NAWILIWILI — Volleyball attracted more than 50 participants from Grade 4 through high school to the beach Friday. “We were kind of wondering if people were going to come out,” said Milo Hanneberg, who along with Island School athletic director
NAWILIWILI — Volleyball attracted more than 50 participants from Grade 4 through high school to the beach Friday.
“We were kind of wondering if people were going to come out,” said Milo Hanneberg, who along with Island School athletic director Kaipo Kealalio, coordinated a beach volleyball clinic at Kalapaki Beach sponsored by the Lahaina Petroleum group of Chevron. “We hosted more than 50 youngsters, including the Wahine Beach Volleyball club from San Diego, Calif. That is more than we expected.”
Hanneberg said he thinks this might be the first beach volleyball clinic led by the University of Hawai‘i beach volleyball coach Scott Wong. The coach led the UH Wahine to a 4-6 record during its inaugural season in the sand.
Hawai‘i was among 16 Division I programs to compete in the NCAA’s newest emerging sport.
Wayne Doliente, a Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation volleyball official and leader at the club ball level, said the clinic was designed to show student-athletes another option available to them following high school. The KIF doesn’t have beach volleyball, but does host indoor volleyball for both boys and girls.
He pointed out a team from California on Kaua‘i for nine days that participated in the clinic. The club, Wahine Beach Volleyball, is coached by Noel Forhman Filbott, a 2001 and 2002 first-team all-West Coach Conference player at the University of San Diego, leading the school in the Top 10 in both career kills and digs while setting the single season mark for attacks when she graduated.
“They practice indoors and outdoors,” said Bridget Maas, who formerly lived on Kaua‘i and has a daugther in the group. “Right now, coach Noel brought 15 members, all high school-aged players to Kaua‘i for a retreat.”
Gina Zeidler, the photographer and videographer for Wahine Beach Volleyball, said the Kaua‘i tour is designed to grow the girls’ skills and emotions while building connectivity.
“It’s kind of a retreat,” Zeidler said. “Coach wants to light up their feelings about what they are passionate about.”
She said Wahine Beach Volleyball has about a 100 members of differing age groups and the camp, or tour, is an annual event where the girls need to help raise funds for the trip.
“During our stay on Kaua‘i, we’ll be doing more than volleyball,” Zeidler, who said their trip is being aired on the Internet, said. “We did a Na Pali tour Monday and before we leave we have several service projects lined up, including planting taro in Waipa and others.”
A side benefit for Wahine Beach Volleyball is one of the high school seniors on the tour is slated to play beach volleyball for Hawai‘i in the fall, Zeidler said.
“Ashley Johnson is really excited about playing for the Rainbow Wahine,” Zeidler said. “But she is more excited that she gets to play with Coach Scott in the environment where she’ll be playing in the fall.”
Kealalio was pleased with the turnout which also brought Kaleo Baxter, a member of the UH coaching staff and Kaua‘i High School alumnus, home to visit.
“It’s good that we have something for the outdoors,” he said. “Too many times, the clinics which come here are for indoor sports. It’s good to get outdoors.”
Visit www.hawaiiathletics.com for more information on the University of Hawai‘i sand volleyball program.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
