Ceres High School’s 16th Annual Volleyball Camp drew 50 participants.

“I look forward to camp every year,” CHS coach Darlene Tobler said. “It’s a different environment. It’s very structured but it’s all fun. We’re not preparing for games. We’re fine-tuning our skills.”

Staged June 24-28 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium, the clinic was open to students in grades 3-12.

Emphasis was placed on serving, passing, setting, hitting, blocking, serve receive, defense, communication and team work.

Sinclear Elementary School’s Rebecca Buenrostro (11), Virginia Parks Elementary’s Cashton Almeida (10) and Julien Elementary School’s Maya Barnwell (10) were among the 15 participants during the 3-5 p.m. session for fourth through seventh graders.

“Every day, they’re doing the same things so they can remember the fundamentals,” Tobler said. “It’s a lot of muscle memory.”

Approximately 35 students in grades 8-12 attended the 5-7 p.m. session.

“It was a good turnout,” Tobler said. “They were very excited to be there, learned a lot and had a lot of fun.”

Tobler provided instruction with assistance from Ceres High coaches Meliesa Stiles and Diana Zarco, former Bulldog talent Alyssa Stiles, Christian Murry and Ivan Arita, and current players Vianney Perez, Mya Robinson, Cheralyn Durossette, Allison Stiles, Catryna Marquez, Rayana Coleman, Emily Parker, Jessica Richardson, Victor Hurtado, Yair Munoz and Felipe Galindo.

“My high school and graduated athletes worked with the younger kids,” Tobler said. “I asked them for help and they showed up. It wasn’t a requirement.”

Kelly Heese, Ceres High’s new varsity girls volleyball head coach, stopped by the camp Friday evening.

“She’s going to be a perfect fit,” Tobler said while talking about her successor. “The kids will accept her.”

Tobler wants to boost enrollment figures for Ceres High’s volleyball clinics in the future.

“I’m hoping we can get the word out more,” she said. “We might have it a week earlier. I heard there were a lot of other camps being held at the same time this year. As far as the turnout, we’d love to average 60-80 kids. It’s open to all athletes from all areas. Everybody is welcome.”