WELCOME to the volleyballer mom blog!

Introduction Time!

Welcome to all of my fellow volleyball moms out there!  I am Jocelyn Drye, a full time Volleyballer Mom for the past 9 years.  I am also the co-founder and co-owner of Volleyballer Training Academy, based in Burlington, NC.  I am very excited to meet and connect with the community of Volleyballer Moms in NC and beyond. I would love you to join me on Instagram and in my  Private Facebook Group just for Volleyballer Moms !  We have lots to discuss, so follow, join and introduce yourself! 💛

---

Q & A with Jocelyn

Can you tell us about your personal journey as a Volleyballer Mom?
I never played volleyball myself, but I’m the proud mom of two daughters, Maddy and Ava, who both fell in love with the sport after “retiring” from competitive gymnastics. My volleyball mom journey began in 2015, when I started learning about this awesome sport. That was also the year my oldest, Maddy, wrapped up her gymnastics career after 6th grade, and we became a homeschool family. Her best friend, who was her neighbor, invited her to an open gym for the homeschool volleyball team, and off we went on this crazy, exciting journey that soon became our family’s lifestyle.

Between my two girls, we’ve played with 30 different volleyball teams across YMCA, homeschool volleyball, and USAV, AAU, and JVA club volleyball, with four different clubs in NC. (Wow—it’s crazy to add all that up!) We began like many families, with both girls playing in the beginner program at the local YMCA.

Next, we moved into a regional travel team at a small local club that required minimal travel, because, honestly, club volleyball was terrifying at that point. 😂 We spent six years in the homeschool volleyball world, playing Middle School, JV, and Varsity with both girls. During that time, I also served as the athletic director for the program, where I was responsible for hiring coaches, scheduling matches and officials, communicating with parents, arranging facility rentals, and much more.

As we saw potential in our oldest daughter—who grew to 5’11” in middle school and could jump incredibly high—we made the move to a larger club to play at the national team level. Both girls followed this path of national club teams, and we’ve been fortunate to watch them excel with some of the top volleyball club teams in our state during their high school years.

We’ve also been through the college recruiting process with both girls. They each committed to Division I programs in the summer after their high school sophomore seasons. Our oldest is no longer playing collegiately, and our youngest is about to begin her collegiate journey in 2025.

So, the gist is, we’ve done and seen a lot over these last nine years. I don’t claim to be an expert in anything, but I can tell you that I have tons of experience navigating the world of youth volleyball. I love connecting with other moms (and dads) who are riding the wave too.

---

Tell us about your work with Volleyballer Training Academy?
VTA was born in my mind about six years ago. I am a lifelong entrepreneur, coming from the world of design and small business. I decided to close my jewelry business, which I had run for 14 years, when our lives required so much travel for club volleyball. I realized I couldn’t be away that many weeks out of the year—managing my company while also traveling for volleyball. So, I made the decision to close that chapter and focus on these last few years with my girls at home.

As I spent countless hours each month in volleyball gyms with my daughters, watching and listening to almost every practice, I began to notice a gap in the volleyball journey for many kids. There were so many teams to play on, but very few places offering skills training for beginner to intermediate-level players. That’s when the idea—a dream—started to form: to create an organization that supports this specific demographic of athletes and their parents, led by strong female coaches and role models. The next question was, “How?”

Luckily, the universe had my back and connected me to one of the best coaches I’ve ever known! Coach Ariel Newman was the perfect person to help me bring this dream to life. We met in the club volleyball world and immediately clicked on so many levels. I shared my idea with her, and she was all in—"Let’s go!" From there, our brainstorming and planning meetings began the very next month. We officially launched VTA about two months later, in 2021, and it’s been growing strong ever since. I feel so fortunate to have found a partner who shares the same vision and is 100% committed to the same mission.

Our core values--female empowerment, confidence-building, and creating a positive training environment for young athletes—are at the heart of everything we do.

---