The latest news and articles from JVA
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Recently Added
Securing Multiple Facilities for Your Club’s Seasonal Needs
The new season brings new responsibilities. While you’re finalizing administrative details, scheduling fall tryouts, hiring Coaches, and planning the [...]
Blog Categories
Leading With Purpose: Desmond Brooks Exemplifies the Spirit of the JVA AthLeader Award
For Desmond Brooks, volleyball is much more than a sport. It is a platform for leadership, personal growth, mentorship and creating opportunities for others. The 2026 JVA AthLeader Award winner and 2028 setter for [...]
Building More Than a Team: Lessons From Don Shondell’s Legacy
Long before volleyball became the sport it is today, Don Shondell was building something that extended far beyond a college volleyball program. As the founder of the Ball State University men's volleyball program and [...]
Reduce Chargebacks Before They Happen: A Better Experience for Clubs and Families
Every Club Director has experienced it. A family reaches out after an athlete can no longer participate because of an unexpected injury, illness, or family emergency. While your club's refund policy may be clear, [...]
News
The JVA Impact: 2025
As we turn the page on 2025, JVA is energized by the momentum and promise surrounding the continued growth of our sport. This has been a year of growth and transformation. Our membership has [...]
Max Miller and Matt McEvoy Elected to the JVA Board of Directors
We are happy to announce that Max Miller has been re-elected and Matt McEvoy has been elected to the JVA Board of Directors. This marks Max’s second term on the Board and Matt’s first. [...]
JVA Names Two Volleyball Directors for the AVCA T.E.A.M. Awards
The JVA is proud to honor two volleyball club directors, Erin Golden and Ron Reyes for the AVCA T.E.A.M. Awards—which promote Togetherness, Empowerment, Accessibility, and Mentoring within the volleyball community. The AVCA T.E.A.M. Awards [...]
Club Directors
JVA Names SportWrench Event Management Partner
Naperville, Illinois — July 23, 2026 — Junior Volleyball Association (JVA) and SportWrench, an OTTO SPORT AI company, today announced a new multi-year partnership naming SportWrench as the Event Management Partner for JVA events. [...]
JVA Safety Policy
Our young athletes deserve to be safe. You are practicing good risk management by In having policies and procedures in place to protect your members. The JVA prioritizes the safety of junior volleyball athletes by providing the proper resources and...
Building a Stronger Club Through Mentorship: How the JVA Mentor Program Helped Fair Play Volleyball Club Take the Next Step
Every successful volleyball club reaches a point where passion alone isn't enough to sustain growth. Building a strong organization requires systems, strategy, and the willingness to learn from leaders who have already navigated many [...]
Coaches
7 Essentials for Training and Developing Youth Volleyball Coaches
“A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.” – John Wooden Youth volleyball coaches are more than just instructors—they are mentors, motivators, and role models. Developing them properly [...]
Business Solutions: Navigating Tryout Stress and Related Lawsuits
No matter how long you’ve been in the game, tryouts evoke a range of emotions — excitement about building this season’s team, apprehension about which athletes will show up for tryouts, anticipation for helping [...]
Coaching Solutions: Managing Responsibilities for a Head Volleyball Coach and Assistant Volleyball Coach
One of the most important aspects of running a successful volleyball program at any level—especially in junior volleyball—is having clearly defined coaching roles during matches. When both the head coach and assistant coach understand [...]
Boys
3 Ways to Increase Participation in Your Boys Volleyball Program
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 [...]
Beach Solutions: Practice Considerations to Maximize Potential and Develop Talent
Whether a beach program has 10 participants or 100, coaches need to have a plan in place to challenge the athletes who are advanced, while also keeping the players on the lower court motivated [...]
From the JVA Office: The Chitown Boys Challenge Makes Boys Volleyball History
In 2021 the JVA and AAU teamed up to create three new boys events as part of the JVA AAU Boys Volleyball Tournament Series to launch in the 2022-2023 season. The first event in the [...]
Girls
An Athleader’s Journey: Uplifting Children in India Through Beads of Hope
Miah was introduced to volleyball in the 4th grade by her mom who also played volleyball when she was young, and encouraged her to try it. She is so grateful that she did, because [...]
An Athleader’s Journey: Bringing People Together Through Leadership
Piper Coy has always been driven to lead and make a difference in her community and school. It seemed only natural that in the same year Piper was introduced to volleyball was the same [...]
An Athleader’s Journey: Turning Expectation into Joy
Caitlin moved to a new school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and did not have many close friends. Her parents both played volleyball when they were younger, and suggested that she try out for the [...]
Beach
JVA Announces the 2025 JVA Best in Beach powered by VKTRY Performance Insoles
(July 2, 2025. Naperville, Illinois) The JVA is pleased to announce the 2025 JVA Best in Beach powered by VKTRY Performance Insoles that recognizes the nation’s top female JVA beach athletes for outstanding achievement [...]
JVA Presents the 2025 JVA Beach Watch List powered by VKTRY Performance Insoles
The JVA is pleased to announce the 2025 JVA Beach Watch List presented by VKTRY Performance Insoles that recognizes the top female beach athletes from JVA member clubs this season. Nearly 300 JVA beach [...]
Inside the NCAA Settlement: Financial Implications for the Future of Collegiate Beach Volleyball
It is the dawn of a new era in collegiate athletics. The landmark NCAA House Settlement has finally been approved. The settlement ends three separate antitrust lawsuits alleging that the NCAA unlawfully limited the [...]
Culture
From the JVA Office: Facing Rejection and Taking Risks
Rejection comes in many shapes, scenarios and forms. The struggle that comes with rejection causes some to fear rejection and avoid the hard situations, and instead they remove themselves from the chance to fail. But playing it safe only limits...
5 Ways to Prevent Entitlement in Youth Sports
Entitlement is unfortunately becoming more prevalent in youth sports today, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. Young athletes feel as if they “deserve” certain consideration regardless of preparation or effort. Parents, coaches, mentors, grandparents, leaders of young...
How Small Volleyball Clubs Thrive in a Competitive Market
The size of the club will not break your success; a small mindset will. The increase in junior volleyball participation has led to growth in the number of junior volleyball clubs. New clubs are forming, large clubs are acquiring smaller...
Events
JVA World Challenge Raises Over $17,000 to Support Metastatic Breast Cancer Research
JVA is a proud supporter of the Side-Out Foundation for over a decade, and through the JVA World Challenge, held APRIL 11-13, 2026, JVA raised $17,650 that will be donated directly to help save [...]
Behind the Whistle: Playing in the Opponent’s Space
Under current USA Volleyball (USAV) rules, there are specific conditions under which a player may legally enter or play the ball within the opponent's space, whether above, below, or across the net. Reaching Beyond [...]
JVA Partners with AIM Sports Group to Elevate the Youth Volleyball Experience with AIM+
AIM+, the AI-Powered Digital Platform and Ecosystem for the Youth Sports Industry, is now Being used to Enhance the JVA Event Experience NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Junior Volleyball Association (JVA), the leading organization focused solely [...]
Awards
TEAM Kiwi Wins JVA Club of the Month
Founded in March 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, TEAM Kiwi Volleyball Club was built from the ground up by Eric Praetorius and Spencer Hilland with a clear mission: to create [...]
JVA Names the Recipients of the 2025 JVA Junior Club Service Award
JVA is pleased to announce the 35 individuals honored with the 2025 JVA Junior Club Service Award. This award recognizes the dedication and loyalty of the coaches, club directors and administrators of JVA member [...]
JVA Names Two Volleyball Directors for the AVCA T.E.A.M. Awards
The JVA is proud to honor two volleyball club directors, Erin Golden and Ron Reyes for the AVCA T.E.A.M. Awards—which promote Togetherness, Empowerment, Accessibility, and Mentoring within the volleyball community. The AVCA T.E.A.M. Awards [...]
Training
6 Ways to Help Volleyball Athletes with Anxiety and Panic Attacks
In the US, nearly one in three adolescents suffer from an anxiety disorder, and according to the NCAA, 85% of athletes suffer from anxiety or panic attacks. Coaches often spend a significant amount of [...]
3 Ways for Volleyball Athletes to Build Mobility
Being a mobile athlete should be a goal for all individuals playing the sport of volleyball. Greater mobility and flexibility allows for volleyball athletes to perform the ranging movements needed to receive the ball, [...]
3 Benefits of Upper Body Strength Training for Volleyball Athletes
It can be easy to focus on the lower body when training for volleyball. All of the jumping, fast reactions and explosive movements that happen on the court are started by the lower [...]
Parents
NIL Basics for Volleyball Club Directors, Coaches, and Parents
Preparing Your Volleyball Athletes for Future Opportunities With Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) now a part of the college sports landscape, volleyball athletes have the opportunity to benefit financially from their personal brand. While [...]
6 Ways to Help Volleyball Athletes with Anxiety and Panic Attacks
In the US, nearly one in three adolescents suffer from an anxiety disorder, and according to the NCAA, 85% of athletes suffer from anxiety or panic attacks. Coaches often spend a significant amount of [...]
Recruiting Solutions: A List of Player and Parent Do’s and Don’ts
As the club season is upon us, here are some do’s and don’ts that college coaches look for when they get a chance to evaluate and communicate with student athletes and parents during the club [...]
Recruiting
Recruiting Solutions: Tournament Season Checklist for Upperclassmen
The High School Season is over and it’s finally about time for in-person recruiting to get back into full swing. If you're an uncommitted junior or senior and want to play in college, THIS ARTICLE [...]
JVA Partners With SportsRecruits To Power College Recruiting Efforts
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - November 2nd, 2023 – The Junior Volleyball Association (JVA) is thrilled to announce its collaboration with SportsRecruits, the leading college recruiting network, to enhance the college recruiting efforts for its member organizations. [...]
Recruiting Solutions: Keeping Momentum Going During the Fall
The Fall High School Season can be a busy time of year for a lot of high school volleyball players. Many players have limited communication with their club coaches and club recruiting staff. It’s also [...]
Travel
Building a Budget and Schedule for the Volleyball Club Season
It’s September, which means we are in full preparation mode for the upcoming season, and the most time consuming part of preparation is budgeting and scheduling for each team. Here are factors that can guide a director when preparing...
2020 JVA Challenge Series presented by i6 Features Record Number of Events
The JVA is pleased to announce a record breaking 31 events named to the 2020 JVA Challenge Series presented by i6. These events share in the JVA’s ideology to provide high quality events and a great experience for all their participants...
A Summary of the Girls 18’s Indoor Championships Survey Results
This past summer, we posted an article about the various options that U-18’s have to finish their season. We also addressed feedback from some of the coaches who attended the various championships, and concluded with a survey to gather...
