The commands are sharp and quick. They seem to echo around the gym as girls bark "shape," followed in short order by "window" and "freeze" to their teammates in a dozen two-person drills. One play sits holding a red and white volleyball. Her companion stands several feet away, issuing orders. On the last--"freeze"--balls suddenly fly toward their marks.

How is the Kimball High School squad shaping up? "I don't know yet, says head coach Dani Shaw. "We've only been here 20 minutes."

Here is the new gym, where the girls' volleyball team held a camp this week in preparation for a larger team camp in Kearney. Like other fall sports staffs, Shaw and her assistants, Jill Nickel and Melissa Reich, must content with the demands of harvest, county fairs and family vacations once practice officially begins in August. But the volleyball season itself opens with a fury unknown by the others--five games in the first two weeks.

So, Shaw explains, this week's camp schedule are crucial. To win, her squad must begin to click right away.

The Longhorns return seven starters this year, but 13 incoming freshmen have signed up to play. Depth--or, rather, the ability of the younger athletes to get up to speed--is an issue, especially considering that rival Bridgeport did not lose a starter to graduation.

"One injury changes the dynamics of a team," Shaw points out.

Surveying her team on the first morning of this week's camp, the coach sees strengths and weaknesses.

"I really need someone to step up and be a leader," she says.  "That's our missing component."

During the opening minutes of camp, she addressed this by encouraging veteran players to teach freshmen the drills--pausing once in awhile to shout corrections to a senior for some transgression in footwork.

"If she thought she was going to get away with that, she should've gone over there," Shaw mutters, gesturing toward the far end of the gym.

On the plus side, Kimball High brings some height at the net and defensive quickness into the season. Most importantly, according to Shaw, "there's nobody here that has a safe spot."

Competition, in other words, forces players to develop winning skills and spurs a few to step forward into leadership roles. But this is barely half an hour into camp.

"Today we're just reviewing basic skills," she explains.

Practice begins in earnest on August 14, just a couple of weeks before Kimball's volleyball team suits up for the opener against Bridgeport. So Shaw plans to kick off the practice schedule with a series of two-a-days.

"They'll get over it," she says of her players, camping under balls tossed by teammates, shouting "mine," even though the drills are one on one--an eye toward fundamentals a coach should appreciate.

"We have to get ready."