Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Harris.
Julie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a 40-year-old mama of two with a 3rd on the way. My husband and I still feel as if we should be in our 20’s and 30’s, so we keep an active and busy lifestyle as if we still are. 😉 I was raised in Virginia, playing many sports as I grew up. I became most dedicated and passionate about volleyball during high school and college. After earning a Master’s degree, I began my career as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I fell in love with teaching and working with patients and worked full-time for almost nine years until my husband and I had our baby girl. We played beach volleyball when the weather allowed but we always wanted more. My husband, who had previously lived in southern Cali, was always on the lookout for an opportunity to move back to the “best” coast. A few months after our daughter was born, we packed up and moved to San Diego and we haven’t looked back. SD lifestyle is a perfect fit for us! My husband and I now play beach volleyball several times a week in South Mission Beach and we adore the community. We love and appreciate the balance of life that exists in San Diego. “Work hard and play hard” is our motto and a lesson we extend to our children.
A couple of years ago, when our daughter started Kindergarten, several parents asked us about starting a volleyball league for our kids. Upon searching, we found that there were few options for children below age ten to play volleyball. A couple of months prior to the pandemic, we started a small group lesson for kids. It was immediately a HIT! Unfortunately, everything stopped the following month due to Covid- 19 restrictions. We have started back up the last few months offering weekly clinic to children ages 6-14 and we are so fortunate to have so much interest and support from the community. Our organization is called Lil Digs, but we offer lessons to youth and adults of all ages. We will continue to offer weekly clinic as well as summer camps for children. I am falling in love with coaching and see a strong parallel between it and my Speech Pathology career. It brings me so much joy to help others learn, grow, and succeed. And we get to do it in paradise out on the beach! Life is good! 😉
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
So far it has been a smooth road for us here in San Diego. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful community and have a happy and healthy family. The biggest personal challenge I have faced is navigating wanting to raise my children at home while also wanting the fulfillment of a career. Upon moving to San Diego, I worked per diem at UCSD for five years. I loved the work and the camaraderie, but when my daughter started Kindergarten and my son was still at home with me, I found it difficult to work everything into our schedule. This past year, I continued to stay home as both children were learning virtually. Upon starting Lil Digs as a fun idea to extend our passion for beach volleyball to our own children and their friends, I didn’t plan on growing it into a career. However, now having fallen in love with our mission to keep children active, social, and happy, and seeing how much the community loves it, I am excited to see where this new path leads.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are in the infant stages of establishing our organization. We created Lil Digs to provide a safe place for our children and their friends in the community to learn and play beach volleyball. Interest in our organization and services continues to grow and we are so grateful for all of the positive feedback, encouragement, and support.
We currently offer lessons in three divisions: Lil Digs (ages 6-10), Digs (ages 11-14), and Big Digs (ages 15+). We offer clinic-style lessons that meet weekly in South Mission Beach or Sage Canyon Park. These lessons are formatted to teach and refine the fundamental skills involved in doubles beach volleyball. The groups are formed to allow us to coach to the level of the players, whether completely new to the sport or coming in with experience. During the summer months, we will be transitioning to week-long youth skills camps.
We want families to know that we offer a safe and fun environment for youth to learn a sport, work with and among others, and have fun being active! We also want community members of all ages to feel welcome learning a sport that is often perceived as intimidating to new players. It can be difficult to walk up to experienced players and ask to join or play on the court. Our program encourages players of all levels to come and learn the skills and etiquette of the sport in a supportive environment.
What’s next?
We are excited to continue to grow and expand our program. We are moving toward establishing Digs Volleyball as a business and expanding the program to various locations in the San Diego area. In the near future, we would like to offer league-style gameplay as well as tournaments.
Pricing:
- $25 per hour for clinic
- $225 for Mon-Fri Camp
Contact Info:
- Email: lildigssd@gmail.com
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/lildigsbeachvolleyball/home
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lildigssandiego
