WAHS Volleyball Team Gives Back

On Aug. 12, West Ashley High School’s Varsity and Junior Varsity Volleyball players traveled to the Shaw Community Center in downtown Charleston to teach Beyond BASIC members the fundamentals of volleyball.
Beyond BASIC (Building Awareness in Supportive Independent Communities) assists special needs adults in becoming contributing members of society by providing a program that fosters independent living skills beyond the basics. The Beyond BASIC curriculum offers quality programming to individuals with special needs in a safe and healthy environment that encourages community inclusion.
A total of 28 West Ashley High volleyball players participated in the skills clinic. West Ashley High volleyball players worked in small groups to teach Beyond BASIC members how to pass the ball, how to set the ball, and how to hit (or spike) the ball.
Because the Shaw Community Center is open to the public, many children from local neighborhoods were present and actively participated in the volleyball skills clinic as well.
Small group sessions for fundamental passing and hitting skills lasted for 45 minutes, and then the entire group came together for more activities. Volleyball players passed out WAHS volleyball t-shirts and volleyballs to every Beyond BASIC member before the organized photo sessions began. There were group shots, action shots, new friend shots, and even a few selfies.
Varsity Coach Virginia Broadway wanted all members of the volleyball team to participate in a community outreach program this year. “A few years ago the team volunteered at the Charleston Miracle League, and I wantedto do something like that again,” said Broadway. “One of my good friends, Molly Smith, is a volunteer at Beyond BASIC, and I contacted her just because I felt like we needed to do another community outreach event.”
Smith, a program facilitator for Beyond BASIC, thought the event was a great success. “The volleyball clinic with WAHS was an amazing day for inclusion of allcommunities,” said Smith. “It was amazing to see our adults interact with the team. Everyone had an incredible time learning together.”
Varsity player Abby Hannifin said, “My favorite part was seeing the smiles. It’s special to see other people feeling special.” Hannifin and other WAHS players had so much fun volunteering; they requested another trip to Beyond BASIC before the end of the season.
Beyond BASIC is planning a trip to WAHS to watch one of the home volleyball games as a follow up to the skills clinic. “I think it’s just so great how this new friendship has formed,” says Broadway. “It will be great to see how excited everyone will be to see each other again.”