Mohr working with elite volleyball players

Muskego - Sandra Mohr is spending her holiday break in the company of some of the best youth volleyball players in the nation - and just maybe with an Olympic athlete or two.

Mohr, 13, of Wind Lake, is currently attending the 2011 Girls' Select Holiday Volleyball Camp at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The camp, which started on Monday of this week and runs through Friday, is sponsored by the USA Volleyball High Performance Department.

It includes the 48 top players in the country for their respective age groups as evaluated by USA Volleyball officials, and its goal is to bring together rising volleyball standouts with the best coaches from the USAV High Performance Department.

"I get to play with the elite players in the country," said Sandra, an eighth-grader at Lake Denoon Middle School in Muskego. "We all work together there."

The camp is rigorous, featuring three hours of scrimmages, drills and games three times per day.

"The goal of the camp is to allow players to improve their skills as well as gain an understanding of how the game should be played at a high level," said Jim Stone, the USAV Girls Youth National Team head coach who directs the holiday camp.

Participants learn about much more than volleyball, however.

"We work on life skills, such as working with a team, setting goal(s) and reaching it, and self-discipline," Sandra said. "We look at good nutrition and exercise and giving up some things to improve your focus on volleyball."

Sandra knew she would enjoy the camp.

"I don't mind giving up my school break time to go and play hard; the camp is worth it," she said. "I know it will be a ton of hard work; we'll practice intensely for hours."

Also attended summer camp

This will not be a new experience for Sandra, who attended the USAV summer camp this year.

"The summer camp was great, and it really showed me how much and where I need to improve," said Sandra, who stands 6-feet-2 inches. "It was fun being able to push myself at a higher level to see what I could do."

Since the summer camp was also at the Olympic Training Center, Sandra ran into some top Olympic athletes during her stay, such as gold medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps.

"I saw him a couple of times during lunch, and that was really exciting," she said. "We weren't allowed to ask for autographs, but we could eat with him and the other athletes."

She added that she and the other camp participants were able to get a taste for the Olympic experience.

"We were issued pass cards that are magnetized to get you into your rooms, the training gym and the cafeteria," she continued. "We got a chance to live like an Olympic athlete for the week, which was really cool. I can't wait to go back."

The entire USAV experience began in April, when Sandra competed in tryouts involving more than 400 girls in her age group. She was one of 36 selected for the summer camp. She was then evaluated at the summer camp and performed well enough that she was chosen for the holiday camp.

She currently plays club volleyball for the Milwaukee Sting 14 Gold team, coached by James Bradley. She began playing competitively in fourth grade, and her first club team was the Muskego Stars.

Sandra is also involved in figure skating and waterskiing, but her passion is volleyball, and this week, she's appreciative of the USAV for making her an even better player.