Love of sports fuels Sister Joni Luna

Sister Joni Luna cheers on campers working through a dribbling drill during the 2015 basketball clinic she conducted.

Sister Joni Luna’s love of sports goes back a handful of years.

“The confidence athletics instills lasts a lifetime,” Sister Joni said recently. “Sports change lives. They teach perseverance, discipline, commitment, hard work, responsibility and teamwork. Sports teach children how to overcome adversity.”

For many years before coming to the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Sister Joni served as an athletic coordinator. She has coached volleyball, basketball, softball, track and soccer. She coached volleyball for 17 years.

“Playing and competing energizes me,” she said. “It’s what I love doing.”

She also began playing basketball in the fifth-grade and volleyball when she got to middle school.

“I played volleyball, basketball, ran track and cross country in high school,” Sister Joni said. “I was a four-year letterman in basketball, track and cross country.

“I also played volleyball for one year and four years of basketball at Incarnate World College in San Antonio,” she added.

Currently, she coaches a club volleyball team and a group of volleyball and basketball players in grades three through six at St. Patrick School, where she also serves as assistant principal.

And during the month of June, Sister Joni and others will host both a volleyball and basketball camp.

The basketball camp will take place from 9 to 11 a.m., on June 6-8, while the volleyball camp will take place from 9 to 11 a.m., on June 13-15. Both camps will take place in the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center, located on the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College campus.

“I want to share my love, passion and enthusiasm for sports with children,” Sister Joni said. “I am thrilled when I see children figure out how to serve spike or pass a ball.”

Fundamentals for both sports will be the focus of both camps.

Sister Joni Luna (back row, far right) and campers at the 2015 volleyball camp she conducted.

“In volleyball, we will teach serving, passing, spiking, blocking, serve receive and transition offense and defense,” Sister Joni said. “In basketball, we will teach shooting, passing, dribbling, and defensive and offensive drills.”

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College volleyball player Maddy Howes will assist Sister Joni in the volleyball camp, while Sister Joni’s long-time friend from Texas, Tracie Jenson – who also coaches – will contribute to the basketball camp.

To register for either camp, log on to smwcpomeroys.com/camps/camps-main. All registrations must be completed online by the registration deadline for either camp. The deadline for the volleyball camp is June 1, while the basketball camp deadline is May 27.

Both camps are limited to 40 participants.

For more information about the upcoming camps, email jluna@spsmw.org or call 1-361-500-9505.