District club teams face tests on a national level
Dan Schall, Jim Schall and Shawn Spencer have coached at the Junior National Boys Volleyball Championships many times before.
But this year is much different for this Western Pennsylvania coaching trio. All three have sons playing for the Pittsburgh Volleyball Club on the 12-and-under club team, which began last Saturday and concludes this Sunday at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Dan Schall, the head boys coach at North Allegheny High School, has two sons on the team.
“Caleb is 11 and Owen is 9,” said Dan Schall, who along with his brother, Jim, are serving as coaches for the team. “It’s a neat experience to see your kids learn the game at a different level and compete against national competition.”
Shawn Spencer, the coach at Derry Area, has his son, 12-year-old Eric, on the team as well. Jim Schall, the coach at Penn-Trafford, has 12-year-old son Patrick on the squad, too.
“It’s great to get the kids exposed to this level of volleyball so early,” Spencer said. “This is the first year that we’ve had teams competing in the 12-and-under and 13-and-under divisions.”
The Junior National Championships feature the top teams in the country in seven different age groups — 18-and-under, 17and-under, 16-and-under, 15-and-under, 14-and-under, 13-and-under, and 12and-under.
“All seven age brackets have a Club Division in which any team may participate,” Dan Schall said. “In the 18, 17, 16, 15 and 14 age brackets, they also have an Open Division. The Open Division is much tougher and all [competing] teams must qualify. The best teams in the country are in the Open brackets.”
The rules are a slight bit different depending on the age division. The net is 7 feet high for the 12-and-under age bracket; 7 feet, 4 inches for 13-and-under and 14-and-under brackets, and 8 feet for the remaining brackets.
The Pittsburgh Volleyball Club has 10 teams entered in this year's tournament, nine in the Club Division and one in the Open Division. The PVC had a 16-and-under team qualify for the Open Division tournament.
The club also has two teams entered in the 13and-under, 17-and-under and 18-and-under club brackets, and one team in the 12-and-under, 14-andunder and 15-and-under club brackets.
A total of 84 players from 23 different high schools were competing for the Pittsburgh Volleyball Club this week. The high schools represented are Avonworth, Baldwin, Bethel Park, Bishop Guilfoyle, Butler Area, Derry Area, Elderton, Fox Chapel, Freedom Area, Hempfield Area, Indiana Area, Greater Latrobe, Norwin, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, Obama Academy, Riverview, North Allegheny, North Hills, Seneca Valley and Shaler Area.
“This is the sixth year for our club and the sixth year we have teams competing at the national championships,” said Dan Schall, who also serves as volleyball director for the club.
“We’ve never taken this many teams before. The most we’ve had in the past was seven teams.”
The proximity of the site of the tournament is the obvious reason why PVC has so many teams entered.
“The tournament site changes every year,” said Fox Chapel coach Phil O'Keeffe, who also serves as a coach for PVC. “I’ve been to Houston, Reno, Dallas, Minneapolis, Austin and Atlanta in past years. It’s nice to have the tournament so close to home. It’s a three-hour drive. Driving instead of flying saves a lot of money.”
Beaver Valley Premier, a club run by Ambridge coach Glenn Freed, has two teams entered in the Club Division: 16-and-under and 18-and under. A total of 18 players are representing five WPIAL high schools: Ambridge Area, Hopewell, McKeesport Area, Seneca Valley and Shaler Area.
“It’s great to have the tournament so close to home this year,” Freed said. “Facing competition at this level is a great experience for the kids. I wish it was this close every year.”
Tournament concludes
The Junior National Girls Championships took place June 23 through this past Thursday in New Orleans. Two area clubs had teams participating.
Renaissance Volleyball Club, run by Brian Begor, had three teams entered in the tournament — 18-andunder, 17-and-under and 13-and under. Begor was recently hired at Mt. Lebanon High School after running the program at West Allegheny High School the past five years.
Pittsburgh Elite Volleyball Club, run by former Baldwin coach Lynda Scahill, had one team entered in the 16-and-under division and placed 21st in the 48-team bracket.
Rosters for the local teams competing in both tournaments are listed on the Post-Gazette’s Sports Town web site. Below is the link. http://sportstown.post-gazette.com/index.