Knicely Done: Youth sports with a refreshing approach

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Mike Picard, retired Navy, moved to Omaha seven years ago with his family and he brought with him a passion to coach girls’ volleyball because his daughter wanted to play.

“I played all my life,” he said in an interview with 6 News. “That included club volleyball in school.”

Picard has gone all in, creating a program called Envy Volleyball and made the ambitious decision to rent an old industrial warehouse near Irvington to serve as home base.

“It was filled with shelving and office space,” he explained. “We picked it up last December and we had 30 days to get it ready for the season. We spent the first two weeks clearing the place out. Then we put in the nets, the poles, the lights, insulation, flooring and we were ready to go by January 3rd.”

Those twelve-hour days with help from his assistant coaches paid off and Picard says he now has 100 young players in the program with three courts and a fitness area to accommodate them.

“What we do here, we teach them to play volleyball and we’re pretty good at it,” he said. “It’s not actually why we’re here. We’re here to inspire confidence in these kids. They all lack it and they’re just so worried about making mistakes, we encourage it , we encourage them to make mistakes and say it’s okay. By the time they’ve gone through here, I think we can see their confidence is built up and that will carry them to whatever they do.”

It’s a refreshing approach that also includes scholarships for families that are short on finances.

“We’re a non-profit organization so our donors help with provide that opportunity and also the cost of rehabbing the 50-year old building space.”

Included is an obstacle course for the younger players featuring a rope swing, heavy ball squat jumps, and speed stepping pads.

“It’s hard to get them off of it because they enjoy it so much,” he said. “It enhances their skills and conditioning.”

Envy Volleyball has a strong list of coaches, all experienced in coaching younger players.

“We have about 100 players in the program,” said Picard.  “Right now, we have five teams that play select volleyball and we expect to increase that to ten.  And for those players who don’t yet qualify for one of those teams we are able to coach them and build their skills too.  And if they leave with this feeling that I can do anything if I put my mind to it, that is a win for us.”

For more information on Envy Volleyball, click here.

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