Clinic with Olympic gold medalist Rogers highlights AVAs Give-Back Weekend | News, Sports, Jobs
Olympic gold medalist Todd Rogers delivers instruction during a free clinic Saturday at Kanaha Beach Park as part of Aloha Volleyball Association’s Give-Back Weekend. AVA photos
Local youngsters got the special opportunity to work with an Olympic gold medalist over the weekend as the Aloha Volleyball Association held its Give-Back Weekend at Kanaha Beach Park in Kahului and at Seabury Hall in Olinda.
Todd Rogers, who won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in beach volleyball, joined the AVA for a free and open clinic on Saturday.
“Super stoked to be able to come to the islands and be part of the AVA clinics,” Rogers, currently the sand volleyball head coach at Cal Poly, was quoted as saying in an AVA press release. “What a worthwhile endeavor to support AVA in lowering the financial hurdles for kids that struggle to be able to pay for instruction in the sport I love. Hopefully I was able to help a few kids learn about the game that maybe wouldn’t have normally been able to be a part of a college coaches clinic.”
The three-day event — which drew athletes from around Maui, as well as Lanai, Molokai and Oahu — included the clinics by NCAA Division I coaches, a beach cleanup and the introduction of a new scholarship for volleyball players with Hawaiian ancestry.
Brian Connor flattens sand to improve playing conditions at the Kanaha Beach Park sand volleyball courts Friday morning.
On Friday morning, adult AVA members and coaches cleaned up the courts at Kanaha by picking up trash, landscaping and tilling the courts flat and deep to prevent injuries.
On Sunday, Portland State coach Michael Seemann and University of Portland co-head coach Dylan Hamilton teamed up to train kids indoors at Seabury’s Erdman Athletic Center.
Hamilton is a Seabury graduate who was on the Spartans’ state championship team in 2010. His first volleyball coach was Scottie Zucco, club director of AVA, and got his first coaching gig running AVA’s summer camp.
“Dylan holds a special place in my volleyball heart because we share the same passion,” Zucco said. “He got his first coaching gig at our summer camp. Now he’s been in the NCAA collegiate ranks for a couple years and our relationship has changed. I call him all the time for tips — it’s funny how my student has become my teacher.”
All the weekend activities were geared toward raising awareness for AVA’s new scholarship. The Hawaiian Ancestry Scholarship provides money to help kids get more off-island exposure.
University of Portland co-head coach Dylan Hamilton, a graduate of Seabury Hall, gives Makalani Carey some tips on her serve Sunday at Erdman Athletic Center.
The scholarship will award club members ages 15-17 travel money to attend important mainland tournaments. The first distributions are scheduled for Oct. 1, a couple weeks before the 2020-21 season.
“We felt that our club needed to do more with our name and our position in the volleyball community,” Zucco said. “We’re a youth sports club that’s operated on Maui for 12 years — we need to do our part to help remove some of the financial barriers of learning and traveling to big tourneys.”
To donate to the scholarship fund, visit alohavolleyball.com. Information for the 2020 event will also be posted on the website.
Portland State head coach Michael Seemann smiles as he helps Annley Sarno with her setting Sunday.
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