Kara Patman
Staff Writer
It is no mystery that California is notorious for competitive volleyball, but due to its convenient location by the ocean, hardwood floors have been replaced by sandy beaches.
As beach volleyball flourishes as a sport, beach volleyball clubs are emerging on what seems to be a daily basis. One stands out in particular to Costa’s female students: Elite Beach Volleyball. Former Olympics Medal Winners, Eric Fonoimoana, Barbra Fontana, and Holly Peak started the club last year.
“Our main goal is to prepare the girls for the college game,” Fonoimoana said. “I have over 30 years of experience, if these girls have someone with my experience who can coach them at their age, they will be way better off with learning the game, and learning it well.”
One of Elite’s main goals is to help girls get scholarships for beach volleyball, and ideally get scholarships at their dream schools. With the coaches’ extensive backgrounds in the games of beach volleyball, they can prepare the girls the right way.
“The best thing about the girls is that they are eager to learn, which makes our job easy,” Fonoimoana. “They are hungry for these scholarships to colleges through beach volleyball, so they are motivated to play well.”
To get on the team, the coaches mainly look for people with drive to play the sport. They have tryouts for players to look for skills, motivated, and the want to train hard for the ultimate goal of success.
“I love being able to play with girls from all over who are just as competitive as I am and who are also going to play in college,” team member Katrina Kernochan said. “It is also a challenge because everyone is always trying to get better and improve their game. I am super happy that I am a player on Elite Beach Volleyball.”
Last year they had around 30 players, and due to last years success, the player count will now triple to over 90 athletes. In their tournaments they ended up winning championships at the end of last year in all age groups.
“Our wings spread pretty far, their are girls all the way from Sacramento, to Florida, to Utah who practice with us in the summer.” Fonoimoana said. “Weekly, there are girls traveling from Santa Barbara and San Diego who play with us, as well as the locals.”
Right now, Elite Beach Volleyball is a moving club. They currently practice throughout the different beach streets in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach until they can find a secure home. Practice varies, but is usually twice during the week and once a weekend for two hours.
“My favorite part about being a coach is finding a way to give back to the girls,” Fonoimoana said. “I love to see when the girls get into their dream schools for the sport that they love. We are here to help them prepare, and there is no better feeling then watching them succeed.”
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