Volunteers build sand volleyball court at Moncrief Park
In collaboration with volunteers from Starkville Community Church, the Starkville Parks and Recreation Department began installation Sunday of a new sand volleyball court at Moncrief Park.
Parks Director Gerry Logan said planning the construction began a few weeks' earlier, with drainage for the court placed prior to installation. While there are many projects that would be beneficial for the community, Logan said they chose this project in response to community interest.
“Sand volleyball is something we have had a call for from the community before,” Logan said. “Also, the demographic data for that area indicated there are a lot of young families and 30 to 35 year olds, so the structure would appeal to those age groups.”
When scouting for locations, Logan
said Moncrief Park was ideal since it had a former playground site that was already level and ready for construction.
“It was ready for something to be built on it,” Logan said. “We just didn't know what was the right fit for the location until recently. The conversation about building a court has come up before, and the timing all came together and worked out to do it over there.”
Logan predicts the court should be fully-functioning in about two weeks since the park staff must set the boundaries, have the sand leveled off and install the net.
Funding for the project came from both Starkville Community Church, which contributed base supplies, rental equipment and volunteers, and the parks department, which covered the costs of sand, netting and other supplies.
Joe Horan, pastor of the Starkville Community Church, said every month with a fifth Sunday, the church participates Faith in Action service days where they work on projects in the community
“We call off what we normally do for church,” Horan said. “We eat breakfast together and partner with organizations in our community.”
Previously, the church has volunteered with Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School, the Starkville Pregnancy Care Center and Keep Starkville Beautiful, among other organizations.
“For most of the rest of the year Sunday is our thing, and we want to spend time with helping other organizations to serve others and say ‘let us help you,'” Horan said.
About two years ago, Horan said the church began adopting the parks into their program and hosted a Faith in Action Sunday where people were sent to every park in Starkville on the same day.
“After that, we decided to do some follow up projects at Moncrief, sending teams pretty regularly to the park,” Horan said. “For us, that is an easy way that we can bless the whole community because everyone uses the parks. That's the great thing about the parks. They reach every part of the community.”
The Starkville parks are a popular site among church members, with 13 volunteers choosing to work on the sand volleyball court.
Athena Nagel, part of the church's leadership and volunteer at Moncrief park, said the outdoor opportunities are her favorite.
“I normally always pick the outdoor landscaping side,” Nagel said. “I love being outside and helping develop the parks.”
At their most recent project, Nagel said volunteers were helping set in boundary posts, dig holes for net posts, spread the sand and set a subsurface cloth in place.
Nagel said she is excited to see the impact this court has on the community and the different bonding that will take place because of it.
“We talked about the city starting a sand volleyball league like they have with softball,” Nagel said. “This is a new opportunity for the city to reach a new group of people with different interests. I hope everyone takes advantage of this new court.”
The next Faith in Action Sunday is in September, and Horan encouraged anyone interested to participate and serve the community.
“It is a day that is open for anybody,” Horan said. “You don't have to be a part of our church to serve with us on those days.”