Thursday, July 07, 2011

WNCC volleyball camps begin next week

The Cougar volleyball camps that start next week provide a good way for the college volleyball staff to interact with the community and to offer valuable instruction to local youth, WNCC’s head volleyball coach said Thursday.
                “I think summer camps are a very important part of Cougar volleyball because we are here to help those younger girls succeed in the sport and help them get better at it,” said coach Giovana Melo, who was recently selected as the Omaha World Herald’s Midlands Coach of the Year. “The state of Nebraska lives and breathes volleyball and we have the opportunity to show those kids what we do in our gym.
“It is very important that our players interact with the campers as much as they possibly can because they have been in their shoes before and they know how excited each camper is to be here. They will have lots of fun in our camp as well as learn a lot from it.”
                The first of the many Cougar volleyball camps begin Monday, July 11 with a 2-day Little Cougars camp for girls in 4th through 6th grade. The camp runs July 11 and 12. The camp will run from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. with an hour lunch break at 11:30 a.m.
                The second camp will be July 13 and 14 will be an individual skills camp for 7th and 8th graders from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with an hour break for lunch.
                Former Cougar and Gering High volleyball players Whitney Roth and Brooke Blomenkamp, along with Melo and assistant coach Cesar Benatti, will help instruct these two camps.
                The second week of camp will include a setters and hitters clinic on July 18 and 19 for girls in sixth through ninth grades from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. , followed by an individual skills camp for girls in the night through 12 grade July 20-21.
                These camps will be taught by Melo, Benatti, assistant coach Lindsey Gonzalez and former Cougar and Scottsbluff volleyball star Mackenzie Westphal.
                The final week of camps will be July 25 and 26 with a setters and hitters camp and then a team camp on July 28 and 29. The setters and hitters camp is for girls in the 10th through 12th grade. The team camp is open to junior varsity and varsity high school teams.
Fatima Balza, who won three national volleyball titles during her collegiate career, will help instruct the camp. Balza won a national title for WNCC in 2007 and then helped Penn State win national titles in 2009 and 2010. Balza will also serve as an assistant coach for the Cougars this coming season.
                Melo encourages pre-registering for the camps, but will take registrations the first day of each camp. Individuals can register online at www.wnccvolleyball.com or download a camp flyer off the Cougar website at sports.wncc.edu.
                For more information, contact Melo at  melog@wncc.edu or at 308-635-6028.

No comments: