Now in its third year, Pass Set Crush provides girls
entering grades 6-9 the "complete summer camp experience with
a concentration in volleyball, targeting girls that have
started to develop a passion for the sport," according to camp
director and founder Joan Forge.
"I was a girl scout, and I’m a volleyball coach with a
minor in recreation, so it all came together," said Forge of
her creation which is limited to 42 girls and is held during
the summer in two five-day sessions. This year’s first session
was held from July 15-19, and the second began Sunday and runs
through Thursday.
In addition to getting first-rate tutoring in the sport of
volleyball, the girls take part in normal summer camp
activities, taking advantage of Geneva Point which is located
on nearly 200 acres of woods and open land on the shores of
Lake Winnipesaukee.
Forge decided to hold the overnight camp for the middle
school aged girls after running day camps for several years
and noticing that they were not mixing well with the higher
skilled high school and college girls.
"The younger girls were getting turned off by the
experience instead of being turned on to the sport of
volleyball," Forge pointed out.
So along with the help of her neighbor Brad Wolfe, the
waterfront director at Geneva Point, Forge brainstormed the
idea for a combined volleyball/summer camp and put it into
action in the summer of 1998.
The tutoring the girls receive at the camp is top-notch.
Forge is a physical education teacher and coach at Gilford
Middle-High School, and she has her masters degree in sports
and recreation management. Forge has been a teacher and coach
of girl’s sports for over 20 years, and her expertise in the
sport of volleyball has helped Gilford earn eight appearances
in the state finals, with five state championships including
the past two Class M titles.
Forge also brings with her an outstanding coaching
staff. The campers will receive personal attention from a
staff that includes Junior Olympic coaches, high school
coaches, college players, and high school players. There are
three courts used during the workouts with a head coach and
one or two assistant coaches on each one. Head coaches are JO
or high school coaches from New Hampshire, while the
assistants are comprised of high school and college
players.
"The assistant coaches relate well to the kids," Forge
pointed out. "It gives the younger kids older players to look
up to and emulate. The assistant coaches are all exceptional
role models — great student athletes."
Among the assistant coaches are current Gilford standouts
Mollie Babcock and Vanessa Lavallee as well as former GHS star
Sara Anthony. Amy Tarte of Inter-Lakes and Michelle Villeaume,
the Class S Player of the Year from Concord Christian, and
Salem’s Tom Dzioba are three more assistants of note.
Head coaches include the Meredith mother and daughter
tandem of Randy and Anna Mattson. Others include Brook
Johnson, Michelle Martin, Michelle Cassidy and Michelle
Demers.
A typical day at the camp has the girls being woken up by
Forge’s singing at 6:45 a.m. They then have the choice of
getting their day started with either a Polar Bear swim or a
fun run.
After breakfast it’s on to the volleyball court from 9-11
to work on skill development through drills, challenges and
scrimmages. Lunch follows the first training session, then
it’s back to the courts for more volleyball instruction until
3:30 p.m.
Dinner is served 5:30 after a period of free time. From 6-8
p.m. the campers split in two groups with half enjoying a
sunset canoe trip while the others complete a low ropes
course. The groups take turns switching between the two
activities throughout the camp.
On each night a different local expert takes center stage
from 8-9 p.m. Tammy Levesque of the newly opened Fitness Edge
Health Club in Meredith put on a kickboxing clinic Sunday.
"We try to tire the girls out on the first night so they go
right to sleep," said Forge with a laugh. "Unfortunately that
doesn’t always work."
Monday night Amy Lauria, an assistant volleyball coach at
Gilford, does a program which incorporates massages,
relaxation, yoga and pilates. Tuesday is country line dancing,
directed by another former Gilford star Amber Greenlaw, and
put on by Babcock and Lavallee. On the final night
(Wednesday), each cabin put on skits.
Each night ends with ice cream and a campfire before the
girls report to their cabins at 11 p.m.
Other special events that take place are the Beach Barbeque
on Wednesday, the Water Carnival on Thursday afternoon, and
the high ropes (20 to 30 feet) challenge course.
While most of the campers are from New Hampshire, girls
from as far away as North Carolina, Montreal and California
have been in attendance, showing that the camp is growing.
"The Internet has brought a lot of people in," said Forge
of www.passsetcrush.com. "The camp is growing, but I’d like to
keep it at 42 girls a session with two a summer. But as the
sport of volleyball grows, I might add a third. Right now two
sessions per summer is enough for me."
