Summer school: Students to get close look at volleyball pros

By RICK SETO
The Patriot Ledger

QUINCY - They might hold the unglamorous jobs of ball shaggers and scorecard flippers, but the Quincy and North Quincy high school volleyball programs should turn out to be beneficiaries from the AVP Crocs Tour's stop at Marina Bay this week.

Among the 180 or so volunteers at the tournament, which begins Thursday, Aug. 16 and concludes Sunday,Aug. 19, are many players from the boys and girls teams in the city. Now that the volunteer assignment list is out, the Quincy and North coaches can stop fielding calls from teenagers anxious to know their roles.

"We're wicked excited," said Andrew Paine, a Quincy High senior who's among the best players in the state. "We watch them all the time on TV, and we always wished we could see it live in person."

Ten years ago, when a pro tournament from one of the AVP's predecessors came to the city, Quincy boys coach Ed Smith - then a high schooler playing for the Presidents - was out of town and could not attend. It's something he's regretted, especially since his former teammates still treasure the experience, even if it was serving as lines people or gofers.

“To see these professionals in person, it’s like seeing David Beckham in soccer or Michael Jordan in basketball.” — Quincy boys coach Ed Smith

"To see these professionals in person, it's like seeing David Beckham in soccer or Michael Jordan in basketball," Smith said.

Quincy enjoys a reputation as a volleyball hub, producing top players and teams, most notably with the North Quincy girls, a fact not lost on AVP officials.

"We're pretty proud they chose the city of Quincy partly because of our volleyball history," said Jim Rendle, the coach of those North teams and the current athletic director of both high schools. "One of the AVP people spoke at the Chamber of Commerce and mentioned the six state championships (won by the North girls). It was actually nine - someone in the audience, probably from Quincy (winners of the other three), corrected them."

Rendle, who serves as director of the Mass Patriots Junior Olympic club volleyball program that draws players from the South Shore, said technique and strategy is different for AVP Tour matches compared to the amateur game. (The pro game is two-a-side and outdoors on the sand, as opposed to the high school game that is six-a-side and indoors.)

He hopes young players get an appreciation of what it takes to get to and excel at the pro level.

"If anything, what's going to impress our kids is the physical conditioning that this requires," Rendle said. "Our kids think they work hard, but this is a whole another level. These are lean, mean fighting machines."

Smith, the Quincy High boys coach, hopes the event will be "a huge recruiting tool" for local teams.

"We're hoping they go out and see this, and maybe we can get that baseball player or that football player," he said.

Whether the AVP Tour chooses to return to the Boston area remains to be seen. But volleyball enthusiasts are optimistic the tourney will spawn new legions of fans, strengthened perhaps by the youth in the stands and on the sidelines.

Rick Seto may be reached at rseto@ledger.com.