SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — In the last 10 years, club volleyball has not only exploded in San Diego but all over the United States.
"There are hundreds of thousands of teams out there that are competing in tournaments all across the country," says Executive Director of San Diego Wave Volleyball Brennan Dean.
Among the hundreds of thousands of club teams across the country, Wave Volleyball in Del Mar has that little extra something that has separated them from other clubs. They call it a family atmosphere with a lot of really talented players.
"That's definitely a big thing, playing with good players and getting better. Knowing you are playing with the top players in the country, and knowing you are getting better each day playing with them," says club member Finley Krystlowiak.
It's not just having talented players, it also takes a lot of good coaches to bring out the best in these players.
"It definitely helps that our coaches are so supportive, and they have so much opportunity to give us," says club member Kiara Edwards.
Wave Volleyball in Del Mar is quite the club and very prestigious. They recruit players all over San Diego County and look at players from San Clemente all the way south to Tijuana. All this great talent has really shown itself on the court, as Wave is now ranked as the number-one volleyball club in the United States.
"It's an unbelievable feeling and emotion," says Dean. "I'm just so proud of everything our teams and coaches have accomplished, and it's a big selling point for the club that we are the number one team in the country."
While many of these girls and guys say playing for their high school teams is a lot of fun, it's playing at the club level that is key to going on to play college volleyball.
"My coaches always tell me that progress isn't linear and that you are always going to have ups and downs. Club volleyball has prepared for the worst and prepared me for the best," says Edwards.
"It's a really good thing for young kids to look up to as to playing club volleyball. High school is just another thing to do for fun, but club volleyball is the thing you need to do to play in college," says Krystkowiak.
"It's helping these kids get to the next level and that might just be by putting club volleyball on the college application. Helping them get a full ride to a school like Stanford gives us a huge sense of pride," says Dean.
