Junior volleyball clubs are seeing a spike in participation levels, especially at the high school divisions 15U-18U. Boys volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S, with 36 states offering high school boys volleyball; 28 of those states are sanctioned by the high school federation. In the last 7 years, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, and Utah became sanctioned or are now emerging status, and many more states are soon expected to follow including Georgia, North Carolina and Texas.

Here are three ways to capitalize on the growth of boys volleyball and grow participation in your volleyball club:

Developmental Program
High Performance – STL (St. Louis, Missouri) has run a Developmental Program for over 15 years to help attract boys as young as 3rd grade to our sport. It is a two to three-week  introduction into high level volleyball that serves as a gateway into club volleyball. This year they added a second session (one in June and one in August) to help capitalize on the growth of the sport. The program runs year round and is led by the Boys’ Director, Andy Halaz, with a staff that includes local high school and college coaches, as well as current and former college players. The cost of the program is $200 for the June session and $250 for the August session, which includes gym time, one practice shirt, and all administrative costs. If a player is registered for both sessions there is a savings of $50.

Participation in the Developmental Program increased by 70% this year by adding the second session, as some have signed up for both sessions. Total new participants are up 50% and include boys that have never played club, never played volleyball, and even those from other clubs that want to train with the HPSTL coaches since their teams are not going to Nationals.  This year MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) hosted the first sanctioned Boy’s State Tournament. Missouri has had State Tournaments in the past, but they were not governed by MSHAA.  With more high schools adding the spring sport across the state, HPSTL has seen growth at the high school ages.

Summer Regional Teams

Academy Volleyball Club (Indianapolis, Indiana) offers Summer Regional Teams to keep their regional and non-travel teams in the gym and to attract kids who played high school volleyball for the first time in the spring. Since the high school season ends in May, the club holds tryouts the Monday before Memorial Day weekend each year for a quick evaluation, then place them on a team, and practices start on Wednesday of that week.

Regional teams practice 2x per week and compete in two local tournaments with season ending during the last week of June. It’s a six-week version of a club season. This year The Academy put a dozen teams together between Boiler Juniors (West Lafayette, IN) and the Indianapolis location, with 80% of the participants being new athletes to the club. Many of the new athletes have the potential to make the national teams the following year, so the Summer Regional Teams give the club more depth, and is arguably the most important program for The Academy in the sense of attracting and finding new talent.

Camps and Clinics Year Round

A2 (Columbus, Ohio) hosts camps and clinics throughout the entire year so they are always seeing new participants in their gym. Most of the clinics at one hour long and cost is $25. The majority of high school boys volleyball players who want to play club volleyball tryout for A2. They know club is a great way to improve skills and hopefully make a varsity team at their respective school, so they are finding ways to play outside of the high school season.

With Regional and National level options, A2 fielded 15 boys volleyball teams: four 18s teams, three 17s teams, four 16s teams, one 15s team, two 14s teams, and one 13s team. If players are looking to get in the gym during high school season, club season or during the off seasons they know A2 has clinics and camps for those athletes interested in improving their skills, even those who do not play club volleyball. Many of the local high school coaches are also coaches at A2 so they are able to spread the word to the players in their school system.

If your club is committed to growing boys volleyball, begin by hiring a passionate, qualified coach to lead the program.  Create a program that offers affordable options for boys who might play other sports to find ways to get into your gym, without having to choose one sport over the other. Consistently promote the program to your current families, coaches, nearby schools, and through social media. With quality coaching, try implementing the programs above to capitalize on the growth of boys volleyball in your area.

High Performance-STL, The Academy Volleyball Club and A2 are all members of the Junior Volleyball Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the junior volleyball experience for players, coaches, clubs and fans. The JVA provides its member clubs with the resources and support to grow the game of beach volleyball in their region. The organization was formed in 2006 with a primary focus of being a voice for junior volleyball club directors and coaches, and to this day with over 1,500 member clubs is the only organization that is focused entirely on youth and junior volleyball. To learn more about the JVA click HERE.