USAV Selects Boys’ Holiday Camp Rosters

Becky Murdy November 30, 2011

8-19-11_shibuya__friend__neilson_discuss_during_egypt

Photo: Courtesy FIVB

Ken Shibuya, Dan Friend and Rob Neilson at the 2011 FIVB Boys' Youth World Championships.

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: becky.murdy@usav.org

2011-12 Boys’ Youth and Select Holiday Camp Roster

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 30, 2011) – The USA Volleyball High Performance (HP) Department is pleased to announce its rosters for the 2011 Boys’ Youth and Select Holiday Camp, slated for Dec 26-30 at the Epic Volleyball Club in Poway, Calif.
 
Thirty-two youth and 17 select athletes (Youth are boys born 1996-1997 and Select are boys born 1994-1995) will join a six-person coaching staff led by head coach Ken Shibuya for a unique opportunity to practice at the highest level of volleyball at these ages. Shibuya currently serves as Stanford University men’s volleyball associate head coach and has a long list of accomplishments in the volleyball world.
 

Among his highlights, Shibuya helped Stanford to the 2010 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship title and was the head coach of Juniata College's men's volleyball program when it won three consecutive Molten Division III Men's Invitational Volleyball Championships. Shibuya has been a member of the coaching staff for the U.S. Boys’ Youth Team for five years since 2004 and has served in many levels of the boys' High Performance pipeline.

“I have had the pleasure of being involved with the Holiday Camp for the past few years and have enjoyed watching the tremendous growth of each athlete as they move on. This is a great event for all involved,” Shibuya said. “The staff and players have to give up some time away from their families during the holidays – this, in itself, shows how committed they are to becoming great. And it is all well worth it as we bring in some of the best young players in the nation to train and compete.”

Joining Shibuya will be assistant coach Dan Friend, head coach of the men’s volleyball team at Lewis University of Chicago. In addition, Friend served as assistant coach under Shibuya with the 2011 Boys’ Youth National Team in Mexico during the Youth Pan American Games. Also assisting will be Kevin Moore from Juniata College, Matt Martin from St. Louis High Performance Volleyball Club, Jonah Carson for the University of the Pacific and Dave Hunt of Pepperdine University.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with these talented young players and coaches over break,” Friend said. “It will be great to see the improvements that these players have made and make good evaluations on where they might be in the pipeline. I expect the players and coaches to work hard over the short period to maximize touches and opportunities. I can get a good start on the evaluation for the U.S. Youth Team and work on building some report.”

The USAV HP Department prides itself on offering tools, like the Holiday Camp, to young athletes to ensure best practices and habits for future volleyball careers at the collegiate level and beyond. The camp is not used as the 2012 tryout for the athletes and will not determine what level they will compete in the summer months; but it offers a bridge between seasons to showcase individual and team improvement.

“As a player at the camp, you will find out what your strengths and weaknesses are when you go against the best,” Shibuya said. “With this knowledge, you can figure out how to reach your true potential as you grow in the sport. As I have found out through my time with USA Volleyball and the High Performance pipeline, our athletes need to be continually exposed to the highest levels of play in order to compete with the world's best. The Holiday Camp is another opportunity for this to happen.”

Tags: Dan Friend, High Performance, Holiday Camp, Ken Shibuya, mobile