Renowned coach to be featured at volleyball camp

July 13, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Area volleyball players have a chance to bump, set and spike with one of the best next week when USA Volleyball coach John Kessel arrives in town for a camp being put on by the Northern Lights Volleyball Club.

&#8220I'm really excited about it,” Northern Lights administrator Diane Clawson said Thursday. &#8220We're really lucky to have him here.”

Kessel is known as one of the top coaches in the country, and in 1995 was named one of the top 50 most important people in the sport in the past 100 years by Volleyball Magazine. He currently serves as director of membership development and disabled programs for USA Volleyball.

&#8220He's coached and played at all levels of the sport,” Clawson said.

The camp, which begins Monday at Palmer Junior Middle School, will feature five days of instruction for middle and high school volleyball players, as well as three nightly sessions for adult players.

The middle school camp begins at 8 a.m. Monday, with the high school camp starting at 1 p.m. Adult sessions will begin Tuesday evening. Youth players must have a parent sign a medical release form, which can also be done online.

The cost is $125 for youth players and $40 for adults. Clawson said players can sign up all the way up until the first day of the camp either by showing up on the first day or visiting www.northernlightsvolleyball.net

Clawson said campers should expect to get playing tips at a world-class level from Kessel.

&#8220He knows the game, and has been all over the world playing, coaching and teaching,” she said.

Clawson said Kessel's coaching style is hands-on and stresses encouragement and having fun as a way for players to improve their skills.

&#8220He knows the sport and is just so positive,” she said. &#8220He's not a win-at-all-costs kind of person.”

The camp is being put on with the help of a grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation. Clawson said that, combined with the grant and the ability to use PJMS - a school that features four courts - Kessel's presence will make for an exciting and top-notch event.

&#8220These three things just came together perfectly,” she said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com