Open gym volleyball a hit for Windham Parks and Recreation

By Matt Pascarella

Windham Parks and Recreation’s open gym Sunday volleyball program has been running since 2015 and while there’s plenty of competition, the overall environment is one of fun, meeting new people and enjoying playing the game.

Windham  resident Scott McPherson returns a serve during 
an open gym volleyball game sponsored by Windham
Parks and Recreation at Windham High School on
Sunday, Nov. 23. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA     

There are individuals of all ages and skill levels from all over southern Maine, and all are very welcoming. The games get pretty intense from time to time, but the atmosphere is always fun.

“I’ve been playing here at Windham for years,” said Standish resident Karen Macleod. “It’s one of my favorite places to play. It’s a great place to play, great people to play with; people are relaxed and allow you to play your own game. Everybody here loves to play volleyball so everybody here is looking for people to play with ... you don’t have to be here with a team; you can come here by yourself. The idea is to keep it even, keep it fun, let everybody play.”

Session one of open gym Sunday volleyball runs until Feb. 1. If you would like to get involved, you can purchase a season pass through Windham Parks and Recreation, register on their website or pay a $9 drop-in fee for non-residents, $8 for Windham residents. Participants must be age 21 or older.

Windham Parks and Recreation’s Deputy Director Kelsey Crowe said this program used to be held at the Windham Town Hall gym, but demand grew so much that the program expanded and needed to be moved to the larger high school gym. 

“These people are friendly,” said Westbrook resident Dave Peterson. “It’s fun, I get to see all these people; if you want to ... have fun, you play in a place like this. There are more competitive places to play, but I just like playing with my buddies.”

Scarborough resident Duncan Foster fell in love with the game a long time ago and has been playing since he was 19. Now, close to retirement, he plays in leagues at least three nights a week. He said these open gym Sunday games feature good players, and it’s a pretty good level. There are role models of setters, hitters and defense; you learn a lot every time you play.

“My husband and I are part of a league in Portland and there was someone there saying (Windham Parks and recreation’s volleyball program) was a really fun one,” said Brunswick resident Annie Turnbull who has been coming since January of this year. “I’ve been playing for three years now; we picked it up when we moved to Maine.”

Turnbull said she likes the format of getting to play volleyball for three hours. This gives you more space and the opportunity to play with a lot of different people and practice different positions on the court.

“The people really get into it,” said co-supervisor of the event and Windham Parks and Recreation per diem employee Jacob Chouinard. “It’s fun to see the competitiveness come out, a lot are former athletes who played in high school and college, you can see that fun, competitive spirit brought back to them ... I think it’s great to stay active, that’s a huge piece of it. It’s a lot of fun for everyone; it’s a great thing for the community.”

If interested, call Windham Parks and Recreation at 207-892-1905 or visit https://www.windhammaine.us/155/Parks-Recreation.com. <