For Hawaii men’s volleyball middle blocker Kurt Nusterer, the joy in coaching is seeing kids experience moments he cherishes as his “special memories” when he was their age.
Rainbow Wahine setter Jackie Matias says it’s that moment when one of her players has finally developed a certain skill to the point “where it clicks and they’ve figured it out.”
Despite being in the middle of their collegiate careers as student-athletes, Nusterer and Matias are two of a number of UH volleyball players giving back coaching club volleyball this summer.
Rainbow Warriors head coach Charlie Wade is expanding his A‘o A Koa club with at least four girls teams and four boys teams for the upcoming club season.
Tryouts are Saturday at UH Gym 1 and free for any interested volleyball player age 12 to 16 wanting to learn from both UH players and coaches.
There will also be clinics held for interested volleyball players of any level of experience starting at 8 years old.
“We really want to have the opportunity to give back to the community, and there’s no better way than sharing with them how we run practice and things that we do in volleyball and having our players get involved and do the same thing,” Wade said. “I think we offer something for a broad range. If you’re just starting out and haven’t really played and want to get involved in some of the clinics we are running, that would be a good spot, and if you’re an elite level player and looking to play at the collegiate level, there is no one better to be playing for than the collegiate coaches and players.”
Nusterer will coach the 15U boys team with Kainoa Wade, the two-time reigning Star-Advertiser All-State Player of the Year, serving as assistant coach.
Kainoa Wade has been involved with the club since it was established in 2013.
“For me, it’s giving back to the kids and community because I was in their position once,” Kainoa Wade said. “I remember Jakob (Thelle) and Filip Humler were two of my first coaches. They were role models for me and I’ve looked up to them for however long. I want to be that role model to these kids coming up now.”
Matias and UH freshman Adrianna Arquette, the reigning Star-Advertiser All-State Player of the Year, will coach the 13U girls team.
Sophomore Tali Hakas will coach the 14U girls team.
“Giving back sounds cheesy, but honestly, starting where these girls are in their careers — 12 and 13 years old — that’s where I started,” Matias said. “It’s really important to start them off with a lot of good technique, and that’s something I’m really passionate about coaching.”
Nusterer, who grew up in Indiana, said he didn’t have a lot of resources involving the college recruiting process and he made “big mistakes” that nearly derailed his college career.
Part of his experience coaching club volleyball is preparing players and families for the process so they don’t have the same issues.
“I committed to a school, decommitted, and it cost me a lot of scholarship opportunities,” Nusterer said. “I just want to serve as an advocate for the players and for the parents because it’s usually their first time going through the recruiting process and I want to make sure they get as many resources from me as they can.”
Tryouts on Saturday for boys and girls ages 12 and 13 are at 9 a.m. Girls 14, 15 and 16 will try out from 10:30 to noon and boys ages 14 and 15 will go from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Participants are encouraged to show up no later than 15 minutes prior.
Registration info is available at aoakoavolley.com.
