to win cities this year and place top-four in the provincials,” said the 6’1” player.

The team is made up of mostly club players, many of who play on the same team, which means that they not only have a deep team, they also have that important team chemistry ingredient working in their favor.

Festival herself plays ball for the Dinos..

“Our team has so much depth this year, it’s really exciting,” said the 17-year-old. “We’re basically all club players and we can throw pretty much anybody on the court and we’ll get the job done.”

Check out Kram Interactive for more photos. Remeber, you can also post your photos, videos and blogs about how your team performed.