USA VOLLEYBALL GIRLS’ JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
STARLINGS POWER: Team members and ooaches of the Starlings-Monrovia 12 enjoyed the emotional end to long journey. Finding a way
After eight months of diligent training and long hours of fundraising, Starlings-Monrovia 12 (Southern California) made history in Atlanta in July by becoming the fi rst team in the program’s 15-year history to win a gold medal at USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships by Don Patterson
donpatson@sbcglobal.net • Photos by Daniel Shirey
T
he early days of Starlings were marked by lots of practices, lots of enthusi- asm, lots of smiles – and, truthfully, lots of lopsided losses. The nationwide vol- leyball club, which was founded by former USA player Byron Shewman and two-time Olympian Kim Oden, launched in 1996 with a primary mission – to provide a volleyball experience for kids across the country whose families didn’t have the economic means to pay expensive club fees. The club grew quickly, but because most of the players came to the program with little to no
34 | VOLLEYBALLUSA
volleyball experience, Starlings teams often had a rough go of it when playing in tourna- ments against teams from more established clubs.
In 15 years, times have changed, and nothing better exemplifi es the Starlings’ evolution – and the improved skills its player are bringing to the court – than the gold medal that was won by Starlings-Monro- via 12 (Southern California) on July 1 at the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships in Atlanta. It was the fi rst- ever gold medal for a Starlings team in the
12 American Division, and they did it with a perfect 10-0 match record, losing just three sets.
“It used to be that we were really a doormat,” says Shewman, whose club now serves approximately 3,000 girls in more than 50 U.S. cities and has sent more than 200 players on to college volleyball scholar- ships. “Now Starlings teams are to be reck- oned with a little bit. It’s not an automatic win anymore.” Starlings-Monrovia is a microcosm of the
entire club, a blend of ethnic and socioeco- Continued on Page 37
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