By Aaron Hutton for VolleyballMag.com
When all the ladies’s professional volleyball leagues are up and working, two cities can have two competing franchises.
Already there have been two introduced in Atlanta, one every by the Professional Volleyball Federation and League One Volleyball.
Beforehand, PVF informed us about its workforce in Omaha. Now, LOVB introduced it, too, can have an Omaha workforce.
We’ve additionally received some PVF information and a few interviews.
LOVB
The Omaha announcement brings the overall variety of LOVB cities introduced to 5 (additionally Atlanta, Houston, Madison and Salt Lake Metropolis) with yet another anticipated earlier than the inaugural season beginning November of 2024.
The Omaha workforce can be affiliated with LOVB’s Premier Nebraska membership program.
From the LOVB/Omaha information launch
“This market embodies our community-up method in motion and we’re thrilled to be introducing an entire new degree of competitors to passionate followers within the area,” LOVB CEO Katlyn Gao mentioned.
” … Premier Nebraska. The league’s professional athletes will practice alongside the membership’s gamers, giving membership athletes the chance to study from, witness, and construct even stronger ties with professional gamers they admire. At the moment the very best ranked membership with an all feminine management group, Premier Nebraska continues to make its mark on the game as one in every of solely three golf equipment in 2023 to qualify a workforce within the highest division of every age group for USAV Ladies Junior Nationals.
“LOVB’s announcement may also additional the league’s ties to among the best athletes within the area … (together with) Justine Wong-Orantes and Kelsey Robinson, who each hail from the College of Nebraska. The league additionally has a relationship with NIL athletes like Lindsay Krause, Lexi Rodriguez and Harper Murray. Lindsay, a Premier alum, is at present an outdoor hitter for the famed Husker program. Lexi is the 2021 AVCA Nationwide Freshman of the Yr and two time AVCA All American, and Harper is a freshman exterior hitter, and the Gatorade Nationwide Participant of the Yr. These athletes will join with the native LOVB golf equipment, by means of in individual clinics, and appearances in addition to digital connections.
“At Premier, we pleasure ourselves in our individuals, our product, and {our relationships}, and now because the anchor membership for LOVB’s professional league in Nebraska, we’re extremely humbled to be bringing an all new path to professional volleyball to the town of Omaha,” mentioned Shannon Smolinski oft Premier. “As volleyball continues to develop in any respect ranges, and at a speedy tempo, LOVB’s community-first mannequin is creating all new alternatives for our sport, our metropolis and our state and we couldn’t be extra thrilled to be part of this momentous second in Nebraska’s historical past.”
Professional Volleyball Federation
ORLANDO VALKRIES
The PVF held a three-day coach’s summit, throughout which the Orlando franchise introduced it might be referred to as the Valkyries, taking inspiration from Norse mythology relatively than Greek or Roman just like the Grand Rapids and Columbus franchises.
Orlando additionally named George Manias its president and COO. He has over 25 years of sports activities buisness expertise in each advertising and administration with groups together with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightining of the NHL and Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA.
OMAHA SUPERNOVAS
Coach Shelton Collier has employed one in every of his former Georgia Tech gamers as an assistant.
Laura ‘Chicken’ Kuhn spent the previous 5 years as the top coach at Texas A&M. She beforehand was an assistant at Kansas, App State and Miami (FL).
“I anticipate that she is going to serve many rolls with us each on and off the courtroom and that she may also join nicely with the gamers,” Collier sasid.
Mentioned Kuhn: “Working alongside aspect Coach Collier, who recruited me to play at Georgia Tech, and now, getting to construct the first-ever professional volleyball workforce in Nebraska collectively is one thing particular.”
COLUMBUS FURY
Shortly after our final replace, Valeria León was introduced to hitch the Columbus Fury. The previous Ohio State College libero (2013-17) has spent the final 5 seasons with 4 completely different groups in her native Puerto Rico. This can be her first time being coached by fellow Puerto Rican Angel Perez.
DALLAS OWNERS
The Dallas workforce will compete within the PVF’s second season. We visited with co-owners Evan Stone and Armond Sadoughi.
VBM: Realizing that league govt Stephan Evans lives within the space, I used to be stunned Dallas wasn’t introduced for 2024.
Stone: Honesty, we had been aiming for the primary season early on, however, as we had been doing our due-diligence, there have been simply so many issues we needed to look into and strategize. By the point we determined this was pretty much as good of a chance we initially thought it was, and the league gave us our approval, the opposite groups had been already two days into signing free brokers.
We need to current the very best product obtainable to our metropolis. So, we determined that by ready one other yr we will give the very best presentation and profitable program that can give ticket-buyers the will to grow to be emotionally invested.
VBM: Do you will have expertise in sports activities buisness? Why volleyball?
Stone: I’ve two daughters who’re about to play on the D-III degree. One is a setter, the opposite a hitter. My spouse can be a former participant. Considered one of our different companions had expertise launching a professional league as an investor within the unique XFL, so, we’re not moving into blind.
Sadoughi: However that is about greater than monetary funding. Dallas is within the high three markets for membership volleyball within the nation. We’re investing in an untapped sports activities market. Ladies and younger ladies haven’t historically adopted professional sports activities in America, however society is at a degree the place it’s confirmed they’ll. Participation and personalities like (Iowa basketball participant) Caitlyn Clark are that proof. So, that is an funding in civic pleasure amoung ladies, and, an funding in a platform for feminine athlete roll-models. To not point out the thrill of the sport itself.
Stone: The expectation is it will grow to be the very best degree of volleyball. Interval.
I’ve been within the venture-capital sport lengthy sufficient to know that when individuals let you know it’ll by no means work, you’re on to one thing. We’re on to one thing, right here. I feel the truth that AU (Athletes Limitless) and League One are additionally on the scene is an efficient signal, additionally.
VBM: So what’s your technique in your roll-out? Will you be making bulletins in the course of the ’23 season? Or, do you watch for the following off season?
Sadoughi: The stage we’re at now could be planning the milestones. You need to construct that momentum and pleasure.
Stone: Like we mentioned: The very best degree. We’re going to get the BEST gamers and coaches and do that proper.
For extra data on Dallas’ latest professional workforce go to www.dallasprovolleyball.com
GRAND RAPIDS’ WALTON
We not too long ago additionally visited with new Grand Rapids assistant coach Invoice Walton. Walton, who coached on the College of Houston for twenty-four years and most not too long ago has been a membership and TV-announcing fixture within the Texas metropolis, will work for former Michigan State coach Cathy George.
VBM: Did you ever face Cathy George when she was a participant at Illinois State?
Walton: No. However I used to be up for the teaching place at one time for Illinois State. If I had gotten the place, I’d have been her coach.
VBM: You moved to the College of Houston in 1986 and Cathy began teaching on the College of Texas – Arlington in ’89. Did you face her throughout that interval?
Walton: Sure. Yearly. Sadly, no reminiscences stand out to me of that interval. I couldn’t let you know our win-loss file in opposition to one another or something. However, we’ve confronted off a number of occasions.
VBM: Let’s fast-forward to the current and the Professional Volleyball Federation?
Walton: A few years in the past I used to be watching the MasterCoaches YouTube podcast and my curiosity was peaked … I used to be performing some analysis into A5’s relationship with League One Volleyball and that delivered to my consideration some motion by different organizations seemingly interested by forming skilled volleyball within the states. Close to the tip of my analysis I realized about Dave Whinham and Stephen Evans, and, simply as I used to be studying about their sports-buisness expertise, PVF was introduced.
After I used to be a visitor on the Grasp Coaches Present to share what I came upon about LOVB, I regarded extra into PVF. I feel this appears fairly financially viable than earlier makes an attempt. They’ve capital. These ownerships have to point out a five-year monetary plan.
The founders are wanting on the development the NCAA Volleyball rankings have had the previous few years and see this era between the 2020 gold-medal Olympics and the 2028 L.A. Olympics as a perfect time-frame to construct the league.
VBM: How did you get employed?
Walton: Cathy and I had been each regulars on the MasterCoaches Present when PVF began to make strikes. The opposite hosts and I had no concept Cathy was up for one of many teaching positions after we had (PVF CEO) Jen Spicher on as a visitor. After which, every week later, she was introduced.
It’s a must to admire Cathy. She’s the primary coach of the primary workforce within the first skilled ladies’s volleyball league in over 20 years. She’s recruiting gamers with no proof of participant compensation, media protection, degree of competitors or different gamers who’ve signed and he or she’s executed an incredible job. She’s wrangled a dozen gamers by herself with none assist.
Throughout all of this, she’d give me calls. I feel she thought there could be a workforce coming to Houston and didn’t need to intervene with me getting a head-coaching place.
However as soon as it was introduced Dallas wouldn’t be beginning till the second season, she approached me about becoming a member of her.”
VBM: Have you ever been to Michigan?
Walton: Each summer season in my youth. I’ve frolicked at Camp Pinewood north of Muskegon. I used to be a waterfront chief and journey information there. I’ve executed the ‘Michigan Circle’ tenting throughout my highschool years. And, I’ve been at sports activities camps at Western Michigan College. I’ll have some associates who reside within the space I’ll have to meet up with.”
