NWC VOLLEYBALL WELCOME IN LOCAL YOUTH

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest College volleyball team wasted no time getting involved with the local youth, as the Trappers hosted a youth camp at the end of July to get the new players interacting with players from around the area before the season started.

"It was really great. It was just a good experience to get to know more of the kids in the community," coach Nicole Buck said. "Something that we talk about with our team a lot this year is service. So our kids have the opportunity to kind of serve in that form, while teaching the sport that they love and sharing that love for the sport."

The Trappers welcomed in players from middle and high school all the way down to those just learning the sport at age 3.

Buck implemented a fun twist to help teach the youngest Trappers, introducing a lighter ball to allow those athletes to learn the techniques without hurting their arms.

"A long time ago, I learned that little kids really struggle with volleyball because you don't think of a volleyball as heavy, but those younger kids just don't have a lot of arm strength yet," Buck said. "So then they don't feel any success with the sport of volleyball. But if you can get a lighter kids ball, or even a beach ball for the real littles, they can actually feel success with the proper movements of passing and setting. Then it just becomes more fun rather than just a ball that's hitting them and it hurts."

While Buck was able to help coach a group of kids at the camp, the Trapper players took on the responsibility of coaching a group of kids as well while helping with technique all around the camp, allowing the college players to build leadership skills in the process.

"It was fun, they're serving the local youth but they're also building leadership skills and learning how to design drills and practices for different age groups," Buck said. "It really stretched them mentally, and in the long run helps them become better volleyball players because they just understand the flow of things and how things should work a little bit better. It was really great to have some of those older kids step up. But then on day two of that individual skills camp, it wasn't just the older kids. You started to see the freshmen kind of step up too and take on a bigger leadership role. It was fantastic."

She said she hopes the Trappers were able to build relationships with the community, and wants to see the team continue to be involved locally as the season progresses while also helping grow the love of the sport with the local youth.

"I would love to see more people come to the games and I'd love to see our girls interacting with the community more," Buck said. "I just hope that the youth that were here could get to know the kids and feel a little bit more connected to them while also developing a love for the sport of volleyball."