GROWTH CRUNCH
By JOE SPENCER, The Daily Sentinel

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Jeff Wells envisions Grand Junction becoming the “volleyball capital of western Colorado.”

After moving to the Grand Valley from California, Wells and his wife, Tammy, began the Grand Junction Volleyball Club 12 years ago.

They started building the club scene from scratch with one team of 16 to 18-year olds, long road trips to find matches on the Front Range and limited interest from the community.

“Today we are limited to 10 teams only because we don’t have enough gym space for practices,” Jeff Wells said.

“Club volleyball has just had explosive growth in the Grand Valley and on the Western Slope. We could have had at least two more teams this season, but there is no place to put them.”

Wells also was instrumental in launching the Gold Cup, a five-tournament series for teams of boys and girls ages 10-14. The GJVBC struggled to get 10 teams for that first series five years ago.

When this season’s Gold Cup series resumes today at Mesa State College, the tournament will bring 33 teams and more than 330 athletes to Grand Junction.

“We noticed at those age groups that the competition is pretty similar no matter where you are at because everybody is just starting to learn the game,” Wells said.

“We wanted to start something here so we could avoid taking kids on six- or seven-hour road trips to the Front Range to play. It has taken off more than we ever could have imagined.”

Club volleyball’s growth spurt in the Grand Valley hasn’t stopped, either.

The GJVBC expects to field its first team of high-school age boys in April and already has a 14-under boys team.

“We are trying to break down the stigma that volleyball is just a girls’ sport,” Wells said.

“Growing up in California, volleyball was a sport boys played just like basketball and football. With more people from California moving here, it’s only going to become more popular.”

Adding boys teams is a short-term goal for the GJVBC, and Wells said the long-term goals are even more ambitious.

“The Grand Valley is hungry for more gym space, and ultimately we would like to get an indoor sports complex going,” he said.

“We could work with the Grand Mesa Youth Soccer Association and AAU basketball to create a facility where all of us could benefit. We are all fighting for the same gym space now.

“That would also give us a chance to start up adult leagues. I feel there are adults out there who would like to continue learning and playing the game that aren’t having their needs served by current programs.”

The lure

Club volleyball hooks youngsters and their parents with the promise of aiding their chase of athletic scholarship dollars.

“I hate to make guarantees to anyone that playing club will automatically wind up in a college scholarship,” Mesa State volleyball coach Dave Fleming said.

“The fact is, kids don’t have much of a chance of being recruited at schools outside of their area if they are not playing club.

“I just came from a club tournament in Las Vegas and it was loaded with college coaches. It allows recruiters to evaluate a lot of talent at one spot.

“Most college coaches just can’t find the time to go to high school matches to look at one player or a few players.”

A total of 19 players from the GJVBC have earned college scholarships in the past 11 years, including four last year.

The club also has begun offering an assistance program to those seeking college careers.

“We have a scholarship package that can be purchased where we put together a high-quality DVD of player highlights,” Wells said.

“As a former college recruiter, I had to wade through a lot of information and I would look for a reason to discard it. I know what the recruiters are looking for and I have a network of college coaches I know from when I was living in California.

“There are over 280 colleges that offer women’s scholarships to play volleyball. It’s a nice way to pay for an education.”

Fruita Monument High School senior middle hitter Shayne Kovach is going through the recruiting process.

She said the exposure she gained through playing club ball helped her gain recognition recently as player of the month in Volleyball Magazine and increased interest she received from college coaches.

“I sent out videos over the summer and I have already been offered a chance to play from four colleges,” she said.

The expertise

Former Grand Junction High School and Mesa State College outside hitter Melissa Jessup said she never would have landed a college scholarship without the exposure and skill development she gained while playing on GJVBC teams.

“The coaching and ability to play with and against top girls from all around the Western Slope during club was just a different caliber than high school,” Jessup said.

“Jeff played with the U.S. national team (1986-88). His knowledge of the game is just so much more advanced.”

Wells uses Jessup, who has returned to the club as a coach, as a perfect example of the principles the GJVBC uses to instruct younger athletes.

“We put each of our coaches through a certification process so that we are all teaching the same fundamentals, the same style of play and the same life skills,” Wells said.

“Even if kids don’t continue with volleyball, we try to teach them values they can use in life. Its such a credit to Melissa that she benefitted from playing with the club and is now giving back to the community.”

The future

Grand Junction Parks and Recreation Department Director Joe Stevens said volleyball isn’t the only activity with increased interest in the Grand Valley.

“Right now, we have oversight of 200 programs and just three gyms for them,” he said.

“We do our best to get the most of the use of facilities that we can.”

That space crunch has stalled growth opportunities for the GJVBC and other activities.

A.J. Egli, a club volleyball coach, said the club hoped to create extra practice space with a $4,000 purchase of a portable “Sport Court” playing surface from a college in Kansas.

“It was a great deal. They usually run close to $20,000. We thought we had a place to put it lined up.

“Unfortunately, it’s just in storage right now because we have had some spots fall through.

“We are hoping maybe someone will step up to the plate at the corporate level and donate some space because it’s hard to buy real estate with a non-profit entity’s budget.”

Ultimately, Wells hopes to pool resources for a multi-use indoor facility within the next five years.

The GJVBC has approached area businesses with sponsorship opportunities for events like the Gold Cup series as a way to raise funds.

“There are a total of seven tournaments, including one in Glenwood, that give an area businessman the chance to promote his product in front of hundreds of athletes and their families,” Egli said.

Wells is confident the dollars are out there if a plan is in place.

“We hope to get a young architect starting out or a retired architect to come up with some tangible plans,” he said.

“The real estate will be a challenge. But if we could get land donated at a reasonable price, I think we could have a facility for volleyball, soccer, basketball and other activities to help the development of young athletes in the community.”

Joe Spencer can be reached via e-mail at jspencer@gjds.com.