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Sarnia’s not afraid to deliver unique youth volleyball programs.

By Kerish Maharaj, 11/19/19, 12:05PM EST

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As a club that runs programming for both adults and youth year-round, Twin Bridges VC decided that the newly launched Parent & Player program would be a great fit for families in their community using Smashball as the foundation for the training.

In 2016 the Twin Bridges Volleyball Club launched their first Smashball program as part of an OVA and  Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport initiative. The view of that project was to attract more boys to the sport of volleyball at an earlier age by modifying the typical 6v6 version of the game, into a more exciting sport with fewer stoppages, more contact time and movement that kids can enjoy. 

As a club that runs programming for both adults and youth year-round, club founders Barb Rigg-Garbaty and Lisa Bennett along with their coaches and parents Mark Pretty and Al Shaw Parent decided that the newly launched Parent & Player program would be a great fit for families in their community using Smashball as the foundation for the training. Not only was the program cost-effective, engaged both parent and child through volleyball and included FUNdamental movement skill activities (necessary for all persons to play sport and be physically literate) but it also potentially lower the age of participation for volleyball in Sarnia and possibly recruit more coaches. 

The video below highlights Twin Bridges first attempt at the program and explores the highlights and challenges that introducing a new youth volleyball program can entail and further builds on how strategically using Smashball as the foundation of their Parent and Player program the club is able to develop young athletes, train new coaches, actively engage parents and invest in the long-term development of their club through diverse programming. 

A special thank you to the Twin Bridges Volleyball Club for sharing their experiences with us for the benefit of the Ontario Volleyball community.

To find out more about the Parent & Player Program click here.