Girls at the Mexico Area Family YMCA had the chance to be coached from experienced athletes last week.

SWHET Volleyball YMCA Camp Photo Gallery

Trinity Luckett and Kimani Johnson from the University of Missouri volleyball program led a volleyball camp hosted by the YMCA and made possible by SWHET, which connects Midwest youth to collegiate athletes and coaches for camps and clinics. In two sessions on Tuesday and Thursday for fourth- through sixth-graders and seventh and eighth graders, the Mizzou players provided the girls some instruction and fun in the evening.

Luckett and Johnson said they are definitely not rookies when it comes to leading camps as they each have been doing so for several years, whether it be through SWHET or Mizzou. They both said they are interested in coaching in the future and want to gain experience teaching girls. 

Luckett was an all-state player in Arkansas and all-conference player at Saint Louis University before transferring to Mizzou. She said she will be coaching a club team.

“I have fun because our Mizzou camps are scheduled, and this one, we made our own schedule,” Luckett said. “It helped me more and I learned new things to be a better coach.”

Johnson was on a runner-up club team in Michigan and made her conference all-freshman team with East Tennessee State University before transferring to Mizzou.

“It helps me because I want to continue my career coaching,” Johnson said. “Working with different skill levels and working with these girls, it helps me think about different ways to coach them because everyone doesn’t learn the same way.”

Girls played game after game that input skills they would use during a typical volleyball match and output smiles and laughs from the girls having fun. Luckett and Johnson said they each learned tips from previous camps and coaches so they can keep the kids engaged. 

Luckett and Johnson said they each were convinced to give volleyball a try when they were around the YMCA girls’ age and enjoyed the sport. Luckett was 11- or 12-years-old when a classmate reached out to her parents to play for the Ozark Juniors club team in Arkansas. Johnson said she met a stranger at a mall and he told the 6-foot 11-year-old Johnson she would be a good fit for volleyball. 

“I definitely did because I wanted to get as many opportunities as possible to touch the ball, whether I knew girls or not,” Johnson said about participating in camps when she was younger. “I really loved the sport so much I wanted to be involved.”

Luckett said she didn’t start partaking in camps until she was in high school but still searched for opportunities to play volleyball when she was younger. She said she also remembers watching college matches and going to see the University of Arkansas play.

“Me and my friend used to go to a gym (in Arkansas) and play volleyball all day until we had practice in school and clubs,” Luckett said. “We would get extra reps every day.”

After many years of working at it, Luckett and Johnson are now part of a Division I Mizzou program that is coming off a 22-win season that ended in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. If girls want to play as long as them while finding success, the aspiring coaches have helpful tidbits.

“Being patient and not comparing yourself to others because there are a lot of people at different skill levels,” Luckett said. “Everybody comes from different clubs. Everybody should be patient, like be patient with yourself and take your time, but also watch a lot of film and work outside of school practice.”

“Consistency is key,” Johnson said. “Anytime you have an opportunity to have a ball in your hands, you can practice working on the wall and practice getting those repetitions. Those repetitions will lead to coaches noticing you because your consistency will show within games.”