What better way to spend a summer night than playing volleyball at Oakland Beach? Three hundred enthusiasts have been doing just that every Monday since June 5. They are two more weeks remaining in the regular season and every one of the 36 teams (Competitive, Intermediate A, Intermediate B, and Recreation) is digging in for the playoffs, which begin August 7.
Teams are comprised of friends, as well as family members. David Parker has been playing for The Buccaneers Intermediate B team for 13 years. His teammates refer to him as “The Flying Squirrel” because he dives for every ball. Early on, he played with his daughter, Julia, a Rye High School graduate who played on the school team. Now he plays with his 15-year-old son Aidan. “It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I’ve really improved since last summer, which was my first year playing.” His mother, Catherine (our County Legislator) recalled that Aidan used to come home bloodied and battered because the sand was like gravel. “Now the sand is soft and smooth thanks to the Rye Town Park Commission purchase of golf-grade sand,” added his father.
Former Rye High Volleyball star Lexi Senkiw, who just graduated from law school, plays for Show Me Your Hits. The team is comprised of her contemporaries and relatives. Her parents, Heidi and Dan, whom she taught to play, are on The Beach Diggers, along with other teammates parents.
Heidi and Dan said, “It’s a blast playing together and against each other!”
Lexi seems to have the volleyball coaching gene. She also taught her brother Dylan, who now plays professionally in Hawaii.
Players on the Rye Neck Riots, the reigning champions of the Recreation Division, range in age from 20 to 70. Patty Woods, the team’s matriarch, has been playing Rye Beach Volleyball for over 20 years. “In the beginning, there were only two divisions: Sand and Mortar. It continues to grow and evolve. I still love playing and I am so grateful to Joe Pecora and Angel Rosado for keeping it going,” said Woods.
Rye Beach Volleyball is not only a wonderful team program, but also a nonprofit organization devoted to raising funds for Rye Town Youth Football. Angel Rosado, who has been running the program for the past 15 years, said this may be the best season yet due to the phenomenal efforts by Rye Town Park staff — from administration to security to set-up crew —, as well as the improvements to the beach. “The energy and enthusiasm of the players is great as always, but the new, softer sand as well as walkways on the beach have made a big difference.”
He added, “My friend Joe Pecora has been helping me run the program for the past ten years and I couldn’t do it without him. We’re both grateful to Park Director Russ Gold and Rye Town Administrator Debbie Reisner.”
For Director Gold, Beach Volleyball is one of the highlights of the summer. “This season has been fantastic, despite the weather!”
