2017-2018 OHIO VALLEY/NEXT LEVEL BEACH VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM

Hello Everyone from Club Director Rob Long,

After another great beach season that saw club athletes win two more National Championships and 3 more podium finishes, we are ready to embrace 2017-2018 and see who will be the next champions.  The number of club members that are committed to play in college or on the verge of doing so is growing at a super -fast rate and will approach around 20 athletes by summer!  As far as championships, podium finishes and committed college athletes, Ohio Valley Next Level Beach Volleyball Club are tops in the country. It is so much fun being a part of helping the athlete’s reach their goals in the sport of beach. The Next Level group had only one senior last year, Gracie Garanich, whom is off to play beach at Mercer. That being said, this year looks to be our deepest and most talented group ever. VERY EXCITING THINGS TO COME IN 2017-2018

What to Expect This Year in Cincinnati

This year the club will begin the year with a 3 hour practice Sunday October 22nd from 12:00 to 3. This Sunday practice will introduce everyone to our warm up routine and training expectations for practices.

Practice will then begin formally on . Monday October 23rd from 3:30 to 6

Practices will be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 tp 6pm 

What to Expect This Year in Columbus

This year the club will begin the year with a 3 hour practice Sunday October 29th from 12 to 3pm. This Sunday practice will introduce everyone to our warm up routine and training expectations for practices.

Practice will then begin formally on . Wednesday Nov 1st from 3:30 to 6pm

Practices will be held Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 – 6pm

 

2017 Club Structure:

Club practices this year will be broken down into two groups. Group one will be the Next Level group. This group will consist of the girls whom desire to play the sport on the Next Level collegiately and nationally. This group is Invite or tryout only.

The second group will be the Ohio Valley Beach Level up program. This program offers athletes a chance to learn and grow in the sport of beach volleyball. We want athletes to have the chance to learn the beach game and compete locally and regionally. This program is a really good stepping stone and taste of beach volleyball training for athletes to see what the beach game and culture are all about.

Next Level Training group expectations

Our Next level training group consists of the highest level of Volleyball training. If you are looking to play beach on the next level or want to become a better trained and conditioned volleyball athlete for your indoor progression, this is the group for you. The athlete’s that come to these workouts will be pushed to become better physically and mentally, they are fun, but very challenging.

Cincinnati – Invites for this training group will go out September 18th . You will need to confirm your participation by October 1st .If you do not receive and invite, you may contact Rob for a tryout.The club will begin training on the Sunday October 22nd date and run through August 1st. The competitive season is broken down into a winter season and a summer season. Winter is November to the end of April and summer is May to the first week of August

Columbus – Invites for this training group will go out October 1st . You will need to confirm your participation by October 21st . If you do not receive and invite, you may come to the tryout on October 29th or the tryout on November 2nd from 3:30-6pm. The club will begin training on the Wednesday Nov. 1st date and run through August 1st. The competitive season is broken down into a winter season and a summer season. Winter is November to the end of April and summer is May to the first week of August.

Athletes can choose to go full time or part time any given month during the season. Full time is more than one practice a week and part time is one practice a week.  The full or part time athlete can participate in any tournaments the club is involved in playing, we want to continue to make it possible for all of our athletes to pursue beach and indoor if that is their desire. I will say, that athletes that take months off of their sand game, tend to have a hard time keeping up with the more committed athletes when summer comes around and the National Championship events in July.

Full time beach will be $125 a month and part time will be $75 a month.

All next level club members will pay a one -time $150 club fee, due upon acceptance into the club.

Practice Structure

Practices are 2.5 hours in length. The first 30 min consist of structured warm up drills that focus on all the elements of the beach game and developing good technique and muscle memory. The next hour and a half of the practice is broken down into fast paced game speed situational drilling. The beach game is very random, so training in game speed situations makes for the best competition development. The last 30 min is generally full go competition.

Athletes will be separated 8 to a court based on their skill level not age group. We want all the athletes to train at a level that is comparable to their own. The coaches decide which athletes go to which courts. There are often many courts with similar levels of play so kids should not get hung up on being on a certain court. I have to stress trusting the coaches on this; we are there to help the athletes on their best path to success. You may be the best player on your court or the worst, push yourself to get better in either scenario.

Conditioning is a key ingredient in the beach game. Playing many matches in hot humid conditions in a doubles format takes a high level of fitness. During our practices we do quite a bit of conditioning that is all beach volleyball specific. It is challenging but necessary to reach peak performance in the sport.

We end practice daily with our stretching routine. I am a big believer in flexibility for injury prevention, recovery and athleticism, so we make this a priority.

Cincinnati – New Beach Club Space at Grand Sands

This year the club will have a nice space at Grand Sands built out for our use. This space will include a lounging area, video area for breaking down performance video and strategic training, added workout equipment for our strength and fitness training, a recruiting and video making help area and a kitchen for nutritional needs for the athletes.

The athletes will be able to utilize this area from 3 until 10:00pm Monday through Sunday for workouts after practice or on off days. The nutritional area will be stocked with good snacks and smoothie ingredients for the athletes to self- serve before and after training and workouts. Strategic video breakdown with Rob will have to be scheduled and will be available pre or post training daily. This is going to train the athletes to prepare to game plan more accurately for successful tournament play.

This area will also be a club community space for us to continue to grow together as a club.

To take advantage of this area your monthly fee will be $40 dollars more. Full time then would be $165 and part time would be $115. I really believe this area will be an asset to those who want to reach peak fitness and the Micro next level of their beach progression.

Columbus – New Beach Club Space at Flannagan’s Dublin

This year the club will have a beautiful training space at the newly built Field House indoor sand facility at Flannagan’s in Dublin. The new facility boasts 6 indoor sand courts and a full food and beverage menu for spectators.

Tournament Play and Travel

Tournament play will be offered, locally, regionally and nationally. Players in the Next Level program can choose which events they would like to participate in. Locally: The first Local Juniors event will be help in November and from then on each month we will host a tournament at Flannagan’s and Grand Sands. Regionally: The club will play Ohio Valley Region Events that are generally run at Grand Sands or in Columbus at Flannigan’s. There are usually multiple winter tournaments and a full schedule of summer tournaments in the region to play. Nationally: The club generally travels out to one National event each month beginning at the end of December. These National level events are great opportunities to play against the best competition out there and be seen by college recruiters. Each one of the National tournament trips the club takes has its own budget attached to the trip. When we travel as a club, the athletes will all travel together, lodge together, eat together and train together. The budget is all inclusive for these trips. Parents are welcome to travel with the club as chaperones at a reduced cost and play a role in the organization and execution of the trip. This may mean helping as a driver, help shop and prepare meals and just general supervision of the athletes. We do things this way because it is much cheaper for everyone, and more importantly it builds are beach community’s relationships and creates sense of belonging within the club. We train and play hard and that is the first priority but we also have a great time together at some beautiful tournament sites slumber partying together. Parents do not have to travel to events; we take very good care of the athletes. That being said, we push the athletes to take responsibility for themselves and evolve as young adults in being able to handle themselves away from the home nest. In the winter, most of the trips are two or 3 day trips leaving Thursday evening and returning Sunday night, missing school on Friday may be necessary. Once we hit summer and the athletes are out of school, the trips are much longer and can range from a 3 day up to a 15 day stay in California. Again, the athletes choose what events are in there best interest to attend. We suggest which tournaments committed Next Level players should attend based on their goals but nothing is mandatory.

Tournament partnering

The subject of partnering is always a main focus in the beach game since it is played as a doubles sport. I would say this is the most challenging part of beach volleyball to adjust to coming from a team sport that team members and playing time is controlled by the coach with little to know input by the players. Beach is the opposite! Coaches do suggest partnerships that may look like good fits for both athletes but in the end, it is up to each athlete to find partners in the program that fit their game well and give them the best chance to succeed. Almost nobody comes into the program with a partner so everybody is in the same boat. The athletes that are assertive, train hard and are fun, positive players have no problem finding partners. Athletes that are stoic, low energy and un-assertive or negative have difficulty.  I am always happy to try to match people the best that I can with in the club or even outside of the club if need be but if I do this you take what I can get. I do not have a partner tree that fits everyone’s exact needs perfectly; there is rarely a perfect fit. Partnering is often trial and error until you find someone that is a good match that you gel with. Anyone who has played beach for any length of time has had good and bad partners. Growing in your own self -awareness of what you have to offer as a partner and working on getting better at those things will make you a POPULAR  PARTNER OPTION.

The end game at Ohio Valley Next Level Beach is to help develop well rounded, well-conditioned, intellectual volleyball players who take ownership of their path in the sport. We will put the time in to your child to get to know them as individuals and their volleyball game.  We are all about developing good habits for sport and life and hope to model that for all the athletes setting them up to succeed.

Any questions regarding the program can be directed to Rob Long at

rob@ohiovalleybeachvolleyball.com

See you in the sand.

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