“I love coaching volleyball,” says Patty Dodd. One player described her first practice as “winning the lottery” for having such high quality coaches to mentor her. Patty and Jenny are assisted by Chelsea Hayes, a current professional beach volleyball player, at practices offered at the Sorrento Beach Courts in Santa Monica.
The LAVA Beach Program is open to all female athletes ages 12-18. Training is offered three different days per week, and competition will be through various beach volleyball organizations such as CBVA, AAU, USA Volleyball, and the newly formed BVCA.
Beach (or Sand) volleyball, has just recently become a collegiate sport. Last year was its debut, and only 16 schools in the country had teams. This year over 30 colleges have sand volleyball teams, and most are giving scholarships to attract players. LAVA believes that playing beach volleyball is a great way to strengthen all volleyball skills, so starting a beach program was the next logical step to offering even more training resources for its players.
“The fact that we were able to get Patty (Dodd) and Jenny (Johnson-Jordan) coaching for us is amazing!” says Co-Director Danika Sanchez. “There is no longer any excuse for kids to NOT be playing on the beach. We have professionals who can provide training and coaching support, and a club providing the team atmosphere.”
There are already two local high school students who have received scholarships to play beach volleyball in college – the first in Santa Clarita. Sierra Sanchez, from Valencia High School, has committed to play for Florida State University, and Delaney Knudsen, also from Valencia, has signed with Pepperdine. Sanchez and Knudsen were also part of the Valencia High School beach team, which won the Championship title in the debut year of the Intermural Beach Volleyball League last Spring.
If you’d like more information about LAVA Beach please call 661-904-7002 or e-mail Danika Sanchez at danika.sanchez@lavacademy.com.
Pro Beach Players Join Local Volleyball Club
