The gymnasium at Bonners Ferry High School was buzzing with enthusiasm and activity on Wednesday, day three of the Gold Medal Squared high school volleyball camp.

New varsity coach Cynthia Cummings is a big part of that buzz.

Cummings has been involved in volleyball most of her life, playing in high school and then for Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. She moved to Bonners Ferry about six years ago before taking over as the Bonners Ferry High School junior varsity volleyball coach in 2020 and now as the varsity coach.

She is using the opportunity to freshen up the high school volleyball program. Her goal is to start new and make some changes. She wants to continue to build on the enthusiasm that has started during camp.

The Gold Medal Squared camp, a nationwide program that has designed comprehensive four-day camp programs and provided training for coaches for over 30 years, is one of those changes. Cummings was joined by coaches Jaidyn Blanchfield and Miles Holland for the duration of the camp.

Gold Medal Squared spends thousands of hours helping volleyball coaches understand drills, write practices and deal with team issues. The program covers all of the fundamental skills of volleyball, including setting, and provides detailed sessions on both offensive and defensive systems.

“I like the techniques and style of the Gold Medal Squared program and want to apply that to the whole program,” said Cummings.

With a lot of incoming freshmen attending camp and only four returning varsity players, Cummings is finding that the changes she’s making are working well. “They’re very coachable, adapting to a different way than they’re used to.”

Her plan is to “establish a new baseline for the whole volleyball program so all the teams will be on the same page.”

Cummings' enthusiasm for the sport is obvious and it’s easy to imagine her passing it onto her students. “I love this game,” she said. “I love playing it, I love teaching it, I love everything about it.”

For more information on Gold Medal Squared go to https://www.goldmedalsquared.com/volleyball-camps.