When the Battlefords Volleyball Club started up six years ago, they just had a pair of teams competing on the provincial club scene.
Now, their fleet of squads has grown rapidly to 14 in a number of boys and girls age group divisions.
“I think a lot of it has to do with parents who want to see their kids involved in sports and to having a board that’s very entrenched in the community,” BVC president and coach Paul Sarsons said.
“I know at the high school level, it’s important to have players who play on a regular basis and have a love for the sport built in as we go up against teams from Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Swift Current. If you don’t have that passion for volleyball at a young age, it’s much harder to get involved as you get older.”
The club’s growth was seen first hand this past weekend at North Battleford Comprehensive High School as they held their first large scale summer camp.
The 41 participants on hand were split into two groups, with 12 players from Grades 1-5 taking part in the club’s Atomic program, which is a youth recreational program put together through Volleyball Canada.
“We broke the kids up into groups based on the grades they are in and had them play on the badminton courts so they can learn the basics of the game,” Sarsons said.
“The goal of the program is to have the kids learn the sport but have fun at the same time. You don’t want them running through a bunch of drills at that age where they end up getting bored rather quickly.”
Over in the big gym, 29 students from Grades 6-12 went through a more competitive camp, which saw some help from Prince Albert Volleyball Club coach Rene Quintal.
“Unless they were at summer camps, this would be the first time many of our players have been on the court since the club season ended in the spring,” Sarsons said.
While the club has been expanding in short order, it’s been important for them to make sure that their costs are kept in check.
“Since we been expanding on average to two new teams a year over the last few seasons, it costs roughly $850 dollars just to equip the teams,” Sarsons said.
“We really rely on the business around town to help us. Owners Management Group, Scott Campbell Dodge, Western Financial and Richardson’s play a huge role in making sure we have enough funds to pay for equipment, especially with the weighted balls we use for the Atomic program this year.”
Once the high school season wraps up, tryouts for the competitive club programs will take place in either the last week of November or the first week of December.
“The season will run until May with the Nationals taking place in Edmonton,” Sarsons said.
“With it being there, our goal is to have as many teams as possible at that tournament.”
