Volleyball program ready to serve purpose

The rising cost of living and playing can lead to the need to choose one at the expense of the other. That often means that the cost of playing, particularly youth sports, is the first to be cut from the family budget.

While it’s a short-term solution, the price paid for the decision can lead to a less than healthy lifestyle for years to come.

Enter Aloha Beach Volleyball. The program’s dual purpose is to introduce beach volleyball to underserved communities while also establishing a physical fitness base that lasts a lifetime.

And it’s free.

"We’re basically trying to create a program that is affordable — free is very affordable — and gets the kids active," ABV director and co-founder Rod Suzumoto said. "It’s an introduction to beach volleyball, but we’re also working with the neighborhood boards on the Leeward coast so that we can bring other activities there for the entire family, including the Bookmobile.

"We want to become a gathering place where kids can find a passion, something they’ll want to continue to pursue. Our message is, ‘Come out, enjoy, hope to see you in a few weeks.’ "

Hawaii’s decades-old love affair with volleyball and Suzumoto’s background in working with non-profit organizations through his Kala Kokua fundraising business were the perfect combination. Add Suzumoto’s three children all having played the sport and the connections made through youth volleyball, and getting ABV up and serving was time-consuming but not impossible.

The most fortuitous connection was between Suzumoto’s youngest son, Shea, and Jameson McKibbin, youngest son of former Rainbow Wahine and pro beach player Diana McInerny McKibbin. The boys played on the Outrigger Canoe Club’s 12-and-under team at the USAV Junior Olympics last summer, then teamed up at the AAU Junior National Beach Volleyball Championships in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

"Rod shared this plan he had been working on for a couple of years and it was cool because I had been thinking of working with communities through youth volleyball," said Diana McKibbin, longtime youth volleyball coach and teacher at Punahou School.

"He had been looking around for beaches, but there was nothing set up. He thought Maili might work and we saw the potential.

"You know what a small world Hawaii is — everyone knows someone who knows someone who is working at the place you need to talk to. That happened with us with City & County, (Department of) Parks & Rec. Then everyone wanted to jump on board. It’s really been something that’s meant to be, the way it’s come together."

Among the directors are McKibbin’s son Riley and Suzumoto’s son Chase, both of whom played collegiate volleyball (USC and Hope International, respectively).

The volunteer clinicians include former Wahine players Nahaku Brown, Marcie Wurts Nowack and Kelly Knowles; Larissa Nordyke, who is on Hawaii’s inaugural sand team; Bert Hayashi and Keoki Shupe, coaches at Juniors Beach Volleyball Boot Camp; and Ala Iosefa, West Oahu Volleyball Academy founder and head coach.

Clinics use hula hoops, jump ropes, footwork ladders and obstacle courses to strengthen coordination skills and provide alternative fitness activities. Parent involvement is encouraged, with many youngsters finding out just how good their relatives are at the sport.

Eventually, Suzumoto said, he’d like to add mini family tournaments such as father-son, mother-daughter and grandparent-grandchild.

"I hope it grows into that," he said. "We want it to become sustainable."

That will take time and commitment.

"One of the biggest things is establishing a (volunteer) group willing to commit," Diana McKibbin said. "People want to revive volleyball in the communities out there and this is a start. It’s something I really believe in."

The introductory clinics are played on grass, not sand, because it makes it easier to work on skills. Future plans call for the creation of sand courts at Maili.

"As the program develops, we hope to provide ABV for other communities on Oahu," Rod Suzumoto said. "Everyone wants to do things in ‘town’ (Honolulu), but there are so many areas that need something like this.

"Our goal is to partner with various non-profits to continue to make it affordable. Eventually I’d like to find a way to pay the coaches a little something, but for now, we are fortunate that there are so many good people in the community, and in the volleyball community, who want to help."