Interest continues to grow for a youth volleyball league in Pell City, with members of the city council, Parks & Recreation, coaches and athletic directors all supporting the creation of the league.

At the recent capital improvement meeting for Pell City, the Parks & Recreation department made a proposal to add a volleyball system to the local civic center. The volleyball system would be complete with nets, balls, scoring stands and courts. The proposal was for a total of $10,000.

If the league is formed, it would give kids the opportunity to get involved in volleyball earlier, before the middle school and high school level.

According to council pro-tem Jason Mitcham, this would provide a competitive advantage for the kids.

“Anytime you can get kids onto teams it is beneficial.” Mitcham said. “This is an avenue to get more kids involved in city sports.”

According to Mitcham and Bubba Edge of the Parks & Recreation department, there is support from school volleyball coaches to get the league up and running.

Edge says the coaches realize the benefit of introducing kids to the sport at a younger age, so the first time they are touching a volleyball is not in middle or high school.

Mitcham said he has been in constant contact with the athletic director of the civic center, Joey Morrow, about the volleyball league. Mitcham said his primary concern is approving the funding and then letting the civic center run the league.

A driving factor for adding the volleyball system is to provide aid for the school coaches who work to stay involved in the community.

“The high school coaches are wonderful that they come down to our programs and get involved in our city sports,” Mitcham said. “Their involvement with our sports is phenomenal.”