By Kathy Chouteau
U.C. Berkeley’s (Cal) Volleyball team has embarked on a meaningful collaboration with Richmond College Prep (RCP) and other schools in Richmond, aiming to foster community engagement and promote youth sports.
The partnership, initiated by the Community Engagement pillar of Cal’s Cameron Institute for Student Athlete Development, seeks to create a synergy between UC Berkeley and surrounding schools through the power of sport.
On Thursday, members of the Cal Volleyball team traveled from Berkeley to Richmond to cheer for the RCP middle school team in a tournament at the Recreation Center. The event was part of a larger sustained collaboration throughout the academic year, which has included a free volleyball clinic and college tour for RCP at Cal, with plans to introduce a “Cal Pals” pen pals program to maintain connections between the teams.
Originally conceived through a partnership with Richmond College Prep teachers and coaches, Chris Quijano, Toni Cuevas, and Eddie Augustus, now in its third year, this year’s clinic also involved Summit K2, Caliber Beta Academy, and Manzanita.
Jessie Stewart, director of Community Engagement and Partnerships, and Tayler Perez, senior manager of Community Engagement & Partnerships, recently discussed the inception of this collaboration with the Standard.
Stewart—former head of the Richmond Promise—emphasized the importance of intentional partnerships and the role sport plays in building bridges. “We see sport as a way to build connections with elementary and middle schoolers across the Bay Area, and in the process, build confidence and early college awareness,” she said. Cal’s efforts are not just about marketing or fan engagement, she elaborated, but rather, reciprocal community-centered collaboration that also occasionally sees them partnering with the West Contra Costa Unified School District on other ventures.
On the RCP venture, the school’s coaches have been proactive and engaged, Stewart said, making the collaboration a promising opportunity to expand access to youth sports, with particular focus on girls’ volleyball.
The Cal/RCP collaboration includes various activities, such as free player/coach clinics and college tours. The volleyball clinic, held at Cal, involved skills training, a tour around Haas Pavilion—where the team plays—and the campus, as well as Q&A sessions with student athletes. The clinic has grown over the past three years, now including multiple schools and offering tailored programming for beginner and advanced players. This year, the advanced group received a mental performance session, highlighting strategies for the young athletes, such as how deep breathing can help calm the nerves.
The response from both the Cal student athletes and RCP’s students has been overwhelmingly positive. Some of the younger players even voiced their aspirations to become professional volleyball players, inspired by their interactions with the Cal team.
And the middle schoolers aren’t the only ones who benefit from the team-to-team contact. Cal’s student athletes have embraced this tradition, actively participating in planning and engaging with the community. Stewart said that the connection between the Cal and RCP athletes is all about mutual learning and impact.
“For [Cal’s] student athletes, when they are engaging in these real, community centered collaborations, they’re building leadership skills and developing perspectives” that she said is so valuable to them in terms of their own development outside of their sport. “So it’s really a win-win.”
Looking ahead, the collaboration aims to expand further, involving more schools and introducing new programs like the “Cal Pals” pen pals initiative amongst the players.
Perez said that, when Cal’s student athletes graduate, the torch hopefully will be passed and it will become ingrained as part of the team culture. “We hope that our student athletes continue to take this tradition forward and have a piece of planning and making it better every year,” she said.
As the collaboration continues to grow, the Cal Volleyball team remains committed to making a positive difference in the lives of young athletes in Richmond and beyond.
The Cameron Institute was made possible thanks to a generous endowment gift by C. Bryan Cameron in 2019. Please go to the website to learn more about the Cameron Institute.
