Club Volleyball and What It Has To Offer Players
Club Volleyball and What It Has To Offer Players
Taylor Takeda
Butler University
Club Volleyball and What It Has To Offer Players
Club Volleyball and What It Has To Offer Players
For my Personal Inquiry Project I decided to observe Vision Volleyball Club. The
reason that I decided to observe something so familiar to me was because I was only
exposed to half of the experience. I was once a player, learning and growing under
different coaches, but now Im observing the other end, the coaching end, of the
experience. I also thought that observing a club would be perfect for this particular
project because in the project overview the purpose was stated as, students will
investigate, conduct research communicate and present their findings on an approach,
career, or site in which some form of significant learning takes place beyond traditional
K-12 schools. I believe that club volleyball would be the perfect site to observe because
of the amount of knowledge the players take in over the season. Coaches, especially in
the club setting, are responsible for creating well-rounded and talented players.
Being from Hawaii, I wasnt sure I was going to be able to find a club in
Indianapolis that I could observe and interview the coaches. With some help from my
teammate here at Butler, Anna Logan, I had the pleasure of talking to, interviewing, and
observing Eric Bulmahn of Vision Volleyball Club. Vision Volleyball Club was created in
2010 and it was created for, serious female athletes in the sport of volleyball according
to the Vision Volleyball Club website. Some of the stated goals and objectives of the club
are, as taken from the Vision Volleyball Club website: focus on athlete wellness and
development via a well-trained, professional coaching staff and, consistent
development of the athletes overall abilities, mental, physical, and social skills needed in
volleyball and life. Once more, according to the Vision Volleyball website, success is
measured by team success overall. Directly from the website, they say, In volleyball
Club Volleyball and What It Has To Offer Players
where each player must master many different individual skills, quality repetitive training
and discipline is the difference between mediocrity and greatness. Our entire training
philosophy is based on individual player development and discipline with the
understanding that developing great individual players will lead to great teams. One of
the main points that the club stresses is the importance of creating well rounded players,
both on the court and off.
Club volleyball is an extremely critical and beneficial step for serious athletes that
wish to continue on to the next level. Yes, there will be exceptions of players who dont
play club but go on to play at the colligate level, but the vast majority of players go
through the club system. During club, players get more individualized and more focused
instruction as opposed to during the school season. Club volleyball lasts anywhere
between five to seven months, depending on how much you travel, what tournaments you
go to, and when your team starts practices. Because there is so much time spent with
coaches, players get focused and individualized help throughout the year. Over the course
of a season, coaches learn how their players learn, how coachable they are, what they are
capable of, and how to effectively coach them. Coaches then fine-tune their coaching
techniques to properly coach each individual player, helping them with certain things
they struggle with. This season is very critical to helping players who may not be the
best at that point time. During a school season players who arent the best in their
position may not get instruction and help, whereas in the club setting these players will
get the same amount of attention even without being the starter. The season is also
extremely critical in helping players get recruited. Coaches are responsible for preparing
their players for the next level, whatever that may be, and helping them with the
Club Volleyball and What It Has To Offer Players
recruiting process. Great coaches help push players to play at the colligate level in any
division. With time coaches become used to the recruitment process and have it down to a
science. These coaches have connections in the college world and they know what
players need to be ready for that next step and getting noticed by the college coaches.
One of the downfalls of club volleyball is that not all players get equal exposure.
Club volleyball is a crucial time for players to get looked at and recruited from
prospective universities and colleges of all levels. When teams go to tournaments with
numerous college coaches, players are looking to impress coaches that they have reached
out too. If not all players get the opportunity to play then the chances of being recruited
greatly drops. I am a firm believer that there is a college that is a great fit for every player
out there, but if players are not getting the proper exposure to help them get that
opportunity then players will be stuck.
The demographic of people that are being served by Vision is an extremely wide
range. Players come from all races, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and both genders.
There are multiple teams within an age division that players can be placed on, with the
highest level being the elite team and the lowest level being the regional team. Because
there are multiple levels within an age division, the club can accommodate and help train
more athletes to get to the highest level. Vision also helps families by implementing
different payment plans as opposed to requesting that all families pay the club fees at one
time during the beginning of the season.
During my site visit I had the pleasure of watching the 18 Elite team practice.
They are coached by Eric Bulmahn and Sandy Moore, and are occasionally assisted by a
current mens colligate volleyball player. During the observation I witnessed all coaches
Club Volleyball and What It Has To Offer Players
giving individualized feedback to each player on things they were struggling with. At one
point when the players were having a hard time with blocking footwork Eric stopped the
drill so that he could properly instruct them how to do the footwork so that they would
not keep doing the wrong steps. Eric actually did the footwork, in slow motion, with the
players so that they could follow him and get the proper footwork down. Within this
breakdown in technique, the coaches indirectly show how much they care for their
players. It may not seem like much, but the coaches are demonstrating that they care by
breaking the footwork down slowly for the players that way they can get the pattern
down properly. At the 18s age a coach would almost assume that players would know the
proper blocking footwork, and if they did not then the coach may just pass them over,
assuming that it is too late for the player to properly learn. These coaches demonstrated
their care for their players and the importance of learning something right, no matter how
late it may be. Another important thing that I noticed while observing this particular
practice was the stress that the coaches put on being well rounded. The coaches
understand that it important for players to be great in their specialized position but they
also need to be good at the other skills. This is another life lesson that the coaches are
indirectly teaching their players. Why should these girls just be great at one thing? They
should be great at everything, and it will give them an edge in the real world.
I learned so much about myself during this project. I learned that I definitely want
to be a coach in the future because I think it is an amazing opportunity to make an impact
on young people. It will also allow me to give back to a community that has given me so
much. I was able to see a different side of the club experience than what I was used too,
which for me is extremely beneficial. I have had the opportunities in front of me due to
Club Volleyball and What It Has To Offer Players
the wonderful coaches and mentors I had during my club experience and I hope to
someday be that for someone else. Coaches work so tirelessly to help advance their
players to be the best that they can be, usually pushing them to beyond what they
believed they were capable of. I can tell you right this second which coaches made the
greatest impact on my life. Those are the coaches that believed in me when I thought I
was not capable of playing at the next level, the coaches that pushed me to talk to
universities, the coaches that pushed me to my limits because they knew of the talent I
possessed. I would not be here, playing division I volleyball in one of the top conferences
in the nation, without everything they put into me. Coaches work just as hard as players
during the club season. In the future, I hope to be this person for so many girls looking to
play at the next level.
