GAYLORD — They were two groups of strangers from different corners of the country prior to Sunday evening.

But, they will leave as friends sharing the common bond of volleyball.

Hoping to install a winning tradition, Gaylord High School coach Chris Martin used his Iowa roots to bring in Lake Mills High School this week in a joint camp with the Blue Devils.

“I’m not going to be coaching forever, so I wanted to do something big,” Martin said. “Lake Mills is an outstanding program and this has been an excellent experience.”

Lake Mills coach Jim Boehmer and his team has been wowed by the beauty and warmth of the Gaylord community this week.

“Years later if I were to ask the girls what their top five experiences were on this trip, I wouldn’t expect volleyball to be on it. It’s like being foreign exchange students. These girls get to see another part of the country and I’m sure some of them will still talk in 10 years.”

After arriving in the Alpine Village Sunday evening at a picnic at Otsego Lake State Park, the teams immediately clicked, as each of the Lake Mills girls stayed with the families of the Gaylord players.

Among the fun activities were swimming, tubing and a bonfire at senior Carlye Scheer’s house and a Tuesday trip to Mackinac Island.

“The girls are just like us,” Scheer said. “We all were friends immediately.”

But when on the court, neither of the teams forgot about volleyball.

Despite being a much smaller school, Lake Mills is considered a powerhouse in volleyball-rich Iowa. The Bulldogs have been conference champions the past five seasons, and have won more than 70 consecutive league matches.

For the Gaylord players and coaching staff, it was an opportunity to learn a different style from a successful program.

“It was nice to learn the different techniques and drills because they’re different than ours,” said Gaylord senior Sarah Salyer.

Boehmer spent time working with the Gaylord team, while Martin, a former high school and college coach in Iowa, spent time working with the Lake Mills team. By Michigan High School Athletic Association rules, the out of state schools could not scrimmage.

It took a simple series of e-mails from Martin to Boehmer to make the trip work, as both teams saw it as a good experience.

It was an 11-hour trip through Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to reach Gaylord. Next year, the favor will be returned, as the Gaylord team will visit northern Iowa for a July camp. T-shirts have already been printed celebrating the occasion.

“We want to give them the whole Iowa experience,” Boehmer said. “We want to take them to a hog farm and show them the Iowa county fair. We’re about feeding America. Both teams are already looking forward to that.”

The Lake Mills camp, which marked the official beginning of the 2008 season, was part of a busy summer for the Gaylord program. The Blue Devils hosted Grosse Pointe South for a similar camp last month and hosted other camps. It’s all of what is hoped to be the beginnings of a major turnaround.

“This has given us a lot more confidence and has risen our level of play having teams like this here,” Salyer said.

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