JUNIORS INSIDER
Shack attack
Southern
California club on dominant run in girls’ 18 Open division
By Jon Hastings Photo: Peter Brouillet
By Jon Hastings Photos: Don Liebig
im Jensen maintains a volleyball address in both Malibu and Beverly Hills, Calif., two of the most glamor- ous zip codes in the country. Jensen’s philosophy on building a pow- erhouse volleyball club, however, has more blue-collar work ethic to it than Hollywood fl are. After leading Sports Shack (South- ern California Region) to two consecutive national championships in the prestigious 18 Open division at USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships the last two summers, Jensen is simply matter-of-fact about his 16-year-old club’s chances of a rare three-peat in one of the most competitive divisions in junior volleyball. “It’s simply going to take a lot of dis- cipline and commitment to practicing hard each time we are in the gym,” Jensen said. “We are going to have a new team, but there will be carry over affect on what the last two teams have accomplished. At our club there are no guarantees other than we are going to train kids to be better players than when they started.”
T
Jensen, who is also the top assistant for Pepperdine University’s women’s team in Malibu which made a run to the 2011 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Champion- ship regional fi nals in December, his role as college recruiter and club screener are in
36 | VOLLEYBALLUSA
stark contrast with each other. “We don’t recruit kids to Sports Shack,” he said. “They come to us and we decide together if we are the right place for them. It’s got to work both ways.” Sports Shack offers just 16 to 18 teams
per year, unlike some of the larger clubs which often sport twice as many teams in an equal number of age divisions. Jensen owns Sports Shack with former Cal State Northridge setter Chris McGee, who is better known for his glib wit as the voice of pro beach volleyball while being employed by the Association of Volleyball Professionals for more than a decade. The two best friends also benefi t from a silent fi nancial inves- tor, who leaves the volleyball operations to Jensen and McGee. The pair fi nd sanctuary in the twice per week practices at Marymount High School in Beverly Hills where they rent the gym for the Sports Shack workouts. They also employ a family of coaches who are rooted in the Southern California volleyball scene many of whom climbed the ranks as Sports Shack players.
“Either Chris or myself are always at the practices and most of the time both of us,” Jensen said. “Both of our situations are different, but we fi nd the time to make the Sports Shack experience a big part of our
lives. My wife says Chris is my mistress because we are always on the phone talking about the club.”
McGee, who works for Fox Sports on
Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Angels’ telecasts as a sideline reporter, has not been able to cut ties with the sport he played at Cal State Northridge. The success of Sports Shack and his chemistry with Jensen are two big reasons. “Tim has such a passion for teaching the game,” McGee said. “We both want to learn from other coaches and we have so many contacts in the game. It’s been great to grow together as coaches and help prepare and make our players better.”
Nina Matthies, who has been the head coach at Pepperdine for 29 seasons, has given Jensen the space to operate a profi table club while performing his demanding duties as a top assistant. The fl exibility keeps a high profi le assistant coach like Jensen on a col- lege staff and not constantly in the coaching carousel hunting for head jobs. “Nina has been supportive and I love my position at Pepperdine,” Jensen said. “I have learned a lot from her and having the club has enabled my wife to stay at home with our two kids.” Sports Shack annually churns out NCAA Division I players, including two who squared off against each other in the NCAA
HANDS ON: Chris McGee shows Laura Leap some hand position while Tim Jensen looks on.
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