When I first become a member of the board, this very item was put up for discussion. At that time the majority voted to require the 6th grade competitive teams to play with a full-leather ball in an effort to better prepare them for their middle school year. Over this past year I have come to believe that this was a mistake.

Short-sighted as I can be, not knowing fully the extent of how this would affect those who had to carry-out this requirement by not realizing that we were in effect asking these teams to sacrifice good ball-control and technique, as witnessed by myself personally with our daughter Katherine. Whom we’ve watched struggle for the last 6 months to get back all technique that was lost when we introduced a ball, in our opinion, far too early. The cast on her arm/wrist for 6 weeks was enough to convince me that we should re-visit this item.

True, some players may be ready for the heavier ball, but I have come to believe that these players are the exception rather than the rule; and we as a Board are tasked with making decisions that are necessary for the league as a whole.

My lesson learned personally is: I have realized that I am NOT the expert; therefore I believe it would be best to accept the advice and input from those who ARE the experts.

I would like you each to review the following submit by Coach G and Ruth Nelson as further evidence supporting this change.

Jennifer Borgne
Commissioner, ASA Volleyball

Jennifer, after our discussion, I felt it necessary to gain feedback from other organizations as well as reputable coaches and directors within the Texas area. I know we all want to do what is developmentally correct for our youth while still keeping them in top competitive position which is why I'd like for us to revisit our ball selection.

It is from this perspective that I would like to propose we use the volley lite for all our 12 and under teams. Not only does USA 12 and under use the volley lite ball, but other local associations as well. When speaking with the coaches, club directors and past National team members who devote their lives working with the youth, they agree that technique is the most critical aspect when training young athletes. Unfortunately, technique goes out the window when the regular ball is introduced too early due to the lack of technique and sometimes the lack of muscle development. I even had one remark that she, Ruth Nelson, wished that even 7th graders still used the volley lite to better develop the proper way of playing volleyball.  

Coach G,

There has been a great deal of discussion over the use of Volleylites and regulation volleyballs and at what age each is to be utilized. In my
experience while training all age groups, the key is meeting the strength needs of the player while ensuring proper technique.
 
The Volleylite has always been used mainly in the US since the middle 80’s for the younger age group. I personally believe that the Volleylite is the most appropriate ball to use with ages 8/9 and up. The most challenging time for a young athlete is at the 6th grade level. A 6th grader struggles with the regulation size ball unless they are very strong.  The 1st grader also has a tough time even with the Volleylite.
 
It would be most advantageous for clubs and city leagues to continue using the Volleylite with players through 13s so that they would be successful, effective and efficient in both their technique and their play. Then their transition from using the Volleylite to the regulation volleyball would be much easier and more effective.

Hope this helps,
Ruth

I have real strong feelings about this and the direction we are going. Improper technique due to incorrect positioning, coordination, or muscle development is the hardest problem to correct. I understand that you're concerned about 6th grade girls making their junior high school teams. All coaches and directors I talked to stated, "Young girls who have better ball control and technique will always fair better during try-outs."

It would be my preference that we focus on executing the basic skills of volleyball while still allowing the athletes to participate in a competitive environment. As we train the fundamentals, each girl would then be equipped with the necessary skills to naturally transition to the heavier ball in the 7th grade. If we put ball size in front of proper technique, my fear is that more and more girls will experience shoulder injuries etc. not to mention the need for technique correction. Having to backtrack when they should be learning more advanced skills is lengthy and unnecessary when they could be mastering the basic skills far earlier with the proper ball.

Below I have attached Ruth Nelson’s background for those who do not know who she is / her credentials.

Thanks
Coach G , Allen Volleyball

**Ruth N. Nelson is Director of Volleyball with IAD®. She is also chief executive officer of brvc inc., a sports marketing consulting company in Dallas, Texas, and co-founder and president of Collegiate Athlete, Inc. An experienced coach, former student-athlete, and featured trainer, presenter and sports marketer, Ruth will be responsible for the above IAD® programs. Ruth’s career spans over 38 years of sport experience. Over the past 8 years, she has trained 4-12 year olds in volleyball fundamental skills development, which included teaching each athlete how to analyze skills as they improve. She coached three former collegiate athletes (Flo Hyman, Rita Crockett and Rose Magers), who were starters on the 1984 Silver medal U.S. Women’s Volleyball Olympic Team. Ruth has also served as the head women’s volleyball coach at the University of Iowa, Louisiana State University and the University of Houston; was the head women’s volleyball coach of the USA Junior National Team; and was an assistant coach for the USA Women’s National Team. Among her clients have included Olympic Volleyball Player Danielle Scott and Olympic Gold medallist racewalker Yueling Chen. She was a member of the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team in 1972, 1974 and 1975. Ruth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health and Physical Education with a minor in Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Science degree in Physical Education from George Williams College.