BOWLING GREEN, Ken. — Volleyball has been prominent in Trevor Huffman’s life since he was a child. His parents were heavily involved in the Parks and Rec league, as well as a church league, in his hometown of Corbin, Kentucky. As an adolescent, he spent many summers playing outdoors in sand volleyball courts, then moved indoors in the fall and winter, playing in church gyms with other kids as they all were there with parents who played in the adult league.

When Trevor was in middle school, he began playing in the NIBROC Festival’s volleyball competition and continued this through high school. Though he only played in the recreational division, these remain some of his favorite memories from his pre-college years. He carried his love of the sport into college where he would organize games among friends on weekends and during school breaks. Trevor would teach those friends how to play the game and coached them to achieve a proficient level of skill for the game, something he considers a proud accomplishment.

Trevor credits his mom as being his inspiration to do many things in life, including playing volleyball. Some of his best memories are from playing the game. One in particular that he considers to be a top memory is a win during his senior year of high school. He was playing in a recreation division and his team advanced to the finals where they faced off against a team of six girls who were starters on the girls team at his high school. In a contentious battle for the title and a free tee shirt, Trevor’s team stood victorious.

Nowadays, Huffman supervises Bowling Green Parks and Recreation volleyball leagues on a weekly basis. He’s been a supervisor for a year now and is “beyond grateful” for an opportunity that allows him to remain active in volleyball.

Trevor’s proudest moments as a volleyball supervisor come when a team member makes a spectacular move to save the ball and continue play, thus inspiring the rest of the team to push harder, dig deeper, recompose themselves, and earn the point for that volley.

Trevor says a great team’s key to success is the ability to communicate and he has his teams practice this during training and games. This paves the way for growth and a much higher level of play. This communication can be as straightforward as calling the ball, letting another player know the serve is short, or yelling that the ball is going out of bounds. However, it can also include more in-depth communication such as uplifting a teammate, not getting frustrated when another player makes a mistake, and recognizing a teammate’s effort when a play didn’t go in your team’s favor.

Because multiple games can be played in an evening, Huffman says volleyball is a great sport for encouragement. This comes from the competition and the opportunity to avenge your team after a tough loss. If a team loses the first game, or the first round of the night, these losses can help the players better identify the team’s weaknesses, as well as strengths, so they can bounce back stronger in the next game or round. Trevor’s advice for encouraging a team includes positive reinforcement, talking honestly about all aspects of a player’s skills, and finding solutions to minimize weaknesses and maximize strengths.

As a volleyball player and supervisor, Trevor considers his biggest life lesson to be about the team and not the individual. He says you don’t have to be the best player or team, and you don’t have to know every in and out of the game to be competitive. Team sports are all about leaning on, and learning from, your teammates and working daily to make yourself better. This, in turn, helps make the entire team better.

Trevor’s hope as a supervisor is that he can keep teams coming back every year and that players will invite their friends, family, and neighbors to get involved with the Parks and Rec league. He strives to create a friendly and exciting environment that folks look forward to coming to each week. In closing, Trevor shares this Archie Griffin quote as encouragement for readers, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”

If you would like more information about Bowling Green Parks and Recreation’s volleyball leagues, please call (270) 393-3624.

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