U.S. Sitting Teams to Host A2 Camp

USA Volleyball Contact:
B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

UCO Contact:
Ryan Wilson, UCO Wellness Center
(405) 974-3127
rwilson18@uco.edu

EDMOND, Okla. (Nov. 18, 2009) – The U.S. Men's and Women's Sitting Volleyball Teams will host an A2 sitting volleyball camp on Nov. 20-22 at the Wellness Center at the University of Central Oklahoma, an official Paralympic and Olympic training site.

The camp will be held for physically disabled athletes from throughout the country training for a possible position on the U.S. Sitting Volleyball team.

The A2 camp will bring in 19 athletes who have been identified as having the potential to train for the national team, and also will serve as the proving ground for the athletes.

During the A2 camp, the athletes will gain high level coaching for their individual skills and learn key team strategies. 

“The A2 camps provide us with a great platform to instruct emerging U.S. sitting volleyball athletes,” said Bill Hamiter, U.S. sitting volleyball head coach and Central’s high performance director. “These players have shown both the athletic ability and potential to reach the next level.”

Staff members from USA Volleyball and U.S. Paralympics will join Hamiter to lead a team of coaches in providing instruction to the camp’s athletes.

Central held its initial A2 camp in August 2009 with only three athletes in attendance. All three will return for the upcoming camp with 16 new athletes, 11 of whom are either active duty or veterans of the U.S. Armed Services.

The 11 U.S. Armed Services men and women were identified at U.S. Paralympics military sports camps held across the country.

“U.S. Paralympics has done a great job in putting together programming to engage injured soldiers in Paralympic sports,” said Elliot Blake, Central’s sitting volleyball coordinator. “The competitiveness within them continues to show, and it was only a matter of time before some were identified to train for a sport’s national team.”

Central has a long history of working with injured service members including its Adventure Therapy program, which is funded by a grant from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

The program is designed to introduce injured military members to Paralympic sport as part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for those with physical disabilities.

Central serves as the host training site for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Sitting Volleyball teams, and is home to 12 resident Paralympic athletes who live and train at the university.

Four of the resident athletes are current or former members of the U.S. Army including Kari Miller, Ed O’Neil, Dan Regan and James Stuck. All four are currently members of the Men’s or Women’s National Sitting Volleyball Team.

Central will host the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships on July 11-18, 2010 at Central’s Hamilton Field House. The competition will include 40 national teams from around the world, and will act as a qualifier the 2012 Paralympics in London.

For more information about Central’s Olympic and Paralympic programs, contact Blake at (405) 974-3153 or at jblake1@uco.edu.

Tags: Central Oklahoma, Dan Regan, James Stuck, Kari Miller, Sitting Volleyball