Juniors Volleyball Club was formed in 1998 by Jim and Jamie Neave with only 6 teams. One team from each age group from 13’s-18’s. Today JVC includes 9 affiliate clubs within the organization, including over 1,300 athletes. As the growth continues, JVC’s focus continues to be developing character-based attributes in their athletes.

“We focus on developing sportsmanship, empathy, gratefulness, and expect all of our coaches to provide the greatest experience possible. Our motto is “Have Fun and Make Memories” after all isn’t that what these moments in their lives should be about?” shares Executive Director Jim Neave.

Providing training from ages 5-18 JVC offer numerous programs for athletes throughout Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. JVC also hosts one of the largest tournaments in the mid-west, the Winter Classic which is hosted at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee Wisconsin the third weekend of January.

Coaching

The JVC coaching staff is comprised of coaches at every level, from former DI coaches to active local College and High School coaches that truly know what it takes to get to the next level. The club prides itself on having alumni return to coach, along with recruit coaches for all of our programs. JVC provides numerous training opportunities throughout the year for its coaches, which include positional training that allows consistent year over year training at every age group. Some coaches attend nationwide training clinics and conventions.

Women’s Council

Several female coaches make up JVA’c Women’s Council, designed to be a part of JVC leadership and help shape the future of the club and the athletes.

“Our female coaches are the largest part of our coaching staff but because most do not have the time, we cannot bring them on to our directorship. We started this council for them to be a sounding board for our club, to bring a point of view from not only the court but as women helping to raise young women.”

Parent/Coach Liaison

This position was created to address parental concerns for all of JVC’s locations. JVC leadership finds it extremely important that parents have a voice. This liaison is the person they can go to for things that they may need clarification on or have a discussion of why certain things are done a certain way. This position allows the coaches to coach and focus on each athlete without concerns that at times can take away from the athlete’s experience.

Athlete Leadership Nights

JVC is not a club that only focuses on the athlete’s development when the ball is in the air; it is just as important to take the time and talk to the athletes about the mental side of life, not just volleyball. JVC’s most recent leadership night focused on one word, that is often forget during the grind of the season.

“We focused on “Love.” The love of each other, the love of the game and the challenges it brings, the love we share because we all have a safe haven full of friends that we get to grow up with.”

Community Outreach Program

In the last year JVC has given back to the community with over 3,000 hours of service through the local homeless food shelter and kitchen, Special Olympics, and the local Adopt-A-Highway program. The Community Outreach Program was developed to to give back and support those that truly need the support. At JVC’s Annual Kick Off event the club collected over 150 winter coats and more than 2,000 pounds of non-perishable food for the local food pantry.

Training

JVC offers numerous programs across its affiliates ranging from the least amount of time and financial commitment (Local Program) to the National Program that travels frequently and practices up to 3 time per week.

Volleykidz
Offering fundamental training for the little ones that are looking to learn some volleyball tricks and more importantly have some fun in doing it. This is one of JVC’s favorite groups to be involved with because it truly does give the coaches a great feeling to introduce the game that we all love to those that will carry the torch when we’re done!

Local Program
Designed as an introductory training program for those that aren’t quite certain they want to commit to the time or financial requirement of one of our other programs. The Local Program is usually a first-time club player and allows a “testing period” for families to gauge the interest of their athlete and if volleyball will be a part of their sometimes arduous schedule. This program practices once a week for several months, plays in a few tournaments, and allows families to decide if a higher level program is something they would like to consider in the future.

Regional Program
This program offers practices twice per week, a few more tournaments than the Local program with no overnight travel requirements. This program is a great offering for athletes that play other club sports and have other interests in school. We continually have some of our best athletes in this program and definitely support multi-sport athletes at JVC.

Select Program
This program offers a full season, December-June, with no overnight travel requirements for tournaments. This allows those that want a full season close to home and still face some of the best competition around. This is another great program for the athlete that plays other sports and still wants to play volleyball at a very high level.

National Program
JVC’s top level program competes at the highest levels Nationally. The national players practice 2-3 times per week and attend positional training one of those practice nights. Positional training was developed by the club’s elite coaches and allows consistent training methodologies at every level inside of all of JVC’s programs. The culmination of the National Teams season is at the AAU National Championships in Orlando or USAV Nationals.

“JVC had the great opportunity to expand into Milwaukee this year with our merger with Royal Volleyball Club and we’re looking for other opportunities to continue to grow the sport we love. At JVC we continue to develop the perfect balance between life and sport, a different approach to our family’s outlook and what this experience should look like. We will continue to develop our entire club, from top to bottom, with one thing in mind; providing our athletes the best possible experience to HAVE FUN and MAKE MEMORIES that will last a lifetime!!”

Juniors Volleyball Club (Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin) is a long time member of the Junior Volleyball Association, an organization committed to enhancing the junior volleyball experience for club directors, coaches, players, and fans.

For more information about joining the JVA click HERE. For more information about JVA Awards click HERE. To nominate your club for JVA Club of the Month click HERE.