New volleyball gym opens Sunday

After two years bouncing back and forth between gyms, Carson High School junior Lindsay Ford will begin the volleyball season in December playing in a new $600,000 gym.

On Sunday, Lindsay will try out for the junior Olympic team inside Capital City Volleyball Club's new 12,000-square-foot gym on Morgan Mill Road. The club has trained girls ages 12 to 18 in volleyball fundamentals for five years.

Lindsay hopes the club experience will get her a scholarship to a Division I school. The 17-year-old would like to attend a California school or Florida State University. She said the experience players get in a club is unlike any of the practice she gets at school.

"It'll be super cool," she said Thursday about the new gym. "Last year we ended up playing at a bunch of different sites and it would be nice this year to be in one place. It's our gym and we don't have to worry about sharing it with anyone else."

Mike Reeder, who headed the gym building project, said the club decided to purchase the land from developer John Serpa and build the gym because coaches couldn't find any other place to use permanently for practice and competition. The property, near the Deer Run Road intersection, is beside the Carson River. The contractor was M&K Builders of Minden.

Reeder said up to 120 girls will be in the club, divided into about 12 teams. The gym has two 30-by-60-foot volleyball courts with padded floors and a weights and exercise area on the second floor.

Reeder has plenty of anecdotal evidence about the success of former members.

"We had two seniors last season and both got scholarships," he said. "The starting lineup next year for UNR (the University of Nevada, Reno) will include four girls who played for Capital City."

The cost per season is varied by level: $500 for beginners up to $1,250 for advanced players.

Volleyball coach Robert Maw said the cost may seem like a lot, but it's worth it for those who want to improve and go on to compete on the college level.

"The club provides the opportunity for them to better their skills and become more competitive," he said. "It's better than what we can provide them in the schools."

n Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.

If you go

What: Capital City Volleyball Club tryouts

Where: 5680 Morgan Mill Road

When: Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday

For more information: Go to www.capitalcityvbc.com or call club director Danny McLaughlin at 530-544-2538.