Providence volleyball camp’s initial run a success
BURBANK — For years, Providence High girls’ volleyball Coach James Jimenez has been holding small weekend clinics for young players.
However, this summer Jimenez was persuaded to start a camp for the first time and the inaugural Providence High School Volleyball Camp was born. The camp, held in the Providence gym, began Monday and concluded Friday.
“I had put on some clinics in the past, but they we were mainly just small that we ran maybe every other weekend,” said Jimenez, a 2002 Providence High graduate who also played for the Pioneers. “But some parents started asking me why I didn’t put on a camp during the summer and they thought there would be some interest. So we coordinated it and this is the first year I’m holding a camp here at Providence.
“It’s just a good way to help players with their fundamentals and it’s a good representation for Providence.”
The turnout for the first rendition of the camp, which featured boys and girls in the fifth through eighth grades, was a resounding success.
“I wanted to keep it small, maybe to 24 players,” Jimenez said. “When you keep it smaller, it’s a lot easier to teach the kids and there’s not a lot of chaos. But I think for this camp we have 27 or 28 players. I wanted to cap it off with less, but there were more kids who were interested and I didn’t want to turn them away.
“I think it’s gone very well for being the first camp. I think the players are learning and they seem to be having a good time.”
Along with warmups and some running exercises, players took part in drills, received instruction on various fundamentals and participated in simulated matches.
“There are players who have different skill levels so we try and accommodate everyone,” Jimenez said. “What I really try to do is run a slow version of my usual varsity practice. We will do a lot of passing work, then transition into hitting and then we will stress defense. We also try and play a lot of games because when you learn the fundamentals how you really learn is during game situations. That’s why playing in actual game situations is so important.”
Burbank’s Alina Piedra, 12, said the Providence camp game her a chance to hone her skills and she was thankful to be able to attend the event.
“It’s not every day that someone gets an opportunity to attend a camp like this,” she said. “It’s just a commitment, I guess, for us players to want to play and get better. Learning in a camp like this helps you get better. ...I want to keep playing volleyball and I know I need to keep getting better and keep learning.”
Taking a break from club volleyball, 12-year-old Ashley Davis of Burbank didn’t want to relax and take it easy. Instead, the Providence camp gave her the opportunity to play more volleyball, a sport she loves.
“Since my club season is over, I want to keep improving my skills and I want to keep playing so I don’t lose those skills,” Davis said. “I thought this would be a good way to keep playing and be ready for some tryouts that I’ll have in October.
“I’m hoping to maybe play in high school, hopefully at this high school.”
Another athlete at the camp who liked to keep busy was Phillip Vakoula, 13, of Hollywood. Although the teen has a busy sports schedule, he wanted to participate in the camp.
“I had swimming practice before this camp and I’ll have another swimming practice this afternoon,” he said. “But I wanted to be here because volleyball is one of my favorite sports. I just love all sports. I’m going to be playing on my high school team this year so I just want to get better.”
Along with Jimenez, a number of Providence players were on hand to help as coaches. For many of the Pioneers athletes, it was their first opportunity to be a coach.
“As coach always says when you teach the sport you’re able to learn a little more, so I’m getting something out of being here,” junior Giselle Camonayan said. “I just like teaching and just seeing the energy in all the young players. You really become connected with these players and you are really happy when you see them pick up a skill or play well. It also helps that we are a little younger and we can relate to the players in the camp.”
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Jeff Tully, jeff.tully@latimes.com
Twitter: @jefftsports