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Shelley Osterloh ReportingEight-hundred teams, 12-thousand players, all gathered here in Salt Lake. The game is Volleyball, the players have come from across the country for the Junior Olympic Championship in the Salt Palace.
![12-Thousand Volleyball Players Swarm Salt Lake](https://img.ksl.com/ksl/2/205/20576.jpg?filter=kslv2/inline_lg)
Competition began early this morning. There are rows and rows of nets and a lot of excited girls from all over the country, some of them from right here in Salt Lake City. It's the invasion of the knee-highs. Everywhere you turn you see them.
Jeff Robbins, Utah Sports Commission: "These are really the elite volleyball players from across the nation, in terms of girls age 12-18."
Ali White, Junior Olympic Competitor: "I'm nervous! This is my first time coming to Jo's even though I've played a couple of years."
Ali White is a member of the Salt Lake High Country Volleyball Club. Watching her team play, you wouldn't guess these girls are only 11 and 12-years-old. They may be young in age, but they are rich in experience. Some of them have played together since they were six years old.
Ali White: "If we play with one person a long time and then they are on our team in high school, we know that we've played with them so we know what they play like."
![12-Thousand Volleyball Players Swarm Salt Lake](https://img.ksl.com/ksl/2/205/20575.jpg?filter=kslv2/inline_lg)
That feeling of comraderie is sometimes harder to apply to friends on the other side of the net.
Ali White: "It's weird 'cuz you really want to be friends with them, but then you're like, 'oh, I want to beat them and I want to win this game.'"
Taryn Horner, Coach: "Doing this every year until they are the 17's, 18's when they are getting recruited makes the experience a whole lot better for them down the road."
Coach Taryn Horner says the girls quickly learn how to be competitive.
Taryn Horner: "We were by far the shortest team there. To play 12-year olds that are six feet tall, they are like, whoah."
Beyond the game Taryn feels the greatest lesson learned is responsibility.
Taryn Horner: "To teach them to bring their uniforms to be on time; leadership, communication, working with other people,lit's something they can do and talk about the rest of their lives."
The competition continues all week long. You can come and watch, but there is a fee -- ten dollars a day.