USA Volleyball, AVCA Meet with Men's College Coaches

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

AUSTIN, Texas (July 6, 2010) – USA Volleyball hosted a men’s collegiate volleyball meeting Wednesday evening in Austin, Texas, in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships.

“This meeting of collegiate men’s coaches has been a nice tradition that takes part in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships,” USA Volleyball Chief Executive Officer Doug Beal said. “A lot of college men’s coaches are able to attend as our Boys’ Junior National Championships is the number-one event on their recruiting calendar. In turn, we are able to gather everyone together to exchange ideas on the sport.”

The meeting had approximately 60 coaches in attendance, including representation from all three NCAA Divisions and the NAIA. According to Beal, this year’s meeting-of-the-minds produced a positive forum for which USA Volleyball and the sport itself can use to grow.

“We had several positive ideas that we may be able to implement next year for our Junior National Championships,” Beal said. “We had a nice exchange of opinions on the state of volleyball, what is possible and what is not possible. I am proud that USA Volleyball hosts the Boys’ Junior National Championships as it is one-of-a-kind. It is a high priority for USA Volleyball to grow this event. In turn, I think it will help grow the men’s college game.”

Beal commented that men’s volleyball is fortunate to have the efforts of Jeff Mosher, USA Volleyball coordinator of boys’ and men’s development, and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) working on its behalf.

“I truly appreciate the efforts of Jeff Mosher to stimulate this population of volleyball,” Beal said. “I also think it is a nice statement by the AVCA to have its executive director Kathy DeBoer and Amanda Brungs, who will be working with the men’s collegiate coaches for the AVCA, in attendance tonight.”

DeBoer concurred with Beal that the meeting setting is an ideal way to exchange ideas with so many of the men’s coaching fraternity.

“This is the one place, the Boys’ Junior National Championships, that almost all of the men’s college coaches come,” DeBoer said. “We get to speak to a broad number of coaches at the same time. And there are always new initiatives on the minds of the coaches.”

Among the ideas that USA Volleyball and the AVCA are working on jointly is having a U.S. Men’s A2 Camp being held in conjunction with the AVCA Annual Convention this fall in Kansas City, site of the 2010 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, as a way to expose elite men’s players to a large amount of women’s coaches. DeBoer and the AVCA are also working with Penn State University, host site for the 2011 NCAA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship, to organize a multi-state high school boys’ volleyball tournament to be held in conjunction with the NCAA event in State College, Pa.

“More than anything else, this meeting allows us to listen to men’s college coaches in a casual setting,” DeBoer said. “We have that for the women at the AVCA Convention around the NCAA tournament. This meeting for the men’s coaches is valuable in that same respect.”

Tags: American Volleyball Coaches Association, AVCA, college volleyball, men, men volleyball ncaa, NCAA, USA Volleyball Boys' Junior National Championships