When Free State High junior Chamisa Edmo found out from her mother she would participate in the 2007 Goodwill Ambassador Junior Volleyball tour, she jumped up and down.

“I’m really, really excited about it,” Edmo said.

The eight girls representing Canada and the United States on the 16-and-under tour will go to Italy and compete against local club teams in Florence, Grosseto, Rome and Venice from July 1-15.

Edmo, who has traveled to Germany with a choir group, is looking forward to the competition as well as visiting some exciting attractions for the first time – particularly in Rome.

“We kind of split it up where we can sightsee and play with the teams.” Edmo said. “The club teams there will probably be pretty good.”

The 16-year-old has trained with Judith Gipp, the Haskell Indian Nations University volleyball coach, during the offseason since 2006. Gipp nominated Edmo for the Goodwill team during the spring and later told Edmo’s mother, Lori Tapahonso, about her daughter’s selection, which led to Edmo’s enthusiastic celebration.

A member of the Navajo, Shoshone-Bannock and Blackfeet nations, Edmo takes pride in being the lone Native American on the team and invites the other players to inquire about her ethnicity.

“She has friends in every group of kids,” Free State volleyball coach Nancy Hopkins said. “Everybody seems to really like her. … just the kind of kid you expect great things from.”

Edmo has found her niche on the volleyball court as well. The 5-foot-7 setter started on Free State’s sophomore team last year and has set a goal of playing at the Division-I level.

Hopkins said Edmo possesses pretty good hands, but her work ethic separated her from the pack.

“Skill-wise she’s about the same as everybody else, but she just works really hard to improve and has a great attitude on the court,” Hopkins said. “She’s really steady, doesn’t really stand out on anything in particular. But she’s consistent.”

Edmo also is diligently raising funds for the trip, which costs $3,000. The junior already has raised $2,000 of that sum, and one can contribute by visiting www.DonateToMyTeam.com and entering the password: “Chamisa to Italy”.