Volleyball camp for youth

By Greg Price
Taber Times
gprice@tabertimes.com

Time is ticking down to sign up for the Taber Volleyball Camp.

Room is still available for the camp which is set to run Aug. 20-24 at the M.D. of Taber Municipal Park.

“A real cool shift we’ve seen over the last few years has been enrollment has really spread. We still have a good core group of athletes from Taber that continue to come. But, we are also getting students from Bow Island, Vauxhall, Coaldale and Picture Butte,” said Randi Tajcnar, head coach of the Taber Volleyball Camp. “I think it’s really cool for the athletes themselves to spend a week at camp with players they are going to see on the other side of the net, not just in the fall, but for the duration of their high school volleyball careers in southern Alberta.”

Taber Volleyball camp is for both boys and girls going into Grade 6-9 in the fall. With multiple teachers at the camp, sessions will be adapted to what the participant’s skill and expectation level is in groups.

“The strength of having a high volume of coaches allows us to tailor our approach. I get a lot of time to assess each athlete individually,” said Tajcnar. “We get athletes who have never played volleyball before, and it’s their first exposure to it. We want to make sure their first exposure to volleyball is positive and fun which hopefully sparks a life-long passion for the game. Then we have other athletes coming in where their goal may be to play on a university or college team, or tryout for Team Alberta. You have to tailor things to their skills and experience as well.”

Tajcnar herself started playing volleyball in Grade 6, and earned numerous high school all-star selections.

She played for Team Alberta for three seasons, along with four years of ACAC volleyball at Red Deer/Olds combined. She continues to play in a rec league in her life-long love of the game, having also been an avid club volleyball player in her youth.

Tajcnar will be assisted by high school students in a coach mentorship.

“We take applications from high school students, some of which have been to the camp for a few years. We are not hosting a high school camp anymore, but this gives high school students a chance to get a taste of what being a coach is like,” said Tajcnar. “The whole saying of if you want to learn something, teach it. It’s a real cool opportunity for them to develop their leadership skills and see the game from a different perspective.”

Registration can be made for the Aug. 20-24 Taber Volleyball Camp can be made on Facebook or e-mail at tabervolleyballcamp@gmail.com.