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Youngstown elementary school girls volleyball tourney set for Saturday
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
About 76 third- through sixth-grade city school girls will face off over a volleyball net Saturday in the first extracurricular tournament for elementary school students.
Registration begins at 10 a.m. at Wilson Middle School with the event starting at 11 a.m.
Kathy Hammond, president and CEO of Finer Things Academy, which is running the sports program for the district, said the seven school teams practiced after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the fall.
“They loved it,” she said of the girls who participate. “The principals said they would come and ask, ‘Is it today?’”
The district started the sports program to foster a sense of community among elementary schools.
In proposing the idea earlier this year, Doug Hiscox, deputy superintendent for the district, likened the intramural program to the city series or the city league of the past. The district would build loyalty around the teams as in years ago when the district had several high schools, each with its own identity.
Initially, the plan was for girls’ volleyball in the fall, boys’ and girls’ basketball in winter and boys’ and girls’ track in the spring.
Hammond said that after Saturday’s tournament, she plans to regroup and work toward track.
“I want to work on more participation and get some funding in place,” she said.
Basketball may not happen this year.
Hammond plans to seek more support from parents and the community for the program.