March 24 Boys Clinic Recap

Mix more than 75 middle school boys volleyball players, the Southport Volleyball Club, the Carthage men's volleyball team/alumni and a troupe of workers and volunteers and what do you get? A great day of volleyball at the Tarble Arena in Kenosha.

Thanks to the boys volleyball grant the Badger Region received from USA Volleyball, the above mentioned groups were able to host a  truly successful clinic for boys ages 9 to 14 on Saturday, March 24. Young athletes came from as far away as Fort Atkinson, Kettle Morraine and Heartland to take part in this first-ever event.

There was the usual round of hitting, passing, serving and setting that allowed the young athletes to develop their skills, and, of course, there were plenty of age-specific games that got everyone involved. What made the day work was the large number of current Carthage men's volleyball players (ages 19 to 22) and Southport Volleyball Club athletes (ages 15 to 18) that worked closely with these athletes that are so new to volleyball.

Using the high schoolers and college athletes as part of the coaching staff allowed the youngsters a unique chance to connect with someone other than an adult, and every camper really listened to what the players had to say.

One of the highlights of the day was staying on campus for the 7 p.m. Carthage vs. IPFW match. The Red Men defeated their Division I opponent in four great games, and the kids kept the gym loud and full of energy that whole time.

We look forward to another opportunity to do another clinic next year in conjunction with some of the Carthage matches.

Thanks to everyone for a great weekend.

Brian Sharkey
Southport VBC

For more photos from the event, please visit the Badger Region Facebook album (it's a public page, so you don't need an account to look at it!): https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263482167071817.64864.144504375636264&type=1