2008 Arizona Juniors Volleyball Club

2008 Arizona Juniors History

About the Arizona Juniors

The Arizona Juniors Volleyball Club was started in 1979 and was the first Junior Olympic club in the Southwest United States. At that time Junior Olympic volleyball was played primarily in California and the Great Lakes region.

Each year the Arizona Juniors Club supports 10 teams in four age groups with our season running from mid November through June. Annually we compete in local and national tournaments and are consistently one of the top clubs in the United States.

In January and March we host two national tournaments; The Fiesta Classic Volleyball Tournament and the Sonoran Classic. These combined create an opportunity for our players to compete against some of the best teams in the country with over 200 teams and 2000 players competing at Arizona State University and other high school gyms. These tournaments are ideal recruiting tournaments for collegiate coaches with often between 50 to 100 coaches in attendance.

Club Head Coaches

Bernard Ing, Joe Soares and Tom Person have been coaching volleyball a combined 70 years at the collegiate, club and high school levels. Bernie learned volleyball while in high school in Hawaii and brought his skills to Arizona State University. He was the head coach at Scottsdale Community College when Scottsdale won three NJCAA National Championships in the 80’s. Joe learned his volleyball on the big island of Hawaii and was a collegiate All-American player in college. Joe coached the men’s team at Brigham Young University before coming to Arizona. Tom played volleyball at the recreational level before helping with the women’s teams at Mesa Community College. All three began the Arizona Juniors program in 1980 and have been teaching players and preparing players for the college game ever since.

What We Teach

All coaches are products of their experiences so we have always made a point to learn from some of the best coaches in the country. What we teach, even at the beginning level, are the skills the girls will need to continue to develop as club, high school and collegiate players. On average, 10 to 12 Arizona Juniors players per year go on to four-year colleges to continue their education and to play volleyball on scholarship.

Over the years we have been very lucky to have experiences that have enabled us to teach volleyball at a very high level. In 1982-84 we were able to spend some time with the U.S. Olympic team coaches in their preparation for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where they won the silver metal. One of the assistant coaches on that team was Brian Gimmillaro who is currently the head coach at national powerhouse Long Beach State University. Annually we make a trip to Long Beach and spend a couple of days in their gym watching what they are teaching and talking with Coach Brian Gimmillaro and Debbie Green, the setting coach and former Olympic team setter. Debbie is generally considered to be the best setter coach in the country and has trained several All-American players. Through the years we have developed a network of college and club coaches who we see regularly at tournaments and with whom we can freely exchange ideas and learn new techniques. Last year we took an extended week to go to both Stanford and USC to observe practices, talk to coaches and ask questions.

Within the club, we have coaches meetings four or five times a year when we meet with the entire 25 coach staff, introduce new techniques and drills, exchange ideas and go over the basic and advanced skills. This is done to ensure that what we teach is consistent and effective through all the age groups.

About the practices

We practice two or three times per week and compete in six local tournaments and three to four (depending on the team and age group) national tournaments each year including the Fiesta Classic and the Sonoran Classic which we host here in Arizona. Practices for the younger players are geared toward developing individual skill and improving flexibility and conditioning during the early part of the season. As the season progresses we spend more time on team play and cohesion. Practices are meant to be both fun and meaningful. In the older age groups we gear more toward the advance skills and getting players ready to play at the collegiate level.

About the players

Over 225 Arizona Juniors players have gone on to get full-ride college volleyball scholarships and play at various colleges and universities. The total value of these scholarships is over $3,000,000.00.

Fourteen Arizona Juniors players have been high school All-Americans. Twenty-one Arizona Juniors players have been members of Volleyball Magazines “Fab 50” list. Forty-four players have been collegiate All-Conference players. Fifteen players have been collegiate All-Americans.

Recent Arizona Junior Graduates

Alicia Robinson – Central – U. of Southern California
Angela Culley – Horizon – Northern Arizona
Bonnie Joralman – Deer Valley – Rhode Island
Ashley Zener – Corona – Southern Methodist
Briana Furch – McClintock – Northeastern University
Brittany Lahlum – Paradise Valley – Cal. Poly SLO
Brooke Lowry – Xavier – Univ. of Wyoming
Brynne Evans – Corona – Whitter College
Carrie Merritt – Valley Luthern – Concordia–Irvine
Cassidy Crum – Horizon – Duke/U of A
Chaz Arah – Xavier – Central Florida
Chelsea Robb – Xavier – NAU
Christie Brough – Xavier – St. Johns
Dina DeBernardi – Horizon – Loyola Marymount
Dominique Lamb – Chandler – Arizona
Erin Ford – Xavier – Wellesly College
Emily Adams – Xavier – U. of Southern California
Erica Tricco – Mountain Pointe – Univ. of Mississippi
Felice Yocopis – North Canyon – Idaho State
Janine Sandell – Deer Valley – Santa Barbara (UCSB)
Jenn Wogan – Horizon – NAU
Kathryn Freeman – Centennial – Uof Missouri St.Louis
Kelli Scott – Centennial – Univ. of Tennessee
Kelly Burrell – Xavier – Notre Dame
Kelly Mullins – Paradise Valley – West Virginia
Lauren Grover – Horizon – Univ. of Houston
Lily Philips –Horizon – University of Virginia
Lindsay Norman – Apollo – Tulane University
Marissa Taryle – Horizon – California State Stanislaus
Maura Hughes – Cactus Shadows – Marimack Univ.
Megan Tranter – Corona – Boise State
Natalie Jandreau – Corona – Grand Canyon University
Nikki King – Desert Vista – UNLV
Rachel Rieble – Xavier – Univ. of Missouri
Rachel Mittelstaedt – Xavier – Arizona State
Paige Mittelstaedt – Xavier – Arizona State University
Sarah Teslevich – Xavier – Univ. of Cal. – Irvine
Stacie Powell – Mesa – BYU
Susie Bruchhauser – Independence – West. New Mexico
Suzanne Ganem – Deer Valley – Fresno State
Tiana Newsome – Centennial – Loyola Marymount
Margie Giordano – Mountain Ridge – Arizona State

For Further Information Contact:

Tom Person – 480-831-7030
Bernard Ing – 480-897-0159