Volleyball is no longer the frivolous “girls-sport” some coach took on to fill time between basketball and soccer. It has become the “it-sport” for youth….. in schools, in clubs, and even in places you never knew existed. But, with that growth, comes tension. More gyms, more teams, more money, and finally….more scheduling chaos, more burnout, and more missed opportunity. If clubs don’t get their acts in order today, the growth will diminish and stall before it becomes a tradition.

What the Surge Looks Like (Because It’s Wild)

The numbers do not just speak. They scream. In the 2022-23 high school season, 470,488 girls were playing volleyball, second only to outdoor track and field. And that number continues to grow. Participation in high school boys’ volleyball is no longer a niche activity, as 95,972 boys participated during the 2024-25 season, an increase of 12.6% over the previous year. USA Volleyball reported over 333,208 junior girls (ages 11-18) registered with clubs by mid-2023. That is an increase of approximately 40% since the 2013-14 season. The numbers for clubs are also relevant: over 1,300 volleyball clubs currently operate throughout the U.S. (and more than 1,319 currently in the research sets), with states such as California, Florida and Texas consistently ranked at the top of the list for the number of clubs. 

High school boys’ volleyball teams are growing the fastest of any boys’ sport, with many states adopting varsity sanctioning, and participation levels rising significantly every year.

So there is clearly a demand. Every gym that was once empty in the volleyball season is now booked, with every club trailer and every club parents updating desk schedules and trying to take advantage of a trend. But that trend will definitely stretch the resources…..The clubs, coaches, facilities, etc.-until they break.

Where Clubs Have Started to Burn Out from the Growth:

When growth happens this fast, cracks don’t show evenly. They open up where pressure is highest. For many clubs, there are already three main points of stress that are causing an existential drag.

Court and Facility Saturation. Courts that once seemed adequate are now full. Many clubs are sharing spaces with schools, rec centers, and other sports. Scheduling practices has also become the proverbial puzzle of double bookings, last-minute changes, and inefficient gym time. When rain, the weather, or another construction project comes into play, the number of options for indoor space becomes few.

Scheduling & Communication Overload. Now you have more teams (age groups, skill levels), more tournaments, and more travel, calendars are pushed to the limits. Coaches are navigating seasonal schedules, tournament brackets, parents work schedules, and school calendars. But most clubs are still using our socially constructed fragmented channels of communication (group text, discord, email thread, etc). One missed message in the chain or pool of changes can lead to entire teams arriving at the wrong time, courts sitting empty, or worse, games forfeited.

Talent Retention & Burnout. Youth players especially are sensitive to any inconsistency. More than fun, they crave structure and predictability. When practices get canceled without notice, or tournaments change times without informing everyone, or the coach shows up unclear and inconsistent, that trust starts unraveling. Many kids don’t walk away from the sport because they hate volleyball. When they leave, they leave because volleyball feels unreliable. Coaches suffer as well. For every team/person you try to serve, the amount of administrative work pulls you further away from coaching, skill developing, or mentoring.

These pressures are not just hurting the week-to-week function of the club, their credibility is being threatened long-term. Parents begin to see a club as hap-hazard. Sponsors get wary. Local governments/schools partners who may want to partner and/or fund expansion, may now hesitate based on seeing cost overruns, scheduling conflicts, or unused space.

Where the Fix Begins; For Real:

If volleyball clubs hope to turn stress into strength, there are changes to be made now. The solution isn’t always more buzz; it is a more effective structure. 

First is time visibility. Clubs that make (and follow) season-long calendars, plan tournaments in advance, and communicate schedules with families clearly, generally are less affected by no-shows and miscommunication. When every coach, parent, player sees the same calendar and progression of schedule, commitment – which does require change – is possible, not optional.

Second is flexibility with consistency. This sounds contradictory, but effective clubs are able to build schedules that are somewhat flexible in its consistency: built in time slots, mechanisms to communicate schedule changes, then weather or gym conflicts, can change how those schedules impact you. Disruptions matter, but don’t have to spiral.

Third is a commitment to investing in administrative infrastructure. By investing in tools where you have practice, registration, match time, and communication, for everyone, in the same “place.” There are not five apps, a dozen group chats. A single source of truth reduces mistakes, saves coach time, and relieves parental discomfort. When the logistics run smoothly, the culture and performances run higher.

The fourth priority is inclusive scheduling. There is growth in boys’ volleyball that shows us what happens when access opens up. If states are adding boys high school programs, if junior clubs are allowing mixed or boys divisions, or if gyms are being allowed outside of the traditional school schedule for boys volleyball, the participation growth occurs faster. Outreach, affordability, and space use matter. The clubs that allow those that want to play, not those that played before, will gain more than numbers: they gain diversity, community, and resilience.

What’s at Stake if Clubs Don’t Adapt:

This growth will not wait. If clubs do not act, we will see damage that could have been avoided, quietly but deeply. Some clubs will have overpromised and under-delivered, with players and families left in frustration. That’s a reputational risk. When parents decide that a club is not reliable, it spreads quickly. Clubs will see the loss of enrollments, no doubt especially those families stilted to pay for reliability. 

Talent – even in the presence of it – may be scattered. Inconsistent practice times, uncoordinated tournaments, and disjointed communication to serious players compel movement to clubs that have structure. Clubs that may be scrambling to simply keep up may lose their best players as they face a slow drain of talent when they least expect it. 

From a revenue perspective, inefficiencies just cost money. Empty courts, forfeited games, rudderless travel, registration without coordination – all generate the sneaky cost. Clubs that do not figure out how to operationalize their system will have little to no margin to invest back into coaching, facilities, and growing youth programming. 

Finally, the gravitational pull of growth is fragile itself. Volleyball is in a good spot right now… media access to volleyball, school programs, success in the Olympics, and respect in the culture, but those pillars crumble when the supply of coaching, courts, or program programming do not meet the increasing demand.  If clubs face too much friction, enthusiasm will wane – in the end, not because kids don’t love volleyball, but because it is hard to navigate. 

Conclusion: Growth Equals Legacy If It Is Professionally Organized 

Volleyball is flourishing. The evidence is there. Boys, girls, junior club, and high school are all on the upswing. However, pure passion dies off eventually. If clubs don’t take the time to advocate for better organization, scheduling, communication, and facility requests they may find themselves in the same boat – caught up in a swell of success. The fate of youth volleyball in this country will not be determined by hashtags and social media impressions. It will be determined by calendars, clarity of support, and consistency. The clubs that do that will move the needle, not only in terms of participation, but also in terms of success, loyalty, and reputation. 

If the sport of volleyball is growing faster than clubs can respond – wonderful! But only those clubs that put framework around that growth will create a legacy from that growth. The rest are there for amusement.

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