Across the nation, about 900 Junior Volleyball Association clubs work yearly to assist players in achieving their objectives, whether to raise their skill level, make a high school varsity team, or get recruited by a college program. Marietta High School junior varsity and varsity athletes participate in many clubs around the Atlanta area. These clubs include A5 Volleyball, 575 Volleyball, and Tsunami Volleyball Club.
Sophomore varsity volleyball player, Ryan Sadler, plays for both the A5 Volleyball Club (A5) and the Marietta High School varsity team. A5 is the number one volleyball club in the country and allows players to get elite training from past professional and knowledgeable coaches. Sadler plans to play volleyball at the collegiate level and beyond. Sadler believes playing at this club will get her to where she wants to be.
“I know every day I’m in that [A5] gym, I get better no matter what. With Marietta volleyball, my coaches give me opportunities to improve my mental and attitude on the court,” Sadler (10) said.
Players who aspire to be collegiate athletes view the club season between the months of December and July as a chance to sharpen their talents because they are
playing against the toughest opponents. However, even the most motivated club players are urged to refrain from overtraining. The danger of overuse injuries is re- duced since the club season is nearly twice as long and the coaching philosophy emphasizes injury prevention.
“The most common injuries we see in volleyball players are ankle sprains, overuse shoulder injuries, and sprained fingers. Our goal is to keep athletes on the court/field so, the sooner we see an injury and get treatment started, the sooner we can get you back to 100 percent” Athletic trainer, Jeff Hopp said.
Jaya Moore is a Senior on the Marietta High School varsity volleyball team and a member of A5 Volleyball. Moore has committed to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. During last year’s season, Moore suffered a knee injury taking her out for the completion of the season. Moore is excited to continue her volleyball career at the collegiate level.
“Being out for almost 4 months has given me the chance to view the game from a different perspective. I’ve been able to look at everything from a coach’s viewpoint almost and it makes me feel eager to get back out there and apply everything I’ve learned to my own personal game,” Moore (12) said.
Club teams play almost as many games as prep pro- grams, which may reach 80 matches annually when summer training is taken into account. Prep programs are extensive camps that help train athletes to bring them to the next level in their skills.
Many Marietta athletes use school volleyball and club volleyball for two different reasons. This could be for the wants of playing in college or just for fun. Club volleyball allows you to travel across the country whereas high school is primarily local. Both also emphasize the importance of training but on different levels and also the buildup of team camaraderie.
There are many other ways school and club volleyball differ from one another. Chloe Herrero is a freshman on the Marietta varsity volleyball team and also has been a club volleyball player for three and a half years. Herrero finds both teams to be very different. Club volleyball and school volleyball further differ due to the fact that relationships take longer to establish as your teammates are strangers while in school volleyball you are con- stantly surrounded by people around your school.
“It can be difficult because it takes a while to get to know someone. But, you eventually get to spend a lot of time with the people on your team, and once you get to know each other you all become great friends,” Herrero (9) said.
Club and school volleyball share many common traits that overall are targeted at helping student-athletes get to the level of greatness that they want to be.