THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: The focus is back on volleyball, not protocols

A glimpse inside the Post Falls High gym — known as The Arena at Post Falls — gave a pretty good indication, that, at least in volleyball, things are back to normal, after last year's COVID-19-influenced season.*

Fans filled both sides of the bleachers for the Lake City-Post Falls match, and each school boasted boisterous student sections.

Like it used to be.

"Being able to go into the season and make short-term and long-term goals," Lake City coach Michelle Kleinberg said of what has been better about this season. "Last year, every single day was kind of an unknown — at any time, we could get shut down. Being able to focus on volleyball is refreshing."

SOME COACHES noted that, while necessary to combat the pandemic, some of the precautions teams had to take last year affected team-building.

"Certainly with COVID and masks, it creates a little bit of a barrier with personal relationships," Post Falls coach Willow Hanna said.

As for this year ...

"The best part is now our teams get to interact more," Coeur d'Alene coach Carly Curtis said. "Last year, we tried to keep them (the varsity, JV and freshman) apart; we couldn't do team functions. Now there's more interaction that we kinda missed last year. We really pride ourselves on having all our teammates get to know each other."

Some of the disinfecting protocols remain, but in general are more relaxed this season.

"I hated spraying everything down," Timberlake coach Michelle Garwood said. "It was kind of a hassle, and the alcohol (in the spray ate away at the volleyballs."

The spray Timberlake used, Garwood said, caused some of the panels on the volleyballs to "lift," and the alcohol caused the rubber stems to crack and the balls could no longer hold air.

On the bright side ...

"I got 30 brand new balls," Garwood said of this season.

ONE THING that stayed the same — teams will stay on the same side throughout the match — no more teams switching sides of the net for each set. No more coaches and players picking up their stuff after each set, and taking it to the other bench — then bringing it back to the original bench for the next set.

"I'm OK with that," Lakeland coach Kelsie Badger said, "not having to pick up water bottles and backpacks, etc. It just meant less time I had to develop a lineup for the next set."

The home team gets to choose which side of the court it plays on.

"I like staying on the same side at home, when we're in The Den," Kleinberg said. "Our kids thrive off that energy."

"All year, last year, we faced the student section (which was at the other end of the court), and the kids liked it," Badger said.

*OF COURSE, back to normal is relative — and possibly temporary. COVID cases are on the rise, and masks are again required to attend some sporting events.

But for now ...

"We get to focus more on the game of volleyball than the restrictions we had to make sure we were following," St. Maries coach Rachele Fischer said. "We can focus more on coaching than on protocols and restrictions."

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.