Pahrump’s young athletes shaping up for the future
Young athletes looking to increase their competitive skills, on and off the field, have signed up with a former sports legend and pro athlete, with sessions starting today (Friday).
Dominique Maloy, a former Trojans track star who now plays professional football, said she received just under 10 young athletes on the first day of her “YouthSports Experience,” running from mid-December to early January at the Pahrump Valley High School football field.
“It’s not so much the number of kids, it’s the quality of the kids,” Maloy said.
The YouthSports Experience is moving into its second week with a consistent schedule on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Start times for each day are from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for fourth through eighth graders; eighth graders to 12th graders are welcome from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. for all ages on each day.
The program will run Dec. 29-31 and again Jan. 5-7. The cost is $10 for one day and $15 for all three days of instruction.
This is the second year Maloy has come to Pahrump, where she spends a part of the year. She spends six months of the year in Seattle, where she plays for the Seattle Mist in the Legends Football League (LFL). She plays defensive back and safety.
As a Trojan, Maloy was a champion in track and field, a 15-time AAA state champion. She was also an eight-time All-American during her time at Arizona State.
Maloy started her YouthSports Experience in Las Vegas but thought Pahrump might be a better target.
“I thought maybe doing it in Pahrump, where there’s not facilities or programs like mine to really help develop kids going to the next level as far as college or even professionals, like being more of a transitional coach,” she said.
Maloy has focused on things like agility, balance and coordination.
This time out she’s focusing on “the force and the power that we need to apply to the ground and apply off the ground, to just be faster and stronger,” Maloy said.
Maloy said many of the kids she sees have improved in technique and mechanics, with a need to improve, for some of them, strength, power and explosiveness.
She also tries not to be repetitive on the exercises and other training she gives to her students each day of the weekend experience, as it’s more effective to have a variety of exercises.
Beyond teaching kids athletics, Maloy said she is helping to better the kids in other ways as well.
“I know through this camp, it helps the kids in whatever way they need it,” Maloy said. “I may not know today, or I may not even see it, but I know that they’re choosing to be better people.”
Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes
