No matter what you excel in or the goals in your life, there is a starting point for all at one time. In the case of 12-year-old Paige Gates, her love for volleyball began last year when she signed up for the Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department’s annual Coed Youth Volleyball League.
Gates joined the Coed Youth Volleyball League inexperienced and unsure about the idea of playing competitive volleyball. Fortunately, the program takes pride in teaching kids the basic skills of volleyball in a fun and relaxed environment where winning is not the main priority.
“I liked how fun it was,” said Gates, recalling her experience. “Everyone got along and it was easy to make friends.”
Gates also credits her great experience in the program to her first volleyball coach, George Lombard, one of the Recreation Department’s veteran coaches who had the ability to connect with his players in a positive way.
“George wasn’t super hard on me and I learned better from him,” said Gates. “He was a really good coach and was very encouraging.”
Gates’ mom, Lynn Boecker, said: “George was very patient and great with struggling kids. He was a great first coach … it made all the difference in the world!”
Gates is now pursuing more competitive volleyball environments. She proudly mentioned how her team took 3rd place in the Cypress volleyball league and how she made some difficult shots, some of which won the game for her team.
“I am planning on trying out for the high school team and taking volleyball lessons.”
Additonally even with her progress over the past year, both Gates and her mom are anxious to participate again in the Los Alamitos Coed Youth Volleyball League this year. “It was a lot of fun last year and I want to do it again,” Paige said.
Perhaps one day Paige will make her high school volleyball team. Maybe that will lead to her receiving a scholarship at a university.
A written statement said the Los Alamitos Recreation Department wishes Gates the very best in pursuing her goals and staff members are proud to be part of her experience and introducing her to the fundamentals of a sport she now loves to play.
The Los Alamitos Coed Youth Volleyball League for grades four to eight begins the week of Sept. 9 and registration is going on now. Practices are held once a week and games played every Friday. The league is eight weeks long, ending in a competition on Nov. 8. Deadline to register is Wednesday, Sept. 4. For more information, call the Los Alamitos Recreation Department at (562) 430-1073 or visit
www.cityoflosalamitos.org.
