Pelham volleyball gives back at annual youth camp
Published 3:32 pm Wednesday, June 4, 2025
The 2025 Pelham Middle and High School volleyball teams are hosting a youth camp this week, giving young athletes a chance to improve their skills. (Reporter photos/Andrew Simonson)
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By DANIEL LOCKE | Staff Writer
PELHAM – The 2025 campaign will not begin until August, but that has not stopped the Pelham Middle and High School volleyball teams from making an impact in the community.
The annual Pelham Volleyball Youth Camp is taking place at Pelham Park Middle School from June 3-5, and Pelham High School head varsity coach Perry Robinson is pleased with what he has seen.
“It’s gone well,” Robinson said. “I think we’re at 21 campers. We’d always like more, but we’re always excited about that level of campers coming in. We have our high school and middle school players in there assisting the whole time. It’s good for them to learn to give back to the sport that they’re playing.”
While Robinson’s players are not focused on improving their skills during the camp, he believes the experience they gain from teaching the sport will translate to their performance on the court this season.
“If you want to know something a whole lot better, you teach it,” Robinson said. “Now they’re in the teaching, demonstrating mode instead of the playing mode. We know it benefits them, but it’s fun to hear them say they enjoyed it and they learned about being on this side of the game.”
One of Robinson’s favorite parts of the camp is the way it allows the program to give back to the community. The current middle and high school players coaching up the next generation of Panthers provides a unique opportunity to build chemistry, not just within the volleyball program, but throughout the city as well.
“We represent Pelham, we don’t forget that,” Robinson said. “Every time we can get younger players from Pelham in the gym and have our high school and middle school players interact with them, that’s always a win.”
Robinson could not ignore the enthusiasm shown by the middle and high school players to participate, leading to a change in the practice schedule.
“We just love doing the camp,” Robinson said. “Obviously, it’s a little bit of a fundraiser for us, but it’s way more than just that. We tried to do the camp where half the (middle and high school) kids were at practice and the other half were at the camp, and they all wanted to be at the camp. I learned real quick to let them go hang out with the younger players, and it is time well spent.”
The camp allows Robinson and the Panthers to build connections with players who could potentially appear on Pelham’s middle and high school rosters in the future. They refuse to let the opportunity to build relationships with the next group of athletes go to waste.
“Some players we’ve seen a couple summers in a row. To be able to see where they are, just watching them grow up and then seeing what they’ve retained from earlier sessions with us, is massive,” Robinson said. “All of that’s fun. Then you start recognizing parents, and we send them a fall schedule. ‘Come to a match, let us know you’re coming. We want you and your daughter to be here and see what high school athletics are all about.’”
The connections built with future athletes continue to pay dividends once their time at Pelham comes to an end. As the years go on, alumni support for the program continues to grow.
“We have former players and their parents still coming back to watch us, not only when we’re good, but when we’re having an average season. When they’re in town, they come,” Robinson said. “We get checked in with alumni all the time, so I’m really appreciative of (former) players when they want to come back and watch us. We’ve actually had a few that were in town that we’ve asked to come talk to the team.”
As the Panthers aim to build on their 6A state tournament runner-up campaign with another successful season, they are determined not to overlook the opportunity to bond with future athletes and strengthen the connection between the community and the program.
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