It’s the calm before the season-ending storm—when clubs finally get a brief window to rest, reset, and regroup before AAU and USAV Nationals. After months of high-volume competition, every team is searching for that final edge to peak at the right time. Two JVA Club Directors share strategies for helping athletes perform at their best in the weeks leading into summer championship play.
1. Get Healthy
Player health remains the top priority, but it also directly impacts confidence and performance heading into the most important stretch of the season.
“Rehab what needs to be rehabbed, and take care of nagging injuries now,” says Kelly Crowley, Club Director of Tri-State Elite Volleyball Club. One approach she uses is building accountability across age groups. She pairs older athletes (15–18s) with younger players (11–14s), encouraging them to check in a few times per week. Conversations often include movement habits, recovery routines, cardio goals of 30–45 minutes, and general nutrition awareness.
The goal isn’t just physical maintenance—it’s teaching athletes to take ownership of their preparation and long-term health.
2. Rest Reigns
At Tstreet Volleyball Club, courts are typically scheduled for two to three hours of training during peak season. But as Nationals approach, club founder Troy Tanner emphasizes efficiency over volume.
“You’ve got to be careful not to over-fatigue them,” says Tanner, a former U.S. Men’s National Team athlete and Olympic gold medalist in 1988. “There’s a lot of jumping on their knees and swinging with their arms. I try to err on the side of resting and recovering instead of overdoing it.”
During this stretch, coaches prioritize purposeful training—shorter, sharper practices focused on movement quality, skill refinement, and recovery integration. “If they don’t feel they’re getting better in practice,” Tanner adds, “then you’re in trouble.”
3. Sweat the Details
As the season winds down, small margins become even more significant. Coaches are encouraged to zoom in on both individual habits and team-wide patterns.
“So many times,” Crowley notes, “you look back at the first half of your season and realize you lost a match by two points in the third set. You start thinking, ‘If we had done this or that…’ Focus on the small things.”
That means reinforcing missed assignments, cleaning up errant serves, and emphasizing the points that often decide tight matches. “It’s easy to go through the motions in practice,” she says. “But remind them of those couple of points left on the board that could have changed everything.”
4. Have Fun
Late-season performance is not just physical—it’s relational. While both clubs compete at a high level, Tanner stresses the importance of team connection and mental reset.
“We get together, have dinners, or just go to the beach,” he says. “We don’t talk much about volleyball. We just bond and let the girls get to know each other.”
These moments are especially valuable for newer athletes, helping build trust, chemistry, and a sense of belonging that translates back onto the court when pressure rises.
As championship season approaches, both Tri-State Elite Volleyball Club and Tstreet Volleyball Club emphasize a shared message: peak performance is built not just through training volume, but through health, recovery, attention to detail, and connection.
Tri-State Elite and Tstreet Volleyball Club are both member clubs of Junior Volleyball Association, focused exclusively on junior volleyball and the needs of the club community. Since 2006, JVA has worked to improve the junior volleyball experience by supporting a growing network of nearly 1,800 member clubs while continuing its mission to ‘Better the Ball’ at every level. Built by Club Directors for Club Directors, JVA provides resources, events, education, and advocacy to help the sport grow in the right direction. Known for a more innovative and forward-thinking approach than traditional governing bodies, JVA continues to push the game forward by introducing new ideas, elevating the event experience, and creating opportunities that reflect where the sport is going, not where it’s been. Learn more at www.jvavolleyball.org or follow @jvavolleyball on all social media platforms.
Revised 6.6.2026
