A5 Flocks to Reno for Juniors

Erin Campbell
Intern, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6864
E-Mail: erin.campbell@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 17, 2010) – Atlanta 5 (A5) will send an event-high 14 teams to the 31^st Annual USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev. The club will send a team to compete in every age group from 12-18, including four teams to play in the Open Division.

Vision also qualified 14 teams into the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships in Reno, including a team in all five Open Divisions. The next closest number of teams a club will send is 13 by Premier Volleyball club and nine teams by both Asics MAVS and Texas Tornados VBC.

“I am so humbled,” A5 Club Founder Bob Westbrook said. “It is almost overwhelming. We had a five year plan and we stuck to that plan, but we feel so blessed. We knew we’d have success and we understood how hard we had to work. For that to actually come true and to have teams qualify for Open, National and American Divisions and having people win National Open events, it’s truly humbling.”

The young club started six years ago in the metro Atlanta area. Over the years the club has grown and now has teams for ages 12-18 and a youth program under age 12 that has over 120 participants.

“Some of it is timing related,” Westbrook said. “Athletes and their families were more than ready and willing for the club experience and how we train and travel together. We are all on the same page. We have a complete top to bottom training style.”

The motivation for success in the A5 club was the lack of competitive volleyball in the surrounding Atlanta areas and much of the south over the last few years. It has been a point of Westbrook’s to create a system that would give the already large number of athletic young girls in the area the skill-set they needed to become both successful volleyball players.

“We still have a long way to go,” Westbrook said. “We feel as that our success is a testament to how hard we’ve worked, our overall team mentality and our dedication to excellence. We know that everyone has a vital role from the 11^th player on the 3-team to the top player in the club.”

The Championship will be a perfect podium for the club to display its hard work and its constant pursuit of excellence as every team that the club faces in every age group will get a sense of the style that Westbrook and his staff of coaches have ingrained in their athletes.

“What we hope the event does is provide a bunch of experience to the players,” Westbrook said. “We hope it lets them gain confidence as young women and as athletes and that it provides a sense of accomplishment for how hard they’ve worked. We hope it’s a spring board for what we do in the future.”

The USA Volleyball Girl’s Junior National Championship will begin on June 24.

Schedule:

All Girls’ 12 Divisions: June 27-30
All Girls’ 13 Divisions: June 25-28
All Girls’ 14 Divisions: June 24-27
All Girls’ 15 Divisions: June 26-29
All Girls’ 16 Divisions: June 30- July 3
All Girls’ 17 Divisions: June 28- July 1
All Girls’ 18 Divisions: June 29- July 2

For more information on the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships, click here.

Tags: Junior Nationals, USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships