The growth of volleyball in Connecticut has just exploded! Those of you who know me are probably aware that I’m a volleyball fanatic. Husky Volleyball started in 1999 because there were no clubs within 40 miles of Hartford. If you had suggested to me back then that Husky VB would have more than 50 teams and have our own volleyball center I would have said “Well that sounds pretty cool but you’re dreaming” while walking away laughing.

It’s 2019 and we had 54 teams last winter, our 3 summer Boot Camps were all filled to capacity and our fall league went from being something that we “tried out” The Den during the fall to being completely full this year!

Growth

What do we owe this growth to? The biggest thanks have to go to our coaches. Their dedication to becoming students of the game helps provide our club players with the experience that they are seeking (even if they initially don’t know what they are seeking just yet). Our coaches are club alumni, high school coaches, college players, and adults who love the sport of volleyball. We have alumni coaches that are now head and assistant collegiate and club coaches all over the country and are sincerely grateful that we were able to have a part in their development. I’m being completely honest when I say that having “The Den” has played a part in our coaches and players’ development. Having 6 courts (usually all going at the same time) has allowed our coaches to share ideas and also given our younger players the opportunity to see our older players setting an example by practicing and playing hard.

Competition

I’ve always enjoyed competition. Even as a near-senior citizen and more experienced adult I still get to compete nationally and internationally as a player (just like I did when I was a youngster in my 20s 30s… and 40s… you get the point). Our goal is to try to pass that competitive instinct on to our players. We try to put all of our players in a position to compete at the highest skill-appropriate level available to them. That being said our philosophy doesn’t waver from reminding our players that they need to concentrate on the process of getting better (and not just the result). That means that they need to push themselves to leave the gym better than they came in.

Gratitude

We are grateful for the success that we’ve had. We are grateful to the parents of the players for supporting their kids and their loyalty to the program. We are grateful to the coaches who put hours in and out of the gym to make our players better. I’m grateful to my wife for putting up with the insanity of the club season (which used to be 6 months long and now is a year-round venture).

The Future

We’re continuing to work hard behind the scenes to give our players the best club experience possible. We send our top teams to national-level competitions, our regional players have some of our most experienced “master” coaches helping out at their Sunday practices and our summer campers get to see some collegiate Division 1 and even Olympic-level coaches.

We need more space! We’re working on finding a new location to help meet our future needs. We hope to have some news on that sometime in the winter of 2020.

In Conclusion

Hopefully, we can continue to meet the needs of the nearby volleyball community. I will promise you this:

– We will continue to be a player/parent-friendly club. I want all of our players treated the same way that I would want my kids treated (and they both played in the club).

– Husky Volleyball has the same goals that we’d like to see our players have, to get a little better every day.