Over 70 youth enjoy volleyball camp
How things have changed for the Tippecanoe volleyball program over the years when it comes to their summer youth camp.
Coach Howard Garcia noted there was a time period where they celebrated 30 campers in the gym looking to improve their game during the summer. Now as the campers at the 2025 youth camp wrapped up for another year, over 70 future athletes from the community enjoyed the Red Devils camp.
“I like the attendance because we are getting kids in eighth grade down to third grade, so that means that volleyball is out there,” Garcia said. “It could have been much more, but you have kids who are playing AAU basketball or summer softball, but those kind of numbers means the program is in a good place.” Garcia and his coaching staff, along with the high school players, teach the youth different aspects of the game based on their grade level, which helps all of them progress in their game. “For the younger ones, it’s about the feeling of touching a volleyball and trying to do it correctly, even though sometimes they struggle with it because they don’t have the knowledge yet,” he said. “For the older kids, we try to teach them the fine skills and teach them a little bit to do that. Sometimes you get these younger kids who catch on pretty fast and we can move them over to the older court even if they are physically not ready.”
While teaching the game is a huge premise of this camp, it also allows the older middle school kids to get a feel of what is soon to come. “We have some eighth graders here who have some potential with some height and athleticism who know this will be their last middle school season, and they know they will come back next year into high school, the pressure will be on,” Garcia said.
One of the biggest things Garcia and his staff get to enjoy is watching their high school players interact with the future players. And just as important, it helps build their leadership skills as role models for the younger players. “It is a big thing,” Garcia said. “One thing, a lot of our incoming freshman who are here can relate to some of those incoming seventh and eighth graders. Then you have the younger players who get to look up to, for example Savannah Clawson, who is a two-time state award varsity player. She is here on the floor helping the kids. It is big because these high school players are giving back, when once upon a time, somebody gave back to them. These younger kids are excited to see them.”
Next week, the story continues as I spoke to Garcia about the season ahead and the magic that could happen with so many returning players from last year's regional semifinal team.
