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AI “Employees” For Volleyball Clubs: How Agentic AI And Custom GPTs Save Directors Hours Every Week
Most directors are constantly juggling tasks that pull them in ten directions at once—parent communication, scheduling, registrations, coach coordination, [...]
Blog Categories
Game Management: Strategic Use of Timeouts
Coaches of all sports will likely admit they have far less control during a game or match than they would like. There is a lot of discourse on how to maximize your lineup potential [...]
What is Mental Performance?
At its core, mental performance refers to the way athletes think, feel, and respond in competitive situations — especially under pressure — and how those internal responses influence their actual performance on the court. [...]
Supporting Homeschool Athletes Through Club Volleyball Programs
Homeschooling and home education for student-athletes is becoming a very popular trend in the world of middle school and high school today. For junior volleyball clubs with access to courts, in areas of the [...]
News
Optimum Beach Wins JVA Club of the Month
Optimum Beach was established in 2014 as a high level beach volleyball training program with an international approach. Director Pri Piantadosi-Lima recognized early on that there was a need for a more dynamic approach to [...]
JVA Presents the 2023 JVA All-National Team powered by Fivestar
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN (June 5, 2023) The JVA is pleased to announce the 88 student athletes selected to the 2023 JVA All-National Team powered by Fivestar, which recognizes the top female indoor volleyball players competing for [...]
Matchbox Volleyball Club Wins JVA Club of the Month
Matchbox Volleyball Club, based out of Aberdeen, South Dakota, is one of the largest club volleyball organizations in South Dakota and provides athletes ages 8-18 with a developmental and competitive volleyball experience. The club was [...]
Club Directors
Technology Solutions: Meet the Next Level of Phishing
Imagine if you called your bank and ended up talking to a hacker instead. An experienced attacker could trick you into sharing details like your login credentials, credit card details, or account numbers. Unfortunately, [...]
Business Solutions: A Data-Driven Approach to Small Volleyball Club Salaries
The JVA surveyed a diverse landscape of junior volleyball clubs across the country with the goal of capturing key trends and data points that can guide decisions for junior volleyball club leaders. Below is [...]
Beach Solutions: Marketing Your Beach Volleyball Program
Building a successful beach volleyball program starts with a clear vision and an adaptable approach to growth across all age groups, from young players to high school athletes. Here are some key strategies to [...]
Coaches
Coaching Mental Performance: Team Identity and Value Systems
Despite a club’s best intentions to make sure all coaches are maintaining consistent verbiage across age groups and skill levels, and keeping the expectations of the training environment relatively consistent, it often devolves into [...]
Coaching Mental Performance: Reinforcement and Punishment
After the season I always find it appropriate to challenge coaches to reflect on how their teams formed and performed throughout the season. Often with these reflections we get coaches that feel as if [...]
Teach your team to embrace and respond to the randomness of Volleyball
I attended the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul over 20 years ago. The USA men went on to win the gold, while the USA women needed to win in three and not let Peru [...]
Boys
Start-Up Spotlight: Midwest Boys Programs
There are roughly 6,000+ junior volleyball clubs nationwide, and each year brings more growth for the sport. But boys volleyball still has a way to go as the majority of junior clubs do not offer a boys program. This untapped market...
College Opportunities for Men’s Volleyball
When prospective male student athletes think about playing volleyball at the college level, images of competing under the bright lights at a powerhouse volleyball school often come to mind. On the other hand, many boys are not aware of the...
How to Tell If a College Coach is Recruiting You
It can be tricky for a volleyball athlete to understand if and when he/she is being recruited by a college coach. Do recruiting questionnaires count? How about camp invites? A phone call? Not every coach is going to show...
Girls
Technology Solutions: Using Video and Stats to Take Charge of Athlete Development
Oregon Juniors Volleyball Academy (OJVA) club director and master coach Steve Suttich says that OJVA players are committed to using video and data not only for recruiting, but to develop skills and improve their [...]
Pre-Season Yoga for Volleyball Athletes
An athlete’s yoga practice should change according to their season, just like their training regimen does. During the pre-season, athletes are in preparation mode. Their practice times start to increase and training starts to intensify. [...]
Recruiting Solutions: Staying Pro-active in the Recruiting Process Outside of the Club Season
It is not about when you commit, but more about committing at the right time. Here are some ways that prospective student athletes entering their senior year can stay pro-active in the recruiting process [...]
Beach
2021 JVA Beach Watch List Announced
(June 28, 2021. Milwaukee, Wisconsin) The JVA is pleased to announce the 2021 JVA Beach Watch List that recognizes the top female beach athletes from JVA member clubs across the country this season. This year's [...]
From the JVA Office: The Benefits of Grass Volleyball Programming and Considerations for Junior Clubs
Many assume that grass volleyball tournaments are for adults who are past their prime, or those who missed the opportunity to play at a young age so they give grass volleyball a try. However, grass [...]
210 Beach Wins JVA Club of the Month
210 Beach was formed by Jason Kaiser in 2012 as a small training group for his daughter, Maja, and a few other athletes to get reps after the indoor season. The training group competed [...]
Culture
From the JVA Office: A Pro-Active Approach to Handling Over-Involved Parents
Tournament time has begun, which means club directors and coaches are beginning to identify the over-involved and over-bearing parents. It's easy to say that our focus needs to be on the kids and ignore the parents, but as we all know, the parents are as much our customers as the players are; in some cases, even more so. Here are some practices your club can apply to establish a healthy relationship between your club, coaches, and parents.
From the JVA Office: How to Score Better Officiating
January is just around the corner. Your teams will be headed off to tournaments. Do you want better officiating at your matches? Here are some ways you can make a difference.
It’s All About the Athletes
The culmination of recruiting during the club season reaches its pinnacle beginning June 19th, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. College coaches from around the country descend on the Orlando Convention Center and ESPN Wide World of Sports for the AAU Girls Junior...
Events
Beach Solutions: 9 Tips to Host a Quality Beach Tournament
Many clubs are recognizing the value of having a beach program because of the rapid growth in the sport's popularity and participation. Rather than lose your athletes to a nearby beach club for a few [...]
JVA and VLA Partner to Promote the Growth of Boy’s and Men’s Volleyball
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (October 11, 2021) – The JVA is excited to announce an extended partnership with the Volleyball League of America to bring professional men's volleyball to the junior volleyball audience across the country. "We [...]
JVA Expands Partnership with The Art of Coaching
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (September 20, 2021) – The JVA and The Art of Coaching Volleyball are pleased to announce an extension of their partnership to continue offering wide-ranging resources for clubs, coaches, directors, players and volleyball [...]
Awards
The 2023 JVA Boys Watch List powered by Fivestar is Released
(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) The JVA proudly announces the 2023 JVA Boys Watch List powered by Fivestar featuring nearly 600 boys indoor junior volleyball athletes from JVA member clubs nationwide. The players nominated are among the [...]
The 2023 JVA Girls Watch List powered by Fivestar is Released
(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) The JVA is pleased to release the 2023 JVA Watch List powered by Fivestar featuring over 3,600 girls indoor junior volleyball athletes from 200 JVA member clubs across the country. The players nominated [...]
Kokoro Volleyball Wins JVA Club of the Month
Since its inception in 2010, Kokoro Volleyball, located in the Twin Cities, has employed and provided services to individuals of all income levels, all ethnic backgrounds, and all social/political backgrounds. The services Kokoro currently offers [...]
Training
3 Methods to Track the Vertical Jump
If you’ve been training to increase your vertical, it’s important to be able to find out if (or how much) you’ve improved since the beginning. There are a multitude of ways to test your vertical, [...]
Best Practices for Rest and Recovery in Junior Volleyball
The human body is built to withstand intense periods of physical strain and pressure. When a tournament runs multiple days, and into the late evening hours, players can rally and perform to their best abilities. [...]
Functional vs Dysfunctional Breathing for Volleyball Athletes
Athletes that practice breathwork can take their game to the next level. Similar to training volleyball skills to perform at your best in a match, athletes should practice breathing so it comes naturally to you [...]
Parents
Finding Success in the Evolving World of Collegiate Recruiting
Over the past few months there has been much conjecture regarding the decision to exclude Freshman/Sophomore volleyball recruits from taking unofficial visits to Division I programs until September 1 of their Junior year of High School. As a Recruiting Coordinator...
From the JVA Office: The Official Impact of a Volleyball Event
There are two keys to hosting a high quality volleyball event: (1) having competitive teams who elevate the level of play and (2) having great officials who love and understand the game. It is of utmost importance for the JVA to make...
When Should Volleyball Athletes Start the Recruiting Process?
One of the most frequently asked questions is “When should we start the recruiting process?” And the answer is: It really depends on the athlete. Here is some guidance for athletes and parents who are considering navigating the recruiting process...
Recruiting
Create a Game Plan for the SAT or ACT
Only about 5.5% of women and 4.6% of men that play volleyball at the high school level go on to play in college, and college coaches absolutely take into consideration grades and standardized test scores when recruiting. Therefore scoring high on the...
College Opportunities for Men’s Volleyball
When prospective male student athletes think about playing volleyball at the college level, images of competing under the bright lights at a powerhouse volleyball school often come to mind. On the other hand, many boys are not aware of the...
Are volleyball scholarships guaranteed for four years?
It’s no secret that the volleyball recruiting process can get complicated, especially when it comes to athletic scholarships. One question many athletes wonder is whether volleyball scholarships are even guaranteed for four years. Find out the answer to this...
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