Absolute Zero Volleyball Club started out as a girls program that arose from the need to provide training for fundamentals and mechanics in a fun environment. The club is based on the “Science of Volleyball” or “Volleyballogy (study of volleyball)” principles utilizing a transformational club ideology rather than being a transactional one. This transformational platform merged with “ridiculous fun” provided the base for the club’s success.
As a few years went on, Dr. Billanna (Billie) Hwang, Director of Absolute Zero Volleyball Club, noticed a HUGE hole in Northwest youth volleyball…..boys volleyball. She decided to take a leap of faith to start a boys program.
“This was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my coaching career. The first boy to play in my club just graduated after 8+ years and is committed to playing at Wentworth,” shares Hwang.
The role of developing leaders and being a mentor is one that Hwang takes seriously especially in this day and age where the emphasis with social media propagates superficiality, lack of depth, and inconsistencies. Absolute Zero Volleyball Academy focuses on:
- Bringing back the “cool” idea that there are activities with no drama and you can be comfortable in your own skin around your peers.
- Leadership through mentorship. Having the older players interact with the younger ones helps build this and it is an absolutely amazing sight to see the smiles and laughter as they interact with each other – priceless.
- As a coach, Hwang has an open and accessible style of communication that does not intuitively feel like a hierarchical relationship.
- Hwang takes the time to assist the athletes through tough times, giving advice, and even providing opportunities to intern at her research lab.
Club players at Absolute Zero come back year after year with 93% of the kids staying to play their entire club career spanning up to 8 years.
However, early on, Hwang faced the challenge of developing a strategy for the boys program that focused on sustained growth. She incorporated factors that are unique to the Northwest landscape (eg. other established sports, no high school volleyball, etc). With a more detailed understanding of the major factors, she developed a strategic approach focusing on a multi-regional concept that included the creation and execution of a new boys only Power League series, providing new clubs with startup scholarship funds, and positive, free flowing exchange of ideas…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Junior Volleyball Association…