Near and Far Meet on the Courts of Austin

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

AUSTIN, Texas (July 2, 2010) – The Austin Convention Center, with its 32 temporary Sport Court volleyball surfaces laid out on the concrete surface, is the 2010 home for the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships being held July 2-9 in Austin, Texas.

As the first Molten volleyballs were served at 8 a.m. Friday morning, Austin was an unusual location for two of the opening round pool matches. In the 12-and-Under Club Division, two courts staged four teams from Puerto Rico. Naranjito Envol faced Borinquen Coqui 12-2M, while Borinquen Coqui 12-1M challenged island rival Vaqueros 12-1.

By the time the 12-and-Under Club Division completes play on July 4, teams from Puerto Rico will dominate the podium as medals are handed. The division has seven teams competing for the gold medal, and six of the teams come from Puerto Rico.

In another odd twist to the opening match schedule, two 18 Open Division teams from two different oceans pocketed thousands of frequent flier miles to land in Austin and have each other on the docket to open the tournament. Outrigger 18, hailing from Hawaii and the USA Volleyball Aloha Region, started its tournament on championship court against its further possible opponent, Puerto Rico’s Vaqueros 18-1.

Then there is Austin Junior Volleyball Mizuno Boys, which did not have far to travel to event with its 18 Club and 14 Club teams. Today, the AJV Mizuno Boys 18 Club squad opens its schedule at 4 p.m., while the 14 Club team can relax and await its first match on Monday. All told, there will be 12 teams from Texas competing in the eight-day tournament with each championship bracket lasting no more than four days.

In years past, USA Volleyball has been actively involved in growing boys’ youth volleyball across the country. While California still has over one-third (121) of the 361 teams participating in this year’s USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships, 27 of the 40 USA Volleyball Regions have at least one club participating in the event. Half the states in the U.S. also have at least one entry.

Now that boys’ youth volleyball is growing in pockets other than California, USA Volleyball is turning its attention to advancing the sport at its lowest age groups. This year’s USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships was forced to cancel the 13 Club Division due to low turnout, while the 12 Club Division is pulling teams mainly from Puerto Rico. One avenue USA Volleyball is trying to expand the two lowest age divisions is through incentive programs to club programs.

“I would love to see more teams from the United States participate in the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships, including the youngest age groups,” USA Volleyball Coordinator of Boys' and Men's Development Jeff Mosher said. “We are in the early stages of developing an incentive program to help clubs nationwide start 12s and 13s boys’ teams and having this event as a signature event to cap their season.

“To help sustain quality growth of the sport on the men’s side, we need to expand the player base into the younger ages,” Mosher continued. “For example, North Carolina has done a great job of growing college men’s programs, faster than the local high schools can handle in adding varsity programs. They will need players to draw from to fill their rosters. As colleges add men’s programs, we will need to create more playing opportunities in the club ranks at all age levels. Ideally, if we get kids involved in the sport early, they will stay interested in the sport and become varsity-level players by the time they reach college.”

Mosher predicts one of the next geographical areas of growth for boys’ volleyball will be in the Iowa Region.

“The Iowa Region is very active in developing the boys’ game, not just in club but in the high schools,” Mosher said. “We are already seeing fruits of their labor in terms of added interest."

For updated results, schedules and brackets for the USA Volleyball Boys' Junior National Championships, click here.

USA Volleyball, in partnership with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), will video stream three days worth of championship matches during the event. The broadcast schedule includes gold medal matches for Open and Club Divisions in 18s (July 5), 16s (July 6) and 15s (July 7) age groups. The streaming video can be accessed at usavolleyball.org/live.

For more information on the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships, visit usavolleyball.org/events/2403.

2010 USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships Schedule
12 Club: July 2-4
13 Club: Cancelled due to limited team registrations
14 Club: July 5-8
14 Open: July 5-8
15 Club: July 4-7
15 Open: July 4-7
16 Club: July 3-6
16 Open: July 3-6
17 Club: July 6-9
17 Open: July 6-9
18 Club: July 2-5
18 Open: July 2-5

Tags: USA Volleyball Boys' Junior National Championships