- April 18, 2024
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Gerry Pitchford has been teaching volleyball in Ormond Beach for 20 years.
BY ANDREW O'BRIEN | SPORTS EDITOR
It all starts with running laps around the two volleyball courts. Not just regular laps, though: The campers must hold the volleyball above their heads.
Sometimes, it’s two laps; sometimes, it’s three. On Tuesday, it was four laps.
“They don’t like these too much,” said Gerry Pitchford, who has been running Ormond Beach’s recreational volleyball camp for 20 years.
After the laps, the group does some plyometrics on an agility ladder before beginning camp.
Pitchford, as part of the city of Ormond Beach’s Leisure Services department, puts on the volleyball camp for about seven weeks during the summer. This session will run through August, and then a fall camp will begin in September. Most summers, Pitchford gets about 20 campers. Not this year, though. There are 68 campers enrolled in the summer session, a number that’s an all-time high, Pitchford said.
“I just started it 20 years ago because I couldn’t get the adults involved,” he said.
At the camp, volleyball enthusiasts learn the basics: serving, hitting, digging, blocking and positioning. Scrimmages and other game formats are also played.
“I don’t like to let them get bored,” Pitchford said. “I like to mix it up.”
The camp, which is open for boys and girls ages 9-17, is at the Nova Community Center, in Ormond Beach.
To register, visit www.OrmondBeach.org, or email [email protected].
