08/12/2026
Here’s the parent info that was mailed out last week(sorry for the mail delay).
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We’re very happy that your child is interested in participating in volleyball for Newcastle Middle School this year. We look forward to getting to know her better and help her grow as an individual as well as an athlete. This letter contains extra information to get you ready for the volleyball season. First, please join our Heja group (Code = QM-657035) to stay up to date with information.
Practices start Monday, August 17 as shown on the attached August calendar. In-season practices will generally run 3:45-5:30pm M-Th and 6:30-7:30am on Fridays. Please drop off and pick up your athletes at the HS Commons entrance. Since coaches have family and personal commitments, please plan to have your child picked up when practice ends as we won’t leave them unattended. I’ll send out a Sept/Oct calendar as soon as games are finalized. Any changes to the schedule will be communicated via Heja and with as much advance notice as possible.
All athletes need a physical dated after June 1, 2026, before they can participate in practice. Send a copy of the physical to the MS Office or bring it to practice. It is very important that your child is present and able to participate in all practices, especially early ones where we cover basic skills and evaluate athletes in order to determine teams. Even if they do not have a physical, we would still like to see them at practice as part of our team.
The WHSAA (Wyoming High School Athletic Association), is requiring every coach, parent, and athlete to complete mandatory yearly concussion education. This education will be offered by a video through NFHS as a free course here https://nfhslearn.com/courses/concussion-in-sports-2. At the end of this video, the parent AND athlete will receive a certificate which is required to be emailed/hand delivered to the athletic director. This must be completed and the AD must have both certificates before the first competition, or the athlete will not be allowed to play/travel.
We will be holding a mandatory Parent/Guardian Meeting on Wednesday, August 19 after practice at 6 pm in the High School Commons. The Newcastle Booster Club will also be hosting some food from 5-6pm before the meetings. The meeting should last approximately an hour and is our opportunity to introduce the coaches, share our coaching philosophies, expectations and rules, and address any questions or concerns you may have. If you absolutely cannot make it, please let Coach Shoemaker know.
I’m excited to work with Sagebrush Market this season on our team shirts. Player shirts will cost $15 each with the option of adding a name to the back for another $10. Please have all order forms turned in by Wed, Aug 19. If you need help paying for your athlete’s shirt, please let Coach Shoemaker know. Additionally, there will be matching fan apparel available to purchase via the online store at SagebrushMarket.net. This will be a fundraising activity for our team as we will get 20% of the fan apparel sales.
We’re hoping to use those funds to bring the girls to watch a Black Hills State University volleyball game with the exact date and time to be determined.
The volleyball program at Newcastle Middle School ensures that everyone gets a team to play on. We currently have a multi-team structure (A, B, C and 6th grade), which supports athletes of different experience and ability levels and are determined by the NMS volleyball coaching staff. Regardless of team, we want to develop well rounded athletes so all players will practice passing, setting, serving, attacking, blocking, reading the ball, and understanding both offensive and defensive concepts. Our goal is for every athlete to end the season with a solid foundation of volleyball skills, increased confidence, a desire to continue improving, and a genuine appreciation for the game. Girls will find out their teams by the second week of practice after skill introduction, skill and strategy practice, and evaluations that first week.
We’re very excited about this season and look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, August 19 at 6 pm for the parent/guardian meeting. For any questions you may have, you can email me at [email protected], or message me on the Heja app (team code = QM-657035). On behalf of the NMS volleyball coaches, we look forward to seeing you at the NMS Volleyball Parent/Guardian Meeting and throughout the season.
Sincerely,
KyLee Shoemaker
Head Volleyball Coach
