Gators Volleyball Club is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation dedicated to teaching volleyball through a positive coaching philosophy and state-of-the-art teaching methods. Gators Volleyball teams compete in the USAV Junior Olympic Volleyball program through the New England Regional Volleyball Association (NERVA).
We are very pleased to have a very experienced and dynamic coaching staff this year. Aside from being fine players in their own right, our coaches know that the way we were taught isn’t always the best way to teach. Volleyball has changed a lot in the past 10 years, and it continues to change. At Gators Vollyeball Club, our coaches embrace these changes and eagerly continue to learn the latest developments in the game. This constant quest for learning also affects how we coach.
The latest research on how people learn a sport like volleyball tells us that learning is very context-specific and task-specific. This means our coaches know how important it is to make practice activities as gamelike as possible and to maximize each player’s meaningful interactions with the ball. That’s why we discourage traditional 2-person pepper and will not waste a player’s time by running laps around the gym. We warm up with the ball, we practice with the ball, and we cool down with the ball. Most importantly, Gators Volleyball coaches never forget that we are coaching people (not just volleyball players), and our success as coaches is measured in how many of our players come back to play again next year.
Gators Volleyball Club continues to grow, boasting players from nine different towns. This year, we look forward to continued growth and anticipate more players trying out. We anticipate forming a similar complement of teams as last year (e.g. U14, U15, U16, and U18). Teams will travel to various tournament sites throughout New England on five different Sundays in March, April, and May of 2012 to compete against teams from other clubs. We are preparing for our most competitive and successful year yet!
