A new volleyball club has been launched in the Foothills.
The Rocky Mountain Mavericks Volleyball Club was founded by a group of local parents, and having recently been verified as an officially sanctioned club by Volleyball Alberta, the club is gearing up to launch in the upcoming fall season.
The club's president, Kevin Sommers, says the aim is to establish an accessible club with quality coaching.
"It was just a conversation my wife and I had with some other parents... We wanted it as an alternative, to provide a club with some high-level coaching and trying to keep the fees reasonable. Many parents, one of the common things we hear is that volleyball is a rich person's sport. So we kind of had a mandate to provide high-level coaching with not-crazy fees... One thing kind of led to another and it took on a life of its own and next thing you know, we have a volleyball club we started with two other families."
Part of the effort to keep those fees manageable is seeking out sponsorships, and Sommers says they've already secured one.
"We have a sponsor through Recon Health and Fitness, they're a gym out of South Calgary, so they have gym equipment and have sponsored us for dryland training and strength conditioning for the girls, which will be on Saturdays. And since that's a sponsorship, it's included in the fees."
The club has also landed a monetary sponsorship with One Exchange Corp.
They plan on launching a U16 Girls team, and already have a coach in place.
"We have acquired an amazing coach, Scott Lahey. He has a wealth of coaching and playing experience in both hardcourt and beach volleyball... He's been doing private coaching for a number of years, he has his own company he's been doing it through. He agreed to be our full-time head coach for the U16 Girls, so we're very excited about that," says Sommers.
On top of the Saturday sessions at Recon, they'll have three two-hour practices a week at the Cavalry FC Regional Field House.
They have a few prospective players lined up, including the kids of the families who established the club, though the actual roster won't be confirmed until September.
"The way that Volleyball Alberta works is there's one week in September where you're allowed to hold tryouts, and letters of intent can be sent out in that time. We can't officially take on any players into our roster until that time," explains Sommers.
For the time being, they plan on rolling with just the U16 team for the upcoming season, though there's talk of launching a U14 team later down the line.
Aside from the tryouts from September 22-29, the club is hosting two open house events, one on August 13 at the Cavalry FC Regional Field House from 5-6:30 p.m., and the other on August 19 at Rally Pointe in Calgary from 5:30-7 p.m.