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Champion Project - Extending our Reach

By Don Gleason, 02/13/19, 11:00AM EST

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In a collaborative effort with MotorMVB and BestSelf Behavioral Health, Inc., The Champion Project recently conducted a series of instructional clinics for boys and girls at four Buffalo Public Schools.  The clinics ran from October-December, with a culminating tournament at the Niagara Frontier Sports complex.

The “Extending Our Reach” clinic series, which was provided free of charge to boys and girls in grades six to eight, aimed to use basic skill instruction to expose the participants to a sport they may not otherwise have exposure to.  These clinics center around encouraging youth athletes' enthusiasm for learning, competition and sports, as well as exposing the participants to positive role models, including the Men's and Women's Volleyball players of Damen College. The program impacted approximately 70 students between the 4 locations.

Currently the schools in the City of Buffalo only field two boys’ volleyball teams at the high school level and none at the middle school levels. Programs such as the one coordinated through Niagara Frontier Volleyball and The Champion Project as well as other junior club training programs have peaked interest in public school administrators to add additional city high school teams this upcoming fall. The Buffalo Public Schools, Director of Athletics, Aubrey Lloyd said, "We are very happy to announce that Buffalo Athletics will add three new programs at the varsity level: City Honors, McKinley and Lafayette. Last year, Olmsted and Hutch Tech had independent schedules. They (the 5 teams) will play eight (8) league games and participate in non-league games and tournaments starting in the fall of 2019."

The Champion Project aims to increase diversity and create opportunities for youth athletes in the sport of volleyball.  If you are interested in collaborating with The Champion Project’s youth volleyball clinic initiatives, please contact Donald Gleason at
dgleason@daemen.edu.