Windham High School volleyball fundraiser brings community together

By Matt Pascarella

It was a day of fun and community. Students, alumni and members from Windham and surrounding communities came out for a day of volleyball and for the first time in four years, the Windham High School volleyball program held a fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 15 at Windham High School, with all money raised going to WHS volleyball program.

The adult/college-age team Big Dig Energy of Windham
alumni Megan Fleck, left, and Cassie Fleck, Chad Mason of
Gorham, Camden and Chloe Marble of South Portland and
Lucas Pongratz of Raymond, display their prizes after
coming in first during Windham High School's volleyball
fundraiser at Windham High School on Oct. 15.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA  

The day began with seven teams and ended with one champion. In the morning the teams played two sets to 25; then were reseeded and, in the afternoon, played a single elimination tournament with sets to 15. It was Big Dig Energy who took home the gold, or in this case a $10 gift card to Dunkin. Big Dig Energy beat One-Hit Wonders 2-0 in the finals.

While the day featured a lot of competition, it was in a low pressure setting that was focused more on fun, playing the game of volleyball and spending time with friends and neighbors.

“The turnout was really great,” said Windham resident and Windham High School alumna Cassie Fleck, who enjoyed competing in the tournament. “Seeing the community come together; I know the parent’s teams had a lot of fun; it was really good to see the parents being a volleyball family.”

Gorham resident and Big Dig Energy team member Chad Mason said he’d never really played volleyball before, and the day was a great way to gain exposure; it was good.

“Volleyball is a very important sport to me. Today, I wanted to play, but I wanted to be with my friends,” said Windham sophomore Ethan Nguyen, who played on the team Volleyball Killers. “It was mostly a community ball thing; this is definitely something I would do again.”

Windham freshman Sydney Harmon, whose team were the Freshies, made up entirely of freshman said the day was a good way to help the community and raise money for the volleyball program at Windham High School.

Windham varsity volleyball coach Chuck Fleck said the goal was to have fun and play volleyball.

“Now that things are getting back to pre-COVID situations, I hope we will have more enthusiasm for the sport,” said Chuck Fleck.

Coach Fleck who has been running the Windham Middle School volleyball program for 12 years and has been coaching volleyball at Windham High School for three seasons said they need more volunteers for each program. He’d love to see a more formalized league at Windham Middle School. Coaches are needed at Windham High School as well.

“I hope that their experience with volleyball transfers over to real life situations and they can be better members of society because of it,” said Chuck Fleck. “Volleyball is very much a mental game, and it forces those that play to be able to concentrate for longer periods of time and develop skills that should help with adulting. Like other sports, volleyball gives a player a sense of being a part of a community. This year’s team is a tight knit one and I truly feel that they have each other’s back both on and off the court.”

If you are interested in getting involved, contact Chuck Fleck at WYVBA.Maine@yahoo.com or CoachChuck.WHS@gmail.com.<