Starlings Convention Brings About Best Practices for 53 Clubs

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 11, 2007) – Starlings Volleyball Club held its annual Directors Convention at the Marriott Courtyard San Diego Central Dec. 7-9 in which 53 Starlings Clubs across the country attended.

The convention provided “Best Practices” sessions for the clubs, both in the gym and the overall operational aspect of running a club.

Beginning with a single inner-city San Diego team in 1996, today Starlings is the largest junior volleyball club in the nation serving some 2,500 girls across America. Clubs stretch from New York City to Los Angeles, from Portland to Phoenix. The guiding concept has been to provide an opportunity for girls ages 10 to 18 to participate regardless of their economic background. Club dues, if any, are a fraction of most junior club costs and no girl is turned away because of inability to pay.

The Starlings philosophy is a holistic one: competition is good but sports should also be fun. Since its inception, over 150 girls have received collegiate volleyball scholarships.

During the convention, Starlings also made significant inroads into establishing Star Boys, a counterpart to the girls’ volleyball teams associated with Starlings.

Prior to the convention, Starlings’ Director Byron Shewman and USA Volleyball’s John Kessel introduced sitting and wheelchair volleyball to disabled children at the Hospital Infantil in Tijuana, Mexico. To view a photo gallery of the hospital visit and Starlings Directors Convention, click here.

Thirteen new clubs started this season, in large part thanks to a USA Volleyball $10,000 grant to Starlings Volleyball Clubs, USA. Ten $1,000 individual grants were awarded to create Starlings clubs. These grants will be applied toward creating new Starlings teams specifically comprised of younger girls from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, ages 12 to 14.

“Working with our Regional Volleyball Associations and other Member Organizations, USA Volleyball continues to reach out to help grow the game into the diverse areas of our nation,” Kessel said. “Byron Shewman and these amazing directors and their staff are making a very big difference in so many children's lives, and that of their families, through the vehicle of sport, and the chance to share new ideas with one another was extremely valuable.”