The
Vegas Aces Green have been awarded a bid to the National division of USA
Volleyball’s Girl’s Junior National Championships (GJNC) to be held in New
Orleans from June 27 to 30. No other Nevada team has placed this high in more
than 20 years or ever received a bid at a Junior National Qualifier. Only 48
bids are awarded out of more than 2,000 club teams who compete across the
country. The Vegas Aces 12U (12-and-under) is currently ranked No. 1 in the
Southern California region amongst 162 teams and is the only Nevada 12U team
ever to achieve that ranking.
"The
potential of these girls is tremendous and the opportunity is a
once-in-a-lifetime experience at this age, especially since USA Volleyball is
the governing body over the U.S. Olympic team. The sky is the limit," says
Angela Edgeworth, club director, Vegas Aces Volleyball.
There
are nine girls on Vegas Aces Volleyball team, ranging from ages 9 to 12; six
are from Henderson and three are from Summerlin. They attend Foothills
Montessori School and Las Vegas Day School and are in 3rd through 6th grade. As
opposed to being a team comprised of “the very best” who try out for a club
team and are usually the same age and the oldest, this is a combined group of
childhood friends and sisters of mixed ages. The team consists of Reni Ajayi
(12 years old, 6th grade, Foothills Montessori), Keji Ajayi (12 years old, 6th
grade, Foothills Montessori), Caroline Edgeworth (11 years old, 5th grade,
Foothills Montessori), Lauren Edgeworth (10 years old, 4th grade, Foothills
Montessori), Sidra Wohlwend (12 years old, 6th grade, Foothills Montessori),
Anjelina Starck (11 years old, 6th grade, Las Vegas Day School), Isabella
Starck (9 years old, 3rd grade, Las Vegas Day School), Lauren Soong (12 years
old, 6th grade, Las Vegas Day School) and Megan Soong (12 years old, 6th grade,
Las Vegas Day School).
HOW
IT BEGAN
Most
of these girls began playing volleyball recreationally three years ago and fell
in love with the sport after being introduced to it by two Montessori parents,
Tim and Vicky Smits Van Oyen. After repeated success on a recreational level,
the parents sought out a higher level of competition for the kids in order for
them to progress.
Angela
Edgeworth and her husband, Brian, served as team parents and quickly discovered
there were no gym spaces available for the kids to practice. Their team was
practicing on squash courts and rented space whenever there was availability,
which wasn’t often. In 2013, Brian Edgeworth started the volleyball club, Vegas
Aces Volleyball, and built a volleyball gym named The Edge at his office
warehouse, currently located behind the international children's footwear
business, pediped. Today, The Edge is a non-profit, private training facility
catering to individuals pursuing the game of volleyball at its highest level
and is provided free of charge to teams. The Edgeworths wanted to share the
facility with the community and quickly discovered there was a strong need for
training facilities and skillful coaching. They are currently seeking
additional acres of land to build a complete training facility off the 215
corridor.
Today,
Vegas Aces Volleyball is home to eight teams from 10U through 17U including two
travel teams that commute to California every two weeks for tournament play.
COACHING
Under
the guidance of their Head Coach, Ruben Herrera, the Vegas Aces Volleyball 12U
Green girls may realize their dreams in just a few more months. Herrera brings
college coaching experience as prior Head Coach at the University of New
Orleans and as former Assistant Coach of the UNLV Rebels. Assistant Coach,
Tessa Felise, has been six of the girl’s’ recreational coach over the past
three years and continues to coach the team. The girls have attended many
clinics with current UNLV Assistant Coach Mashallah Farokhmanesh which has
helped establish excellent fundamentals. Stephanie Thielen, former setter for
UNLV Rebels, has also assisted in camps and training. In addition, the girls
also have the benefit of being assisted by team parents Errica and Doug Starck,
both former Division 1 college players at University of Texas at Austin and
Ball State.
Concludes
Edgeworth, "The girls have learned hard work, perseverance and team work pay
off. If they continue to dream big, we believe they can achieve all their
goals."
To
learn more about the Vegas Aces, go to www.vegasacesvolleyball.com.
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