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SHS junior volleyball stars wrap up mentoring volleyball league

Shauna Farnell

Running a sports league is a lot of work, but two juniors at Summit High School managed to do it “without a hitch” this season for the second year in a row.

Ashley Reavis and Claudia Sobiecki pooled resources to create the opportunity to teach volleyball to fifth-graders throughout Summit County.

“We took over the program last year,” said Reavis, who is one of the star players on the Summit High School volleyball team. “We organized it and did all the necessary things. It’s a great experience to see these girls play the sport you play and have the passion you had for it when you were just starting out.”



The program, which originated through the Octagon Club, involved 62 fifth-grade girls from the six Summit County elementary schools and 13 volunteer coaches from Summit High. For nearly three months, Reavis, Sobiecki and the other coaches divided themselves within the schools to conduct practices and games every week.

“The fourth-graders asked if they could join as well, but it wouldn’t be as much individual attention that way,” Reavis said. “We introduced the game of volleyball and prepared a coach’s folder that gave the basic skills to teach these girls and give them a good foundation. We taught the most important aspects of the game. The majority of the girls that we teach go on to play at the middle school. It feels good to be the ground where they got their start. You see the girls who made interscholastic and it gives you a little smile.”



Reavis and Sobiecki didn’t just organize the practices, games and coaching, they also had to find sponsors, which included Alpine Bank, Ebert-Santos Children’s Clinic, Omni Real Estate, Ten Mile Times, Breckenridge Building Center and the Sheriff’s Office. They then had to coordinate meetings, money and the end-of-the-season banquet.

“These girls have complete responsibility,” said Daphne Schroth of the Optimist Club. “I think it’s pretty remarkable that two juniors in high school can run a sports league. The whole program runs without a hitch. It’s a mentoring relationship. It’s wonderful for older kids to provide such positive assets to the younger kids.”


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