April 9, 2010
Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THINK DETROIT PAL HONORS ELITE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS AND STUDENT-ATHLETES
TDP ELITE SEASON KICKS OFF APRIL 11
 
DETROIT, Mich.—Think Detroit PAL named their 2010 Elite travel volleyball team during the volleyball all-star games on March 26.  The TDP Elite team will play their first tournament April 11 at 9 a.m. at the Fieldhouse on the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus.  Admission is free and TDP supporters are encouraged to attend.

 
The TDP Elite team will play in the 14 and under division against teams from across the region.  They will play in tournaments throughout the summer culminating with an appearance at the state tournament in Grand Rapids on June 5-6.  Players from Think Detroit PAL’s volleyball program competed in tryouts to be selected for the team.  This is the first year for Think Detroit PAL’s travel volleyball team. 

“I am excited that we are now offering an affordable opportunity for girls to play travel volleyball,” said associate athletic director Dana Cooper, who manages TDP’s volleyball program.  “This is the only AAU team in the city and we have the opportunity to build the program because we have a lot of young players.  Additionally, college coaches will recruit from the AAU sector because there is a conglomerate of talent so we are providing girls an opportunity to play and expand their future.”

A full roster for the TDP Elite travel volleyball team is available here.

Think Detroit PAL also named its all-league volleyball team and all-star teams for the varsity and junior varsity divisions.  The all-league team consists of six girls, nominated by their coaches, who maintained at least a 3.5 grade point average and displayed leadership and sportsmanship throughout the season.  The team included Ashley Hails, Destiny Gaskin, Dezirae Robinson, Marissa Anderson, Nyesha Rowland and Virginia Martin.  The selected students grade point averages ranged from 3.6 to 4.1.   

 
“We started the all-league team because we wanted to place an importance on academics as well as athletic achievements,” said Cooper. “They are students first.  If they can take care of business in the classroom they can be that much better as athletes.” 

The all-league team players were honored during the all-star game festivities held at Matthaei Gym on the Wayne State University campus.  Varsity and junior varsity all-stars were chosen by their coaches to represent their teams in all-star games.  Full rosters of the all-star teams are available here.

 Check out photos of the teams and games here!

Think Detroit PAL was formed on March 1, 2006, by the merger of two of the leading youth development organizations in the Detroit area:  Think Detroit, Inc. and the Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL). The organization is one of the largest non-profit urban youth development programs in the nation, and serves nearly 12,000 young people annually through athletic, academic, and leadership development programs.

For more information, to volunteer, or to make a donation, please contact Think Detroit PAL at 313.833.1600 or on the web at www.thinkdetroitpal.org.