Hi, my name is April.
I live in Nevada.
Before I was an author, volleyball journalist and volleyball consultant I was a USA National Volleyball team member, professional international indoor and beach volleyball player, copywriter/proofreader for a major advertising agency and a professional photographer in Italy. (I also worked on the show "ER" playing a trauma nurse for seven years.)
One of the first things I noticed was that very few, if any, female pro volleyball athletes have written coaching or volleyball tips books that speak directly to the young student athlete. With over 3 million female high school volleyball participants in the US alone I decided to change that.
My second downloadable e-booklet written specifically for high school and college volleyball players is 86 Girls Indoor Volleyball Tips: How to Gain Confidence On the Volleyball Court and is available for only $7.49 at www.volleyballvoices.com. Just click on the image below to get to the page where you can buy your copy.
The second thing I noticed, because after playing, living and working in Italy for 13 years I experienced it firsthand... was how much female volleyball players (high school, college and pro) love
a) flip flops. Since they spend so much time practicing in tennis shoes, volleyball players can't wait to let their feet breathe, so flip flops are a girl's best friend off the court.
b) Fashion, particularly designer fashion trends and accessories.
I decided to bridge the gap between fashion and volleyball by creating 10 shopping web sites each one dedicated to featuring designer fashion, trends and accessories in ONE color and targeted ONLY to the club, college and professional female volleyball player and coach.
Ten colors in all, links to each web site can be found on the
Volleyball Gifts and Shopping Ideas page.
Now that I've written my second book and created these sites I'm excited to see how these tools will help empower young players and I'm looking forward to creating and developing more.
More About Me...
In 1999 I started an editorial project called Volleyball Voices.
Volleyball Voices are very personal firsthand accounts of the obstacles America's elite athletes and Champion female volleyball players overcame in order to reach the pinnacle of their sport.
Olympians, Hall of Famers, Players of the Decade and multi All Americans talk candidly about body image, eating disorders, race, economic, social, sexual and familial issues that challenged them as teens and young adults and how overcoming these challenges contributed to them becoming a Champion on the court and off.
If there are subjects that you would like to discuss or ask questions about- you can send me an email and I will open a category regarding that topic.
For example, if you had/will have an international experience playing volleyball in China or any place outside of your state- that'd be great if you could share some of the highlights of your trip.
What was it like to practice with a new coach in a different state or foreign land?
What did you get out of that experience? Does/did this trip encourage you to want to continue to play abroad? What did you learn so that your next trip will be easier?
Here is what I know- 13 year olds learn from 15 year olds who watch and imitate and learn from 17 year olds who copy and mimic the 19 year olds on the National Team and so on....
I've developed Volleyball Voices into a volleyball news hub with a gift and shopping directory where girls high school, club, college volleyball players, beach volleyball and pro indoor players, parents and fans learn about the indoor and sand volleyball game and its female heroes, with breaking news stories of college and women's pro volleyball players, self-coaching information,
beach volleyball pictures and indoor volleyball videos.
My vision for Volleyball Voices is to create the largest female virtual volleyball education and resource center on the Web, with a recognized name brand and strong player support that reaches globally to female high school and club players, student-athletes, their parents, coaches, fans and teachers in a meaningful and successful way.
My hope and motivation is that those girls who are "wondering" what it's like to play volleyball--at any level ...or wonder what benefits they can have..in addition to the girls in other parts of the world and in other parts of social or economic strata will be empowered and encouraged to participate and start playing.
And lastly if club members and players are encouraged to tell their (high school, college, pro beach, indoor, grass coed) teammmates to comment and participate, and to email their comments and send links to this site...it would quickly become a female volleyball Learning and Teaching community where players will become MORE inspired to work harder and become the best player they can be.
I was inspired and learned my work ethic and discipline (by my coaches of course) BUT by PLAYERS who were better than I was.
I saw how they practiced, what they practiced, what their mind set was.
I learned HOW they set their goals and what they did to accomplish them. (Coaches always point out the techniques and habits of their veteran players to the younger players as an example to follow...)
My mission is for Volleyball Voices to become a place where younger volleyball players will find inspiration from older players (of different generations) who will share their experiences.
Please feel free to forward this information to other College Coaches, High School Coaches, Club Directors that you know.
Letting others know---creating a buzz---about Volleyball Voices is priceless.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
April
