BERNE — As a high school student at Berne-Knox-Westerlo attends basic training this summer in the Army Reserves, she will miss some of the team’s try-out practices. However, the school will extend the try-out period to allow her to play, BKW’s athletic director said this week.
"I really want to play. I love volleyball," said Athena Kelly, who was uncertain about her chances to play on the team just weeks ago. Kelly will be a senior at BKW next year.

She takes two sports seriously — bowling and volleyball, she said.
"She’s not going to miss out," BKW’s athletic director, Fred Marcil, said this week, adding that Kelly’s being away for basic training is "certainly an extenuating circumstance."
"She’ll just have to try out later," Marcil said. "We’ll just have to extend the try-out period."

A junior, Kelly said she talked to a recruiter and also has a friend in the military. She decided to join the Army Reserves in October, and will be at Fort Jackson in South Carolina this summer for 10 weeks of basic training.
"It helps me pay for college, and also helps with getting job training so I can pursue a job in whatever I want," Kelly said.

During the upcoming school year, she will train one weekend each month until she graduates next spring. Kelly said she will return from basic training this summer just three days before the first day of school on Sept. 6.
When asked if she’d had second thoughts about joining, given the state of world affairs, Kelly said, "Nope. I’m ready to go."
Kelly, who began playing volleyball for BKW as a sophomore, said that getting in shape for the season "is not going to be an issue for me." The elder of two children, Kelly grew up on a farm off Knox Cave Road in Berne and enjoys the outdoors. Kelly said she wants to join the infantry, but can’t because women are not allowed "in the line of fire."
"If our school had a football team, I’d play football," Kelly said.

School view

Marcil said that extenuating circumstances which excuse student-athletes from practice might include a death in the family or family vacation.

The New York State Athletic Association sets the dates for when a team is able to conduct its practices.

Fall practices for sports, such as soccer and cross-country, begin either two or three weeks prior to the first day of school. Practices for this fall’s sports teams begin Aug. 20.
Starting team try-outs three weeks before the first day of school, he said, "puts us in an awkward position," Marcil said, adding that starting earlier may cut into a family’s vacation time.

The state athletic association sets the amount of practices a student must attend in order to compete; varsity volleyball players are required to attend four practices prior to a scrimmage, and must attend six before competing against other schools.

Kelly said she doesn’t think her teammates will be unkind toward her for missing some practices.
"They know," she said. "They understand my situation — trying to prepare myself for a career."
Working at Stewart’s in Altamont, Kelly was happy Monday as she scooped ice cream for customers, looking forward to playing on the team and leaving for South Carolina. "I’m excited," she said.