PUHI — A volleyball skills clinic will be held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 17 at Island School.
The clinic is geared for girls players seventh through 12th grade.
“There’s going to be a morning session, a lunch, an afternoon session, and then the last hour-and-a-half or so will be a scrimmage where they can put together their new skills that they’ve learned,” said clinic coach Tony Magaoay.
The clinic also serves as a fundraiser for Kauai youth Aidan Gadingan.
Gadingan, 9, was recently diagnosed with a condition in which his immune system was producing antibodies that attacked his brain.
He is currently at Kapi’olani Medical Center in Honolulu. He is expected to receive treatment for two years.
The raised funds will go toward offsetting medical bills.
“He was just healthy, fine kid. I last saw him at a Ho’oikaika Volleyball Club year-end potluck. That was on a Saturday,” Magaoay said. “He was just a healthy kid, going up and down the waterslide. And then on Sunday, I was looking on Facebook. He was in the hospital. It was something that was really fast.”
He added: “It was heartbreaking that he’s going through this ordeal and that he’s suffering. Now, his life is on hold. It was more heartbreaking when I read the GoFundMe post that his doctors predict that he’ll be in treatment at Kapi’olani for two years. So hopefully, he gets better fast and he doesn’t have to be there for two years.”
Magaoay was previously the varsity boys volleyball coach at Waimea High School.
He along with coaches Imai Karratti and Ehren Edwards will lead the clinic. All three coaches previously played volleyball at the University of Hawaii, Magaoay said.
“This will be different because Ehren Edwards, he was at UH. Imai Karratti, he was at UH. And I played at UH as a redshirt,” he said. “It will be skills that we learned and used at UH, which will be different from a high school coach doing a clinic.”
The clinic is limited to 40 girls. Magaoay said just 16 spots are available.
To register, go to www.hooikaikavolleyball.com/allin4aidan. Cost is $60. The deadline to register is Nov. 13.
Info: Magaoay, 639-1369.
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.