Youth Boys Volleyball: New league designed to help busy athletes experience volleyball

By Michael Bower

The choices are overwhelming: baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, water polo, volleyball ... the list of sports children can play is practically endless.

It use to be these sports each had their own season throughout the year, but with specialization now taking over at an earlier age most are available to be played year around.

That means kids often fill up a calendar with practices, clinics and games with only a couple of sports. This is fine for the sports popular with children, but for sports such as boys volleyball it keeps many kids from ever experiencing the game.

Poway High boys volleyball coach Charlie Jackson is out to combat that problem.

Jackson along with the Epic Volleyball Club in Poway has announced two new eight-week youth boys volleyball leagues, specifically designed to accommodate young athletes playing multiple sports and without much time.

One league is for grades third through sixth grade and the other is for grades seven through nine. Both leagues only ask for one night per week of practice — either Tuesday or Wednesday — and one Friday night match per week at 5 p.m. There is no weekend commitment, leaving kids plenty of time to participate in their other sports.

“The whole intention is to help grow the sport of volleyball by giving our younger kids a chance to experience it,” said Jackson, who added the league will focus on introducing boys to volleyball through individual skills and match play. “We were finding kids were coming into ninth grade and being asked why they do not tryout for volleyball and it is because they have never played before.”

Registration, followed by a skills assessment and parent meeting, will be on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Epic Volleyball Club. Kids only have to attend one session. This is where kids choose which day they would like to practice.

“This is something different,” Jackson said. “No weekend commitment and only a hour and a half of practice on the day they can make it and games will be about an hour or so on Fridays. It will be a lot of fun with all four courts going out there.”

Each league will have four teams, which will be coached by experienced Epic Volleyball instructors. Cost is $125 and will include a jersey, practice shirt and end of the season awards.

“The coaches are really excited to work with the kids,” said Jackson, who has 199 career-coaching victories over 10 years at Poway. “All the coaches involved have a lot of experience. Westview’s coach Steve McLaughlin is going to do it along with many others with varsity coaching experience.”

The two biggest fans so far of the arrival of the league is Jackson’s 10-year-old son, Hayden, and 8-year-old son, Preston. Almost two years ago, Hayden brought a group of his friends to Epic for a volleyball birthday party. Those 10 boys loved it so much that they started playing together on Friday nights in the fall.

“I am really excited and I really am looking forward to playing games,” Hayden said. “I really think this will help more boys play volleyball.”

Both of the leagues will start on Sept. 3 and run through Oct. 25. Practices will be Tuesday or Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Kids will be divided into teams by the Epic Volleyball Club coaches.

For more information or to pre-register, contact Steve Lamb via email at Steve@epicvb.com.