G R A S S R O O T S Volleyball community comes
together in a time of need The 2015 wildfire season was the largest in
Washington state history, with more than one million acres burning from June to September. The Evergreen Region, which is where the majority of the burned acreage was located, had hundreds of its members displaced and without basic necessities. One club lost its storage unit to the fire, which contained more than $4,000 worth of volleyball equipment and memorabilia. Several Evergreen Region players and their families lost their homes altogether.
In the aftermath of the fire season, the
Evergreen Region reached out to its adult play- ers, club directors, and community partners for support. The result was incredible. Evergreen received more than 300 gently used items (shirts, shoes, bags, etc.) that were put into care packages and delivered to their fellow Evergreen members who were in need. USA Volleyball also provided a $3,000 scholarship and miscellaneous equipment to support the Evergreen club that lost its storage unit. The most inspiring part of it all, however, was the massive number of people who came together and their willingness to support fellow volleyball community members in a time of need.
Arizona Region partners with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns The Arizona Region of USA Volleyball
has partnered with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns for the 2015-2016 season to raise awareness of USA Volleyball and to recognize volleyball as a provider of collegiate scholarship opportunities for girls. As part of the partnership, every junior female member of a 2015-2016 team within the region will receive a voucher for a free ticket to a Phoenix Suns basketball game. There are also discount tickets available for others to purchase and attend with the participant. The ticket voucher can be redeemed for a ticket to one of three games: Feb. 6 (Utah Jazz), Feb. 25 (Brooklyn Nets) and March 14 (Min- nesota Timberwolves). On Feb. 6 the Phoenix Suns are scheduled
to recognize all girls that have received a scholar- ship to a college or university through volleyball for the 2016 collegiate season. Each recipient will be recognized on the floor during a break in the game. The athlete’s name and school she will be playing for in the fall will be shown along with their club logo. Each girl that is being recognized will be given two tickets for the
54 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
Badger Region supporting boys’ middle school league
A LITTLE TEAMWORK GOES A LONG WAY IN PROMOTING BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL to young athletes. That’s one of the many lessons learned as the first-ever Kenosha/Racine Boys’ Middle School League wrapped up at Carthage College on recent Sunday night. Thanks to the cooperative efforts between the Badger Region Volleyball Association, Car- thage College and a handful of middle schools in southeast Wisconsin, close to 60 boys were able to train and compete in a five-week program at minimal costs to all parties involved. Each Sunday, the energetic group of young boys came to Carthage, located in Kenosha,
Wis., for two hours of instruction and competition. During the first hour of each night, the boys would be led through drills either by Carthage
Head Coach LJ Marx, Carthage graduate assistant coach Connor Wexter or Badger Region Program Director Brian Sharkey. Athletes from the men’s program at Carthage were also on hand to assist the coaches by working with the young athletes who looked up to the college athletes both literally and figuratively. “Our guys had a great time
working closely with the young kids,” Marx said. “It helped us give back to the community that we hope will in turn support us during our season.” After the hour of instruction,
the young athletes were divided into teams – most of which adhered to school lines. Only two out of the six teams formed were a mix of boys who did not have enough kids from their middle school sign up to make a team they could call their own. “By the last night, which involved two hours of just playing, we had kids who couldn’t get
a serve over the net in Week 1 clearing the net without a problem,” Sharkey said. “We had kids diving properly and making rallies last for quite a while. And every team got a few wins, so it was very positive in that regard, too.” Parents saw the impact of the league immediately on their sons’ skills and love of the game. “Although I don’t know if volleyball will be my son’s thing, he really had a great time and
really liked to play,” said Katie Pedicone, parent of a 14-year-old athlete. “It was a great value for the money. Huge thanks for organizing the league and know your efforts were well appreci- ated by the kids.” To help initiate the start of the sign-up season for the Kenosha/Racine Middle School League, organizers hosted a free boys’ clinic in early June at Carthage to help spur interest. While athletes worked with Marx and Wexter on their skills that night, a parent meeting was held to educate parents in attendance and ask for their help in promoting the league. From there, the league took on a life of its own. “We had so many people getting word from friends or teammates from all throughout
southeast Wisconsin that we had to put a cap on the number of kids who could participate in the league,” Sharkey said. “I guess that’s a good problem to have but not one we expected in the first year.” Funds used to pay for the gym time at Carthage as well as the T-shirt given to the athletes
were paid for by a USA Volleyball Boys’ Grant given to the Badger Region. Nestled in the extreme southeast corner of Wisconsin, the cities of Kenosha and Racine
(plus a few other small communities in the area) have a combined population over 250,000 people. There are multiple public schools throughout the area, but none of them offer a struc- tured middle school program. The lack of middle school volleyball is a concern for the six big high schools in the area
that don’t have a deep talent pool to draw from when the athletes enter as freshmen. “A lot of kids entering high school think their only options are football or soccer for fall
sports,” said Sharkey. “We are one of only a few states which has boys’ volleyball in the fall and it is a battle to get kids to come out when they haven’t been exposed to the sport prior to enter- ing high school.” The Badger Region Volleyball Association is looking to develop similar programs in areas of the state that don’t have boys volleyball and is in the process of reaching out to colleges and universities with men’s teams (both club and NCAA) to see if they would be interested in start- ing a similar league.
— Brian Sharkey, Badger Region
PHOTO: BADGER REGION
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