As Woodland Park adds businesses and restaurants, and the city upgrades Bergstrom Park and ensures that a portion of land remains open space, the progress is visible.  

When it comes to attracting youth, the Woodland Park Volleyball Club is right up there with other amenities to add vitality of another kind. 

“We had 35 athletes from 10 different schools, including home schools, try out for our teams,” said Kassidi Gilgenast, the club’s director and coach.

In January, the U15 team took a bronze medal among 40 teams at the Colorado Crossroads Tournament in Denver. Cristina Leohardt is the new coach who led the team to the third-place finish.

When the club offered an eight-week developmental skills program, 27 students, ages 8 to 13, from around the region signed up.  

“We teach fundamentals to help build confidence, and foster a love of the game,” said Gilgenast, former Division I player at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The club opportunity is an addition to the volleyball program at the Woodland Park High School, whose season begins in the fall. The club season runs from December 1 through May 2 and includes six coaches for three teams for those under 12, under 14 and under 16.

Club players come to Woodland Park from high schools in Teller, El Paso and Park counties. 

“Volleyball is the highest-participation sport for girls in the United States,” said Gilgenast, who coached the Woodland Park High School volleyball team for 10 years, a time preceded by 10 years with USA Volleyball. She is currently a member of the Woodland Park School District Board of Education.

Gilgenast attributes the popularity of volleyball to the opportunity to learn teamwork while developing leadership skills.  “Volleyball requires athleticism and power but it’s a non-contact sport which appeals to younger girls,” she said.

As sporting trends go, volleyball is right up there on top. “Volleyball is having a huge moment in the country right now because of the emergence of professional leagues,” Gilgenast said.  “And the viewership at the professional level is just bananas, through the roof.”