KILAUEA — The YMCA Kauai Warriors Volleyball Club was founded in November 2013 and is the only under-13 boys volleyball club on the island. “I joined the club since the beginning. It started at my school,” said 12-year-old Cody Andrews from
KILAUEA — The YMCA Kauai Warriors Volleyball Club was founded in November 2013 and is the only under-13 boys volleyball club on the island.
“I joined the club since the beginning. It started at my school,” said 12-year-old Cody Andrews from Princeville. He’s never played the sport prior to joining the club.
“My cousins have. I practice a little bit with them. Just passing back and forth but I wasn’t really good at it, Andrews added. “I’ve improved a lot I’d say.”
Coach Brad Cheatum taught volleyball at Puukumu School in Kilauea. He then started the club when it was given practice time at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center.
“The boys had a lot of interest … As we moved through, we started getting invited to more and more of the tournaments around the island,” Cheatum said. “There is no other boys club so we end up playing against the girls teams. We play against (14 through 16-year old girls. So we play up and 13-and-under is our club.
“Most of them are 12 and 13 for the ones that are traveling. We actually had some 10-year-olds in the major club. We had 21 boys originally,” he added.
This past Memorial Day weekend, the club competed in a tournament in Waimea against clubs from Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. Out of 18 teams, the YMCA Kauai Warriors placed sixth.
“Some of them were really hard because they’ve been practicing for a couple of years. Some were easier because they only practiced for one year,” said 13-year-old Noah Cheatum from Princeville about the Waimea tournament.
The YMCA Kauai Warriors will travel to Houston later this month to compete at the annual USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships. 10 boys will represent Kauai at the tournament.
“They have what they call a club division and we can elect to go to it. So were were able (to go to Nationals) by forming the club through the USA Volleyball Association Aloha Region,” Cheatum said. “We went under the YMCA, so it’s tax-deductable. All donations that would come to the club to allow these kids to have a great experience, travel to the Junior Nationals and compete against other teams from around the country.”
Cheatum added the biggest challenge with flying to the Mainland is travel expenses. The club has been fundraising since January and has raised about $16,000 so far.
“We already have a lot of parents who have donated money. There hasn’t been any charge for the coaching or any of the activities,” the club coach said. “My wife (Peggy) and I believe it’s something the kids need … We do it on our own time. We do it out of love for volleyball and love for the kids. We’re just trying to help make their lives better and keep them out of trouble.”
Noah said it will be his first time competing in a national tournament.
“(I’m looking forward to) playing all the different teams and seeing how they play. How different they play than us,” Noah said.
Before flying to Houston, the club will do one more fundraiser on Sunday, June 15 at the Concert in the Park event in Princeville. The club will sell baked goods and the players will offer to teach other kids how to play.
“It’s one of the hardest sports to learn but once you get the hang of it, it’s fun,” Andrews said. “People who would join the team, I’d tell them just have fun and try their best.”
Donations can be made at www.kauaiwarriorsvolleyball.com. Email Cheatum at kauaiwarriorsvolleyball@hotmail.com for information.
