Wednesday, August 11, 2021
The Observer | www.theobserver.com
Sports & Recreation WITH
Jim Hague
9
It’s hoop heaven for host of young ladies at Kearny camp
ogsmar@aol.com
Spikes, hits, kills: Sights and sounds of Kearny volleyball camp KEARNY – Sure, Kearny
is readily known as “Soccertown, USA,” after the United States National Team that played in the 1990 World Cup featured three players, namely Tony Meola, John Harkes and Tab Ramos, all hailed from Kearny. But after seeing the popularity of another sport, namely volleyball, simply explode in recent years, maybe volleyball could run a close second locally. After all, if you take a trip past West Hudson Park and see the volleyball courts there being utilized or perhaps a jaunt around the newly refurbished Gunnell Oval and the new volleyball court there, you might just think that volleyball is earning its proper place of prominence. “Volleyball is certainly healthy in Kearny,” said Kearny High School head boys’ volleyball coach Bill Mullins. After all, Mullins’ Kardinals enjoyed a great season this past season, a volleyball campaign that resulted in the Kards competing in both the Hudson County Tournament and NJSIAA state sectional finals two months ago. And Mullins hosted the first volleyball camp held in the town in three years,
a camp that welcomed nearly 70 youngsters to the Kearny High gymnasium recently. “We had a great season this year,” Mullins said. “I think it helped to stir up some interest in the sport. Hopefully, it can continue in the future.” Mullins said that he welcomed a host of volleyball newcomers to the camp. “It helps the kids get a chance to know me before high school,” Mullins said. “It helped them to get an interest in volleyball and want to play the sport. You see a lot of interest in volleyball now. Kids never got a chance to see volleyball played before. Now, they saw it and they said that they wanted to give it a shot. We had a good turnout. This proves that there is an interest in playing volleyball. It’s becoming a popular sport. The kids want to learn.” Mullins and a lot of his former and current players helped to teach youngsters all the proper fundamentals in the sport – like blocking, hitting, passing, receiving. “We also had some fun games for the kids,” Mullins said. “It definitely helped to keep things movSee VIEW, Page 11
Photo by Jim Hague
More than 75 young ladies participated in the Kearny High School Girls’ Basketball Camp, under the guidance of Kearny High head coach Jody Hill (center).
By Jim Hague ogsmar@aol.com
KEARNY - Makayla David is a 12-year-old soon-to-be seventh grader at Walker Middle School in Nutley. But when it came time to attend a summer basketball camp, David went where she felt comfortable. “I wanted to come to Kearny to be with Coach Jody (Hill),” David said. “I’ve come to this camp three times. I was really excited to hear that there was going to be a camp this year.” The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic caused the entire world to shut down a year ago and forced anyone and everyone indoors to remain safe and free from harm. It also meant that the camp run by Hill – the local basketball legend, the Hudson County Sports Hall of Famer, the 2,000-point scorer at Harrison High School and for the last two decades, the head girls’ basketball coach at neighboring rival Kearny
High – had to be canceled for the first time in history. Hill said that she was not sure whether the camp would even take place this summer. “To be honest, we were debating back and forth whether to have it,” Hill said. “At the last minute, we decided to go for it. I was struggling with the pandemic. It was such an awkward feeling. But as soon as I realized it was going to happen, I was happy with the turnout. We didn’t even put out fliers promoting it.” With that in mind, more than 75 girls showed up in the Kearny High School gymnasium recently, much to the delight of Hill. “I was pleasantly surprised,” Hill said. “It was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up. I was getting the chance to meet some of the kids who are coming up. It was a chance for those kids to know me and for me to know them.” Hill was impressed with the athletic ability of the girls in attendance. “But I’m always pleasantly
surprised with the amount of talent we have in the area,” Hill said. “I’m also impressed with the eagerness of the kids to learn the sport. They were all willing to catch on quickly and turn their athletic ability into becoming basketball players. I am glad that the parents felt safe to send their kids to us to learn in a good environment. It just felt normal having the kids here again.” David said that she enjoyed learning about ballhandling drills – and there’s no one better to learn from locally about handling the basketball than Hill, one of the all-time best point guards in the history of Hudson County girls’ basketball. “I learned some dribbling skills and how to handle the ball,” David said. “I play soccer as well, but I’m better at basketball. I was reeally excited to be here with the other girls. It meant a lot to me to be here.” Arelis Ruiz-Martinez is an See KEARNY, Page 10
