Buhach Colony volleyball star earns big invitation from Team USA

Buhach Colony High volleyball star Cameron Gray has been invited to attend the 2017 USA Girls’ Youth A3 Training Program this summer.

Gray, 15, was one of 96 players chosen out about 200 who attended a tryout in Colorado in February.

It’s the second year in a row Gray has been chosen to attend the Team USA training program.

“I was so excited when I got the e-mail that told me I was picked,” said the Thunder sophomore. “As you level up higher and higher, less girls make it. I’m one of the youngest girls chosen for my age group.”

Gray was selected for the Team USA A3 Select 16-and-under age group.

Players selected for the program will receive high-level training from many collegiate coaches. It’s also an opportunity to advance in the National Team Pipeline, which could eventually lead to playing for the national team.

Gray will head to the University of New Orleans from July 5-9. The group will train for five days and then have a tournament.

“It’s an opportunity that leads to more exposure into the volleyball world,” Gray said. “I like playing with girls from different states. It’s a chance to move up the USA volleyball pipeline. Hopefully it leads to one day playing overseas. When you’re in the the USA volleyball program you get to work with a lot of college coaches.

“The college coaches has so much information and so much knowledge of the game it’s kind of mind-blowing to listen to them. You get to hear different perspectives.”

Thunder coach Andy Hill believes it’s a great opportunity for Gray.

“I encourage my players to find other instructors,” Hill said. “They should do it to better themselves. Cameron just does it to the extreme. She spends hours in the gym with me. She spends hours in the gym with her club coach. She spends hours with Team USA. She’s an animal.”

Gray plays outside hitter for Buhach Colony. Last year she tried out as a middleblocker for the Team USA training program. This year she tried out as a middleblocker.

Hill said he’s already heard from college coaches who like Gray as a libero.

Gray helped Buhach Colony reach the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals this past fall. She finished second on the team with 237 kills and was named to the all-Central California Conference first team.

Gray is looking forward to the competition. She feels spending five days playing against some of the best players in the country in her age group is only going to help Gray’s development as a player.

“I’m going to be playing against players who are better than me,” she said. “They have more experience than me. They are bigger than me. That’s going to help me improve my game. That will help when I’m playing in high school, especially playing in the CCC with great teams like Pitman, Turlock and El Capitan.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Buhach Colony volleyball star earns big invitation from Team USA."