The children weren’t even as tall as 6-footer Sequoia
Lofton’s waist as they craned their necks to look up at her while she explained
how to serve in volleyball.
Lofton and the Salt Lake Community College volleyball team
in October visited the Boys & Girls Club in Sugar House for two hours,
showing their tiny admirers a sport they love. Amid the echoes of laughter and
shrieks inside the gym, everyone came away richer.
“It teaches me to have patience with these little kids,” said
Lofton, a sophomore on the team. “And I like making them happy.”
Coach Sue Dulaney
Every year Head Coach Sue Dulaney takes her current crop of
players out in the community to do service projects. Sometimes it’s reading to
children, others it’s showing people the game of volleyball – at times with a
colorful, soft beach ball if the participants are too small to handle a real
volleyball.
“It’s fun watching everyone on this team and seeing how much
they’re engaged and the smiles on their faces,” Dulaney said. “I think our
energy gets funneled into the kids a little bit. It’s a good afternoon for us
to give back with what we love to do.”
“I want to be a teacher – so, seeing these kids makes it all
worth while,” said sophomore Alyssa Koki. “I like that they’re so absorbed by
what we do, that we’re such an example to them and that they want to be like
us.”
Some of the children listened intently before trying to
replicate with a giant beach ball the returns and serves they were witnessing.
“It kind of reminds me of how hard volleyball is to teach,”
said Cassandra Fenton, also a sophomore. “But seeing the smiles on their faces makes it
all worth it.”
They took cell phone pictures together as one group of
children left and another queued up for their turn with the towering volleyball
players. Some had a hard time leaving so soon after making new friends with the
young women. Freshman Jessica Quayle reduced her 6-foot frame by half to hear a
little girl’s answer to a question of where in the world you would go if you
could go anywhere. The little girl didn’t know – Quayle answered “Europe,”
because she’s always wanted to see a castle.
“I liked teaching them what I know, passing it on,” Quayle
said. “Because no one taught me volleyball when I was little, and I would have
loved this opportunity.”
Next up: The team is headed to Casper, Wyoming Nov. 20-22 to
play in the NJCAA National Tournament for the second year in a row. They face
off in the first round against Missouri State University, West Plains. Visit
the team’s homepage for information about the team and tournament schedule.
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