Extra Effort: Dunlap’s Rena Zhang creates volleyball clinic for students with special needs

DUNLAP, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — She has a lot to smile about now but it wasn’t always that way for Rena Zhang when it comes to volleyball.

“When I first started playing, I hated it,” said Zhang. “I was bad when I started but I loved it after the first week.”

Now the Dunlap High School senior wants to share her love for the game with everyone. So she created “I Can Spike,” a one-day volleyball clinic to introduce the game to students with special needs.

She made the calls, helped reserve space for the camp, invited people to it and recruited teammates to help conduct it. She hosted the camp last month right before school started.

“I love playing volleyball, and I am so passionate about it,” Zhang said. “I thought it would be fun to combine volleyball and help kids with disabilities.”

She got the idea after volunteering with her Dunlap teammates at the Easterseals “I Can Bike” event where young children with special needs learn to ride a bike.

“There’s nothing more heartwarming than kids helping kids. And kids teaching kids,” said Dunlap volleyball coach Michelle Forbes. “The fact she took it up on herself and ran with it completely independently was so awesome. I’m proud of her.”

In her first year she had six campers attend the two-hour clinic at the Louisville Slugger Dome in Peoria. Zhang and her teammates taught them the basics of hitting, serving and passing a volleyball.

The straight-A student also created a hand-held volleyball game for the clinic. She developed a fidget toy that she delivered to all the campers as a thank you for coming to her first “I Can Spike” camp.

“I love to design and create. I want to go into mechanical engineering. I thought I could incorporate something else into the camp,” said Zhang. “The game is supposed to represent a volleyball court with a net in the middle, there’s a tiny ball that allows you to navigate through the maze.

Even though she will graduate this next may, she hopes to continue the camp. Or at least pass it on to another volleyball player who may want to host it.

Said Zhang: “I feel so good being able to provide some happiness in other people’s lives.”

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