November 5, 2006 - Volleyball Conducts Girl Scout Clinic
November 5, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rider Volleyball Conducts Girl Scout Clinic
LAWRENCEVILLE—Going back to your youth and remembering when you played just for the fun of the game. As part of the Rider Athletics Partners in a Caring Community and the MAAC Gives Back program, the Bronc volleyball team hosted over 60 girl scouts in Alumni Gym for a clinic on Sunday, November 5.
“It’s a fun activity for them,” said head coach Emily Ahlquist. “They get to work with 9-12 year old athletes and teach them the game that they love.”
The two-hour clinic went over the basic skills of volleyball, including passing, setting and spiking and included a post-clinic lunch where the scouts could ask the players specific questions about the game of volleyball and being a student-athlete.
“They see the youthfulness and enthusiasm and that helps the players,” added Ahlquist. “The teaching aspect of the clinic, showing someone else the skills helps the players keep their own skills sharp.”
The clinic marked the first time in almost a month that Rider was in its home gym playing volleyball.
“After playing six straight matches on the road it is good for the players to be home,” said Ahlquist. “The clinic was a chance for them to relax and unwind from the pressures of school and the conference schedule.”
“The girl scouts here today represent 29 towns in Middlesex County,” said Simpdy Merelan the Leadership Development Manager of the Delaware-Raritan Girl Scouts. “Our council is located in East Brunswick, New Jersey and serves over 15,000 scouts. It’s a great chance for the scouts to see what women’s athletics at Rider University is all about. It’s a chance to interact, learn new skills and go out and have fun. The girls were really excited about the clinic and love to work with other women that they look up to and aspire to be.”
“The connection with the community is important,” said Ahlquist. “The girl scouts come back to our matches and keep in touch with the players throughout the season and it helps build not only our team’s identity in the community but the overall awareness of Rider University as a whole. It builds the grassroots of both athletics and the University. We have 62 potential students who may want to come to Rider in the future because of this connection that we’ve been able to make today.”
The clinic is the second of the season for the volleyball team, having hosted the Katzenbach School for the Deaf October 10.
“The clinic also brings the student-athletes back to when they started to play the game,” Ahlquist added. “They relate to the girl scouts the experiences when they started to play at their age and it really makes a connection to help teach the game of volleyball. The players get really excited by the end of the clinic when the scouts show improvement in something that was shown to them and the Rider athletes take pride in being able to help the next generation learn the sport.”
Rider returns to action on Thursday against Loyola before closing out the regular season with senior day against Iona on Saturday.
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