Local referees help out inner-city volleyball programs

by J. Coyden Palmer

It’s not often you hear of sports officials and coaches working together, but a group of suburban officials did just that last week. Members of Zebras of Northern Illinois (ZONI), the most prestigious volleyball officials association in the state, donated over $2,000 worth of new and used volleyball equipment to several Chicago Public high schools. The donations were made possible after an official’s clinic held earlier this month netted over $2,500. Also contributing were more affluent school districts like Barrington and Vernon Hills. The gifts included new game balls, nets, ball racks and bags and a variety of other items that some may take for granted in other school districts.

One of the schools receiving donations was Bogan on the Southwest Side. They’ve only had a boy’s volleyball team for four years and athletic administrators at the school say the gesture from ZONI will allow them to continue to grow.

“I know the coaching staff will be very appreciative of this gift because we work hard to get teams together and then we have to do fundraisers to raise money for equipment,” said Donna Florek, athletic director and head of the physical education department at Bogan. “It’s hard because the prices of everything goes up year after year and in the meantime the same equipment has to be used for our boy’s and girl’s teams. We try and get the best equipment for safety and playing ability and this gift will help us tremendously.”

Bogan has three levels of boy’s volleyball; freshman, junior varsity and varsity. Florek said this is the first year they are having a freshman team, a goal the school set when they first added the sport for boys. She said getting kids interested in the sport, which isn’t a traditional sport for inner-city boys, is directly related to her Head Coach Jason Sabo and his dedication to the student athletes.

Sabo who also teaches driver’s education at the school said the school bought the program equipment initially, but that was four years ago and the items have outlived their usefulness. He and Florek say during these tough economic times, schools are forced to cut costs and athletics, music and art are usually the first places they cut from.

“The net we were using was sagging and didn’t really fit too well because it was old,” Sabo said. “I think the kids will be excited and there will be a spark in practice after they see all of the new equipment we have.”

Another South Side school that was a recipient of ZONI’s kindness was Gage Park. Gage Park was in such dire need of items their coach said at times he was embarrassed for his players. This past season the school didn’t have a ball bag to travel to road games with so they used garbage bags.

“It’s nice to know that there are people out there thinking about city athletes are realizing we’re not as fortunate as some of the more opulent schools in the area,” said Coach John Ely. “We’re just shocked to have received all of this new equipment and it will definitely be put to good use.”

Gage Park Principal Anita L. Andrews said one of her main priorities is the athletic department. She said many principals don’t understand the importance of athletics and concentrate only on academics. Andrews said educating students who come from economically challenging backgrounds comes with a unique set of circumstances and athletic teams helps build school morale, self-esteem and in many instances keep students coming to school all together.

“A donation like this is priceless,” Andrews said. “I’ve been trying to find a net for what seems like forever. The one we have has holes in it. But the biggest thing this will do is encourage our players to strive to be the best despite the circumstances they come from.”

Jacqueline Rodriguez is the captain of the Gage Park girl’s team. She said the gift won’t only help the current players, but for those coming up behind them over the next few years.

“I’m really happy for the younger players because after I leave next year, we will still be leaving them with something they can use for their careers. I think this will help us move past just having a team from year to year and help us establish a consistent program.”

Other schools receiving gifts from ZONI were Juarez and Crane. CPS added boy’s volleyball programs less than 10 years ago. Since that time over half of the city’s high schools now have boy’s teams.


Story posted: 3/28/2009

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