USA Volleyball

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 22, 2009) – USA Volleyball will conduct several Junior Forums at the AVCA Annual Convention set for Dec. 16-19 at Tampa, Fla.

Among the five sessions planned for Saturday, Dec. 19, include topics ranging from junior beach volleyball to running a junior club and junior tournament and the changing landscape of the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships. Below is the USAV lineup of speakers for Dec. 19, along with short synopsis of the presentation:

9 to 10 a.m. – Ali Wood Lamberson, USAV director of International and High Performance Beach Programs, will have an on-court sand session called “An Introduction to Beach Volleyball for Youth.”
10:15 to 11:15 a.m. – Yvonne Devlin, Orlando Juniors, will present “Seven Tried and True Principles of Running a Successful Club.”
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – John Kessel, USAV director of grassroots programming, will speak on “Mini, Max and Youth Volleyball” and other initiatives of the USAV Grassroots Commission.
2:45 to 3:45 p.m. – Lauri Dagostino, Big South Qualifier director/Tampa Bay Juniors, and Kay Rogness, Colorado Crossroads Qualifier director/Front Range Juniors, will speak on how to organize a large club tournament.
4 to 5 p.m. – Mike Chandler, USAV managing director of events, will speak on “The Changing Landscape of the USAV Junior National Championships,” including the Stay to Play policy, the development of a new ranking system and choosing sites for the championships.

USA Volleyball CAP Level I and II courses, including a Beach CAP course, will be held in conjunction with the AVCA Annual Convention. More information can be found on the USAV website at www.usavolleyball.org/event/event/596.

USAV will also present two Year in Review sessions covering its beach and indoor programs. U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon, U.S. Men's National Team Head Coach Alan Knipe, USAV High Performance Managing Director Tom Pingel, Lamberson and USAV CEO Doug Beal will also be among the presenters. The High Performance Review will be held 9-10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17. The U.S. National Team Review will be held 3-4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17.

Registration at the AVCA convention is required. Weekend only registration (Friday night, Dec. 18 - Sunday, Dec. 20) is $150 for AVCA members and $265 for non-members. Full early bird (until Nov. 6) AVCA convention registration (Wednesday, Dec. 16 - Sunday, Dec. 20) is $345 for AVCA members and $510 for non- members. More information about the AVCA Annual Convention is available on the website at www.avca.org/tampaconvention09/.

Significant discounts are available to AVCA members for both the convention and the CAP courses. More information concerning AVCA membership can be found on the AVCA website at www.avca.org/membership/member-categories/. The annual membership for club coaches and high school coaches is $65. There is a $60 membership for administrator and a new student category at $40.