Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy Junior Volleyball Camp offers variety
LA CAÑADA — From beginners to those with some experience, between 15-20 participants appeared comfortable in the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy gymnasium.
Inside the air-conditioned venue, the athletes found themselves busy completing a series of drills at the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy Junior Volleyball Camp. Some members of the group had never picked up a volleyball before attending the event.
The campers focused on exercises, ranging from passing to serving to hitting, with first-year Flintridge Sacred Heart volleyball coach Hannah Tedrow helping the group grasp each fundamental. Former and current Tologs players showed up to the camp to assist Tedrow.
“It’s mostly about two things,” said Tedrow, who took over the program from Ernest Banaag in June after coaching last season at Westridge. “You want the younger players to find a love for the game and you want to see how well they learn if they want to go on to play volleyball.
“With the camp, it’s a very good introduction to the game and it covers all of the different drills. They are so young and it’s such a blast watching them learn.”
The camp, geared for girls age 8-12, attracted participants mostly from La Cañada Flintridge and the San Gabriel Valley areas. The event featured four one-week sessions. Some of the campers planned on attending multiple sessions in order to brush up on various drills.
Maddie Feng, 9, came to a recent session having never played volleyball. Feng, a San Gabriel resident, was glad she did.
“I really didn’t know anything about volleyball before,” Feng said. “I’ve come to each week of the camp and tried to get better.
“I’m learning all of the different drills and it’s a lot of fun to play games.”
The group went from one station to another in order to work on passing, serving, setting and more.
“I think the group can learn about building relationships, which is so important when it comes to teamwork and communication,” Tedrow said. “When they do a different drill, they think about how to get better at it and how it can help them perform.
“Plus, they’ll just want to keep on doing it. They get to play games at the end of the day and they can see how things go into place.”
Sophia Garcia, 13, agreed with Tedrow.
“You learn about teamwork and how to get better,” said Garcia, a Pasadena resident who plays for San Gabriel Elite club team. “You learn to play together as a team.
“I’ve played volleyball for about two years and I’ve come to all of the sessions at this camp. I’m just trying to build my confidence and I feel like I’m a better player overall.”
The camp will hold a final session. It will run Monday through July 26.
