Team Tampa Bay's Take with Joey Johnston - Building a Foundation for the Future

By Joey Johnston

Four decades ago, Berkeley Prep coach Randy Dagostino spotted a Tampa Tribune article on the all-county volleyball team. He thought it would be cool to assemble the all-county players into one AAU team for national tournament competition.

Initially, it was called HAC (Hillsborough All-County). In time, it became Tampa Bay Juniors, the first club travel volleyball team in Florida.

Now the state features 135 club teams — and it’s the primary method for Florida’s female volleyball athletes to be recruited by programs throughout the nation.

In 2005, USA Volleyball’s Florida Region had about 4,200 members. Now there are more than 19,000.

“Volleyball in the state of Florida was really good when I played,’’ said USF coach Jolene Shepardson, a 1998 graduate of Tampa Prep and a former Bulls player. “My club team went to national tournaments against the California stud teams or the Chicago teams and we competed pretty well.

“I was on the West Coast for a long time (as a college coach). When I came back to USF (in 2020), I was surprised at the growth in Florida. The club scene and participation numbers have exploded. Even in small towns, where it used to be almost non-existent, people are playing and just loving the game. There’s no question that Florida is one of the volleyball hot spots now.’’

The Tampa Bay Sports Commission hopes to exploit that when the Road 2 Tampa Bay Volleyball Invitational is held Friday and Saturday night at downtown Tampa’s Amalie Arena and USF’s Yuengling Center. The season-opening event features the No. 8-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, the No. 11 Florida Gators, the No. 20 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the home-standing USF Bulls.

It’s a significant weekend for the state of Florida volleyball, but just a prelude to December, when the NCAA Volleyball Final Four returns to Tampa for the first time since 2009.

“Our hometown has changed a lot since then and so has the sport of volleyball in our state,’’ TBSC executive director Rob Higgins said. “Not having had the opportunity to host the last 14 years, I think we have gotten a great sense for the demand.

“Club volleyball in Florida has really galvanized over this last decade. Participation numbers continue to increase and you really see it at the youth level. I think all of that bodes really well for a special atmosphere, not only (this weekend), but also in December. And that’s something we couldn’t be more excited about.’’

One thing that has changed dramatically is the rise of OTVA, a volleyball club with facilities in Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville. It has consistently been the top club in Florida — and among the top three nationally — while winning 44 national championships and sending more than 400 players to college scholarships.

The AAU Junior Nationals — the world’s largest youth tournament — are traditionally held in Orlando.

According to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations, following the 2021-22 school year, Florida was ranked fourth nationally in high-school girls volleyball team participation (19,006 athletes, 694 programs) behind No. 1 Texas (51,275 athletes, 1,387 programs), No. 2 California (45,534/1,463) and No. 3 Illinois (21,990/676).

AJ Joseph, president of St. Petersburg-based JVC and AR Courts, which manages volleyball tournaments, sports court rentals and volleyball camps, said he has noticed generational growth, an influx of Florida kids whose mothers played high school, club, or college volleyball.

“At the girls club level, we are bursting at the seams for most events in terms of court space and quite a few high schools and clubs are turning away athletes for lack of court space and sometimes qualified coaches,’’ Joseph said.

And that doesn’t account for the growth of boys' volleyball and beach volleyball. The Florida High School Athletic Association approved beach volleyball as a sport for the 2021-22 school year.  The University of Tampa has captured three AVCA Division II Small College national championships since beginning the sport in 2018. USF is adding beach volleyball in 2025-26.

Donna Carter, a Tampa native who played at Clemson University, was commissioner of the USA Volleyball Florida Region when the state’s club scene began growing exponentially. That prompted a constant need for coaches, referees and tournament administrators. Carter, who now works as an official, said many former players have taken positions in the game to help its growth.

“Volleyball people are some of the most competitive, passionate and supportive people I have ever met,’’ Carter said. “USAV Florida is on the cutting edge when it comes to many aspects of the game. I think the passion for volleyball in Florida and the Tampa Bay area will be reflected in the (NCAA) championship matches and surrounding events.’’

Florida coach Mary Wise, entering her 33rd season with the Gators, said she expects this weekend’s R2TBVI event and the NCAA Volleyball Final Four to be catalysts for enhanced volleyball growth in the state.

“We’ve seen the numbers in our camps skyrocket and I know there are times when all of us can’t find enough facilities because of the popularity of the sport,’’ Wise said. “When you consider the success of the University of Tampa as a Division II powerhouse, the thousands of girls who come to Orlando every year for the AAU Nationals and the fact that we have the Final Four in Tampa this year, it paints a pretty clear picture of how far we have come as a state and how popular volleyball has gotten. And we’re just talking the indoor game. Who knows how far beach volleyball will go?

“Florida deserves credit for helping our sport grow. That’s what we’re going to see in Tampa. We’ve come a long, long way.’’

And it has been noticed.

“The Florida club volleyball teams are super competitive and it’s only getting better,’’ Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. “It’s definitely one of the key states for volleyball. I’m always hoping Penn State can grab a couple of Florida players before Mary (Wise) gets them. Florida is right up there with any volleyball area now. Having these major events in Tampa is going to help the growth of our game even more.’’