Church Reaches Out Through Volleyball

Tana Bierce remembers a time when the game of volleyball had a place in the Seminole Heights community, something she'd like to see again.

This summer, Bierce will attempt to bring new faces on to the court through clinics at . Open to kids in grades 6-12, Bierce is targeting an age group prone to heavy amounts of television watching and video game playing.

"We're trying to reach that age group to get them outside and being active," Bierce said. "It's better for them to be out playing volleyball than sitting inside playing video games and other lazy stuff. We'll be doing other things throughout the summer all intended to get them out and about."

In looking for a game to promote for summer fun activity, Bierce needed a sport that both boys and girls could play. Volleyball presents her with the opportunity to reach out to kids with something that is both fun and has a reasonably level playing field between sexes.

"It's something everyone can do and it used to be really popular in this particular neighborhood," Bierce said. "With baseball and football you have to be good at it to really enjoy it. With this sport it's not so much that way so all the kids can have fun with it, not just the ones who are good at sports."

Despite having watched her children play the sport, Bierce's volleyball knowledge falls a bit short of staging clinics on her own. To offer a more personalized and higher level of instruction, she has included the help of two players, Malikah Nash and Ashley Gonsalves, to conduct the lessons. 

"We'll be covering fundamental skills and rules during the week," Bierce said. "On Saturday we'll play a round robin style tournament. I know other churches have this same sort of thing so we're hoping to keep volleyball going throughout the summer. We've invited kids from other churches so it won' t just be kids from the neighborhood.

The clinics offer a free and complete package to the participant with meals included. But perhaps the best news, the clinics are free of charge.

"We'll be feeding them supper on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before we play," Bierce said. "Then on Saturday morning we'll feed them breakfast before the round robin games. All of it is free and it should be a really fun time."

Clinics will take place from June 15-17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and June 18 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Participants are required to pre-register. For more information, contact Tana Bierce at (813) 326-4802 or call the church office at (813) 236-5931.