GAYLORD — No volleyball team in Michigan will likely have a unique season-opening camp this year than Gaylord High School.

The Blue Devils will host Lake Mills (Iowa) High School as part of an home-and-home exchange during the next two years.

Lake Mills coach Jim Boehmer and 18 of his varsity and junior varsity players will make the trek to Northern Michigan next Sunday through Tuesday, where they will practice, scrimmage and enjoy team-bonding experiences with the Gaylord players.

Next season, Gaylord’s team will travel to the Hawkeye State, and enjoy the nation’s heartland.

“Having a team from Iowa with such a great volleyball history practicing and scrimmaging in our gym is very special to me and my players and we are excited to and look forward to treating Coach Boehmer and his team to the great Gaylord hospitality,” said GHS coach Chris Martin.

The teams will practice together both Monday and Tuesday morning, with scrimmages open to the public against local teams each evening from 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m.

In between the practice and the scrimmage is where the fun will begin, as the teams will have an arrival picnic Sunday at Otsego Lake State Park. On Monday afternoon, the teams will visit Avalanche Bay Water Park at Boyne Mountain and Tuesday afternoon the teams will tour Mackinac Island.

The connection between the two schools was built when Martin coached volleyball in Iowa before moving to Michigan. He previously coached in the same conference as Lake Mills.

“The North Iowa Conference is a very tough conference to compete in and for the last 10 years under coach Boehmer, Lake Mills has always been one of the top teams.”

It’s the second team to visit Gaylord for a camp this summer, as Grosse Pointe South High School held a joint camp with the Blue Devils in July.

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