Building Our Team![]() We are very excited to introduce you to Coach Tara! She is joining our team of awesome women coaches who are dedicated to helping girls and young women grow through the sport of volleyball. Coach Tara comes to us with loads of volleyball knowledge and experience, being a former Division I athlete and a Division I and Division II collegiate coach. Coach Tara will be leading our July summer camps this year. She will also be a valuable addition for our setter & hitter development program for our Level 3 + Level 4 athletes. _____________ [FULL BIO] 🏐Tara Farmer is the current JV and Varsity Volleyball coach at Burlington Christian Academy, 2022 TRI-TAAC Conference Winners. 🏐Tara was a four-year starter for Division I Big East member Seton Hall University, and holds records in blocking and hitting percentage. 🏐Tara then moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to earn her Master's Degree, while coaching for Club South (now Upward Stars) and acting as the head coach at Converse College (Division II). 🏐After she finished her education, she began her eight years of lead assistant coaching at Wofford College (Division I), while coaching various successful club teams aged 14’s-16’s for Club South (now Upward Stars). 🏐Tara is married to Edgar Farmer, Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Elon University, and mom to Kalan and Kieryn. Our Spring Term kicked off on March 18th and runs through May 21st! We have lots of new beginner athletes training at Volleyballer this term and cannot wait to watch their progress in these 8 weeks! Our higher level returners are pushing themselves to improve and we are here for it! Great start ladies! #letsgo
Y'all meet Madeline! She is the one of the most dedicated athletes at Volleyballer. We are so proud of how far she has come in her training and building her confidence. She came to us as a Level 1 beginner and is now training with us on the Level 2 Developmental Team. She and her mom have shared some of their experience with us in a little interview below. Before Volleyballer did you have athletic goals when it came to volleyball? Before Volleyballer, I tried out for my middle school team, but I didn't make it. The coach offered me the opportunity to be the team manager and practice with them. It definitely helped me understand the game more, but wasn't enough to improve my skills a ton. So, when I tried out later for a club team, I once again didn't make it. Our school athletic director was really supportive and recommended Volleyballer. Ever since, I have been training with them to try to get better and hopefully make the school team and possibly a club team someday. Volleyballer has taught me so much and I definitely feel more optimistic about making my team next year. I plan to show my coaches how much I have improved, and make them proud. I already know that my family, friends, and coaches from Volleyballer Academy are proud, and have helped me every step of the way. Which skills did you lack knowledge and technique on? Before I started Volleyballer, I knew I loved the sport, but I lacked knowledge and technique, especially on serving and hitting. Now thanks to Volleyballer I can make a serve well over the net, can make a hit over and score a point, and have gotten much better at drills and games. I also have built up my confidence. I started off being very shy, not making many friends at class, but as my confidence on the court grew, that showed through in my daily life. Volleyballer has improved my skills so much over such a short period of time, and it was fun, too. What was your first impression of Volleyballer? My first impression of Volleyballer was that it would help me learn how to get better, but I didn't know how much and I didn't know how fun it would be yet. Coach Ariel and Ms. Jocelyn were very welcoming and made me feel comfortable. I will never regret a second of doing Volleyballer. It is so much fun, helpful, and can build up skills that I use in my daily life off the court, too, like commitment, confidence, teamwork, patience, and kindness. Were you intimidated or lack confidence your first time at Volleyballer? I was very shy and not confident at all when I first entered Volleyballer. I thought I would do horribly, and people would notice that. There were so many girls there that I admired and aimed to be as good as, because of their personality, confidence, and skills. Now I am partnering up with some of them and able to keep up! Volleyballer has made me into a more confident person, and I love it, and will be forever grateful to them for all the support Coach Ariel, Ms. Jocelyn, and Coach Meredith have given me. How has Volleyballer impacted your life as a player and a person? Volleyballer has changed my life for the better. I have been more confident, therefore trying new things, taking risks, and just in general being a better teammate and friend. I have lost all shyness when it comes to meeting new people, and have completely engaged myself in learning more volleyball. I always try to practice after school, before school, and honestly sometimes during school too, at recess. The only reason I am so hooked on volleyball is because of Volleyballer. Coach Ariel, Ms. Jocelyn, and all the other coaches that I have met have helped me get better. Volleyballer has changed my life forever, and I am so glad it did. Have you created any new athletic goals since joining Volleyballer? Since I started Volleyballer my goals have changed and grown. I just wanted to get good enough to make my school team. I now want to make the school team, gain more skills with Volleyballer, make a club team, and I love it so much that I want to get good enough to KEEP making the team, through the rest of middle school, high school, and even college. I love volleyball, and I am so glad Volleyballer has opened up my world to new possibilities, and chances that I never would have taken before. How did attending multiple events help you grow? After the first class that I did at Volleyballer, I couldn't help but come back for more. Every class I did helped build on what I previously learned and I love it. It helped me break down why we do what we do on the court and add to what I was learning every time. My coaches made sure that I got the most out of Volleyballer, and I made sure they got the most out of me by always giving it 100%. Will you continue to train with us? I will definitely continue to train with Volleyballer. Even if I make the school or club team, I will always be a Volleyballer and come when I can. Volleyballer has helped me so much I wouldn't want to end such a good thing when, to me, it's just getting started. Every class I take I leave having learned something new about the game or my own abilities. I know I will keep training at Volleyballer, and would recommend it to anyone who loves this sport. At what moment did you realize as an individual and a family that attending more than one Volleyballer event for your skill level would be beneficial to your athletes growth? As a family, we prioritize supporting local women- and minority-owned businesses as a practice, so it was an easy choice to sign up for her first boot camp. Meeting Coach Ariel and Jocelyn, learning why they do what they do, and seeing firsthand the commitment and energy they give to the girls made coming back for more a no-brainer. One bootcamp hooked us, and we're now volleyballers for life. The more she attends, the more she grows as a player and a person, and we are so grateful she has found a community where she can learn and thrive and have fun doing it. -Madeline's mom SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17th | 10:30am - 12:45pmOur Winter Term training session begins January 17th and runs through March 12th, 2023. We are hosting our Winter Term Open House and free clinics for each level on Saturday, December 17th. This open house is for new families to come in and meet the owners and trainers and experience a little taste of our training program. We will have free 30 minute mini clinics during the specified time slots for each level. Athletes must register for the mini clinic to attend. Space is limited. Drop-ins are welcome to come and watch and participate in the Q&A.
LEVEL 1- OPEN HOUSE- 10:30-11:15AM
LEVEL 2/3- OPEN HOUSE- 11:15AM-12PM
LEVEL 4- OPEN HOUSE- 12-12:45PM
![]() It’s July. That means that it is time to think about club volleyball tryouts for the 2022-23 season. Clubs have moved 15-18U tryouts from the late fall to the late summer in recent years, so athletes and parents don’t have quite as much time to prepare and explore different options for club (travel) volleyball. We want to help families who are new to club volleyball with this helpful list of of things to know. Club volleyball in NC offers competitive volleyball teams for a wide range of athletic abilities and travel commitment levels. When looking for a club it is important to first determine what type of experience would be best for your daughter and what will be the best fit for your family. Do your homework and research the local options for clubs in you area. Some questions that can help you gather information are listed below. What level teams are offered at the club? What division level do they compete in at tournaments? (Team Level names will vary from club to club, because they all make up their own structure and system for their team levels, so read the fine print and ask questions.)
Understand Tournament Divisions Open Division is the top level of play in Juniors Volleyball, no matter what type of event (USAV/AAU/JVA). These will typically be the top level teams at the event competing in this divisions. There is typically a smaller number of teams in this division at tournaments. Most clubs in our area do not offer open level teams, but there are a few. Club Division is the division that many teams from our area play in. This level of play offers great competition with like-level teams. Many 2-3 day tournaments offer Open & Club divisions only. National Championship Tournaments divisions are listed below. AAU/ JVA Volleyball Divisions Any team may register and attend AAU nationals.
USA Volleyball Divisions Teams must “qualify” at a USAV National Qualifier event during their season by placing high enough to earn a “bid."
What is the season schedule?
What are the season costs?
Find someone who has played there before and ask them questions.
Club volleyball can be a great experience for young athletes. But finding the right club and team is a tricky process sometimes. If you go in with a clear list of priorities of what your athlete wants to get out of this experience, it will be easier to determine which club/team is the right fit for your family. Go to as many open gyms, clinics, pre-tryout events as possible. Every club has a different culture. This is the most important predictor of what your experience may be. Your daughter will know how she feels once she has been to some events at the club. Finding a place where she is comfortable and enjoys the club culture and the coaches is the key to making a good choice for her. Find the best place for her, where she is right now in her development. Things change quickly in the world of club volleyball, so take it one step at a time! Good luck and enjoy the journey! ___________________________ We asked some local clubs to give us some information to share with our families for a starting guide when exploring clubs. Click here to visit the Google Doc with Local Club Information submitted for our club guide. ![]() Let us introduce ourselves! We are Volleyballer Training Academy and we are located in central North Carolina, just off of interstate 40/85 in Burlington. VTA was founded in March of 2021 by two very motivated women, Ariel Newman and Jocelyn Drye. They were inspired to create a place for young athletes to train as an individual, in a healthy and fun environment with strong mentors. VTA is a place to go to work on yourself and train your physical, mental and leadership skills. The vision for VTA is to become a volleyball athlete's dream gym! We are building a place that offers volleyball skill development, positional training, strength training, vertical training, speed and agility training, confidence training and mental performance training. It is a gym that is open to ALL youth. VTA is a neutral gym (meaning not tied to any club or school teams or coaches) where athletes can come and work out with other athletes in the area, make new connections and focus on themselves and getting 1% better every day. Find our more about our founders here and please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get involved mentoring young volleyballers! |
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