REGIONS/GRASSR OO TS USAV launches its first-ever Open Court promotion
Following the bronze-medal performance of the U.S. Women’s National Team in Rio, including Alisha Glass and Foluke Akinradewo, above right, the USA Volleyball Open Court promotion allowed kids and adults to try volleyball for free. Above left, the Brevard County Starlings came in full force while (below) Florida and Evergreen regions had Open Court sand opportunities. (Photos: Evergreen Region, Ashley Shewey)
TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OLYMPIC MOMENTUM FROM Rio, USA Volleyball launched a national promotion aimed at getting prospective members, or volleyball novices, to try volleyball for free. Part- nering with 11 Regional Volleyball Associations, Open Court was offered around the country on Aug. 27 at clubs, high schools, churches and other locations.
The activities varied from location-to-location, but the concept re- mained the same: provide a place with volleyball nets and instruction for a couple hours and allow kids and adults to do various drills, learn skills and have fun.
The 40 sites welcomed over 800 kids and adults to try volleyball, both
indoor and beach, and learn about local programs. The Florida Region had 246 participants at six locations, averaging 41 per site. Great Lakes had 216.
Survey feedback from Sky High Volleyball in Great Lakes: “Open
Court was a big hit! Had a lot of new people come in and left with smiles … this was a great opportunity to grow the sport of volleyball.” Participating RVAs included Badger, Evergreen, Florida, Great Lakes,
Heart of America, Keystone, New England, Ohio Valley, Palmetto, Puget Sound, and Rocky Mountain. A special Open Court kickoff on Aug. 5 in downtown Colorado Springs attracted an estimated 250 kids.
CEVA begins Blue Ribbon Club Incentive Program Beginning with the 2016-17 season, the
Columbia Empire Volleyball Association (CEVA), one of 40 USA Volleyball Regional Volleyball Associations, will offer the Blue Rib- bon Club, a new program for junior girls’ clubs in its region. It is a voluntary, incentive-based program that has been designed to begin to address a number of areas that the CEVA staff have identified that will help continue to grow junior girls’ volleyball in the region in a positive and forward thinking manner. For some background, over the course of
this past year the CEVA staff researched trends in youth sports in general, trends in other
USAV regions around the country, as well as more specific research involving CEVA itself. While all of youth sports and all of the
USAV regions around the country have some shared issues to deal with, the CEVA noticed two trends that impacted club directors. The first of these trends showed CEVA
averaged over 200 registered, certified coaches per year that have not returned to coach in a CEVA club the following year. While a number of these can be attributed to life circumstances that prevent them from returning, a majority of those contacted by the CEVA staff stated one or two main reasons for not returning. The first reason was a lack of organization and communication within their club. The second, and by far the greatest number sited,
58 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
was the behavior of the parents. CEVA took that information to heart, real-
izing over 200 coaches per year are choosing not to return to work with the young volleyball players in its region. The second noteworthy trend involved
CEVA officials, whose numbers were down and the age increasing. The numbers illustrated that the CEVA was having a difficult time recruiting new, younger officials. Some quality officials will come on board for a year and then decide it is not what they want to be involved with. The overwhelming reason for officials leav-
ing, young or old, was the negative behavior of coaches and parents. While clubs and parents may have concerns on the quality of officials, the CEVA recognized that if the trend contin-
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