Badger Region Volleyball Association

THE BADGER BEACONVolume 7, Issue 10 | Jan. 14, 2020

WWW.BADGERVOLLEYBALL .ORG | MEMBERSH IP@BADGERVOLLEYBALL .ORG

See VIRTUE, Page 4

The Badger Region will again be offering graduating seniors the opportunity to apply for scholarships available to both boys and girls.This year, the Region will select five boys and

10 girls who meet the criteria for $500 scholar-ships that will be paid directly to the student’s college of choice once they are enrolled.In addition, two athletes, one boy and

one girl will also be considered for the Fris-co Mo “Do Good” scholarship, if they meet the additional criteria required for these $500 scholarships.Lisa Deppe, the founder and owner of

Frisco Mo, said her company is all “about rewarding athletes who do good in their community over the past school year.”To apply for any of the scholarships,

athletes should go to click on “Program & Education” and then on “Badger Region Scholarship” on the Badger Region website (click here). There they can be taken to the applica-tion which is broken in two parts.The first is required by all applicants. The

last section is for athletes who want to be con-sidered for the “Do Good” scholarship, which requires some sort of community service activity be described in the application. The other Badger Region scholarships do not re-quire community service as part of the criteria.Athletes must meet the following criteria

for both scholarships:* Graduating high school senior in the

year of application (students who graduate in winter will be eligible alongside students who graduate in the spring or summer)* No code of conduct violations* Student athlete is member of the Badger

Region and is in good standing with the Badger Region Volleyball Association and his or her club* Submit a completed application form* Submit an acceptance letter from a

college, university or other post-secondary academic institution. * Submit a letter of recommendation

from club director or 18s club coachThe deadline to apply is April 17, 2021.

Winners will be announced in May.

Background• Played at the University of Illinois (Setter, captain)• Played with the U.S. Women’s National Team for one

year after suffering a knee injury• Graduate assistant at Loyola University Chicago (2006)• Began working with National Team

Program (HP) in 2007• Assistant at University of Cincinnati

(2007-2010)• Assistant at University of Michigan

(2011-2015)• Assistant at Northwestern University

(2016-2019)• Senior Manager of National Training

Team Development Program under Peter Vint (Present)• Assistant Coach Women’s National Team under Karch

Kiraly (Present)

1. What is the path for someone to get identified? What if they're not on an elite club team or not playing at the open level? How can high school/club coaches work with the NTDP program to alert them to potential athletes?The first thing athletes will notice is there are no longer

open tryouts for our program. Instead, there are four zones that 40 indoor scouts (for girls) will be looking at. Badger Region is in the Central Zone. And what these scouts will be able to see is far more than we will be able to see at a tryout. Our scouts and recruiters will turn over the rocks that haven’t been found. It’ll make life more efficient. We find that we can learn more from seeing an athlete compete in person and with their teams than at a tryout. We’ll be able to identify

Scholarship open for senior athletes, officials, coaches

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH ...QUICK HITS: NEWS, HINTS

AND TIPS FROM OUR

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

Having issues in Sports Engine? Click here to troubleshoot some of the common problems par-ents and athletes are having.

Interested in becoming an official? We would love to have you join are cadre of referees. Click here for more information.

Registration for USA Volleyball's Adult Open Championships taking place Memorial Day weekend in Louisville is now open. Click here.

USA Volleyball is hosting a town hall discussion for athletes and parents about the new USA Volley-ball National Team Development Program Jan. 14-15. Click here for details/registration.

Erin Virtue: Women's National Team assistant coach and senior manager

National Team Development Program

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1543722433667842063?fbclid=IwAR1LP0HNV95PYxVRPv4Y-q-yPDOV19k8D69TjrMmraIaCzwfDcGKQfVJdtUhttps://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Calendar/2021/May/28/Open-Nationals-2021?fbclid=IwAR1D2MNeQKakcqe_eVCXuZ1sZ7YtjY9pd0uMZ4A4pmWYAGZVdPi39yg-0Bohttps://media.campaigner.com/media/53/533330/AroundtheBlock/December2020/ParentsSEfaqs.pdf?id=uqpderb?f_type=file&f_name=ParentsSEfaqs.pdfhttps://badgervolleyball.org/officials-certifying-as-a-referee/https://badgervolleyball.org/scholarship-application/

The Badger Region Power League kicked off its third year of home-grown competition Jan. 9-10 at a handful of sites throughout Wisconsin.The first weekend of competition had 516

matches of Wisconsin girls volleyball action.The schedule for the three weekends of

competition is available by clicking here.Information about hotels and other details

about the Power League are available on the event’s homepage of our website by clicking here.This season, 174 teams are competing in

eight divisions of the Power League. Twenty additional teams have been added to a waitlist and could be added if a team needs to drop or cancel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.No apparel will be sold this season for the

Power League.Besides Jan. 9-10, the league will also take

place Feb. 20-21 and April 17-18 at Center Court (Waukesha), RecPlex (Pleasant Prairie) and Champions Center (Appleton).Have questions about the Badger Region

Power League? Email us at membership@badgervolleyball.org.

First-weekend concernsThe Badger Region encountered issues relat-

ing to schedules running behind schedule that are being addressed for the final two weekends of competition.These problems were related to the new

check-in protocols that requires athletes, coach-es and spectators checking in together at a spe-cific time. A shortage of staff available to check in teams and handle other tournament-related hiccups also contributed to the delays.Other delays were related to officials who

called in the day of the competition for a vari-ety of reasons.BallerTV has also been contacted regarding

issues with livestreaming.The Region apologizes if you or your team

were impacted by the delays. Staff and site directors are working with club directors on these issues for the remaining two weekends of the event.Power League protocolsPower League starts Jan. 9 and with it come

the following COVID-19 related protocols:1) All spectators, refs, coaches, and players

will need to wear a mask upon entering the facility and will be required to wear masks over both their mouth and noses for the entirety of the event. No exceptions.2) Spectators will be limited, and that capac-

ity will be enforced at each facility. Spectators will be charged $5 admission per day and must check-in with their team. Center Court and the Rec Plex are able to allow no more than 1 spec-tator per player. Champions Center is allowing no more than 5 spectators per team with the number of teams that we have playing at the facility. The spectators are for the entirety of

their teams play for that day. Details in regards to how spectator admission will be handled at each site will be sent to the teams at each site individually.3) Generally, teams will not be switching

sides during a match. The side chosen at the coin flip will be the side you play on for the entire match, unless a court is deemed to have an advantageous side.4) Teams should not shag balls for the other

team, unless both coaches agree to this before starting warm-ups.5) Refs will make sure to personally or

through delegation of the work team disin-fect their score table and volleyball after each match. Coaches will be asked to disinfect their team benches prior to leaving their bench area.6) Each match will have a reffing team as-

signed. For safety purposes and social distanc-ing, we have been working with not using an R2 for some matches this season. We are going to NOT use an R2 for the following divisions this weekend: 14-Elite, 14-Select, 14-Regional, 16-Select, and 16- Regional. We will re-evaluate this process after the first weekend of BRPL and would encourage club directors to give us professional feedback about this change.7) Temperature checks will not be admin-

istered the first weekend of Power League. Although many sources had questioned the effectiveness of temperature checks months ago, now that winter has come in Wisconsin, thermal temperature checks have become grossly inaccu-rate for players/spectators coming in directly from being outside. We believe that by eliminating this process we will limit the amount of time people may be in a line and not social distancing, so it is better to eliminate this step.

PAGE 2 — BADGER BEACON

BADGER REGION EVENTS

Power League debuts at three locations in Wisconsin

The Badger Region Champi-onships will take place this year across three weekends in Marc h:* March 12-14 (Girls

12s, Girls 15s, Girls 16s)* March 19-21 (Girls,

11s, Girls 13s and Girls 14s)* March 26-28 (Girls

17s, Girls 18s and all Boys divisions)These dates are slight-

ly different from those originally published. The changes are based on facility availability and occupancy capacities that

are expected to be in place in the spring of 2021.The Dale Rohde Memorial Boys

Tournament will be March 6 or March 7 at the Wisconsin Center and will not be com-bined with Champion-ships in 2021. More details on that

to be shared soon. As always, things are sub-

ject to change.Questions? Email member-

ship@badgervolleyball.org.

Dates, ages set for Badger Region Championships

A date has been chosen for the Badger Region’s Dale Rohde Memorial Boys Volleyball Tournament. The event will take place March 6 or March 7. The Dale Rohde Memorial

Boys Volleyball Tournament is a tribute to longtime Badger Region member Dale Rohde who was a huge supporter of boys volleyball in the Badger Region. Dale was an active member of the community as a player, parent and official. He lost his fight with cancer on Jan. 15, 2014.

The Dale Rohde will be a full-day (single day) event. The Region's goal with the Dale is to have an equal number of teams on Saturday as Sunday. So it might be something like B12/B13 alongside B17/18 on one day. Then B14 alongside B15/16 on another. Teams from outside the

Region are also encouraged to register for the event. Have questions about the Dale Rhode Memorial Boys Vol-leyball Tournament? Email brian@badgervolleyball.org.

Dale Rohde boys tournament to be weekend of March 6-7

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PAGE 3 — BADGER BEACON

The 2021 tournament season is upon us. And with that comes a lot of questions regarding COVID-19 protocols that are in place at events taking place throughout the state.The COVID-19 protocols for

Badger Region-sponsored events in the state of Wisconsin are driven by what local mandates are in place. Certain counties and cities are more strict with capacity regulations than others, and the tournaments in those locations must adhere to those guidelines. Facilities can choose to be more restrictive if they would like, but not less restrictive.Everyone in attendance (includ-

ing players, coaches, officials and spectators) MUST wear a mask over their mouth and nose. There are no exceptions to this. If people cannot wear a mask for health reasons, for the safety of everyone else, the Region asks they not attend the event.“Our goal throughout

COVID-19 has been to provide opportunities for players to play,” said Badger Region Executive Director Jennifer Armson-Dyer. “There are numerous studies that show the benefits of physical activ-ity during this time, and also the negative effects when players do not have this. To reach this goal, we NEED the help of parents and adults to help make sure protocols are being followed and understood by the players.”The rules are in place for a

reason. While a staff member at a tournament might not be on hand every minute of the day to enforce the rules, it is expected that adults (spectators, officials and coaches) do their best to police themselves and their teams.“We need adults to be adults,”

Armson-Dyer said. “We need adults not to try to sneak extra people into facilities. We need adults to follow mask mandate protocols by wearing masks over their nose and mouth. We need adults to use common sense and socially distance themselves. We need adults to understand that we aren’t using down refs in some situations where the court setup may be too tight, and therefore some calls may be missed. We need adults to afford the officials,

coaches, players, spectators and administrators the grace to do what they can in these unique circumstances to allow the athletes to play the game. We are doing everything we can to allow some spectators into events, but we can-not promise that this will continue if adults cannot be adults. We are all in this together, and we ask for rational communication if there is a concern so that we can work on solutions together.”

Differences at eventsThere will be variances in rules

at events due to geography and the size of the event and the amount of space in a facility. Some events can allow more spectators if the building capacity is larger or the county reg-ulations are loosened. Some events might allow fewer spectators based on indoor regulations set by the county or by the club or tournament director hosting the event.These differences are not set by

the Badger Region unless the Region is running the event. The events run by the Badger Region include the Badger Region Power League (BRPL), Badger Region Qualifier, Badger Region Championships, Dale Rohde Memorial Tournament, and the Badger Region Youth Fall Volleyball League (BRYFVL).If you are attending those

events, the Badger Region staff and board of directors decide how many spectators are allowed which adheres to the strictest of recom-mendations from local govern-ments and the CDC.“Badger Region has provided

all tournament directors and club directors suggested guidelines and protocols that we recommend, but due to the local variances, the local event is responsible for setting and following the final protocol,” Armson-Dyer said.Tournaments not mentioned

above have spectator limits and other COVID-related policies for non-members set by the facility and the tournament directors.

Badger Region officialsBadger Region certified

officials have been given rec-ommendations from the region on how to adjust their work re-sponsibilities during the annual officials meeting.However, officials are not

the mask police for athletes or spectators. The responsibility of making sure athletes stay masked on the court is the job of the coaching staff. The tour-nament director is responsible for spectators wearing masks and making sure they maintain proper social distancing in the bleachers, in line at restrooms or waiting to pay at the door.Before each match officials

will conduct a traditional USAV captains’ meeting and coin toss with one captain from each team properly spaced 6 feet apart.Officials must wear a mask

at all times while officiating a Badger Region sanctioned event. Officials can use a whis-tle under the mask or use an electronic whistle. Line judging flags are not recommended unless the official sanitizes the flags between every user.Teams will be instructed

by the official to not change sides in between sets or during a third deciding set and not to touch hands with anoth-er teammate while making a substitution. If a floor captain approaches an official during the match, they must remain 6 feet apart and keep masks on while talking.At the conclusion of the

match, the official will instruct each team to wave to the oppo-nent rather than shake hands. Officials must sanitize or dele-gate the work team to sanitize the score table in between each match.Badger Region Program

specialist Sara Voigt, who is in charge of assigning officials to Badger Region-sanctioned events, will follow up with referees after events to see if any of these protocols need to be adjusted.

Cooperation needed to help enforce protocolsCOVID AWARENESS

"We are doing everything we can to allow some spectators into events, but we cannot promise that this will continue if adults cannot be adults. We are all in this together and we ask for rational communication if there is a concern so that we can work on solutions together.”

Jennifer Armson-Dyer

Executive Director

PAGE 4 — BADGER BEACON

more of them and better see what they can do. To help with that, USA Volleyball will be partnering with scouting networks like University Athlete. That way, recruiters can tag an athlete in UA. These scouts are already recruiting for college and us-ing UA. Plus it’s free for families. (See more on the new recruiting model for the National Team Development Program on Page 6.)

2. According to you and USA Volleyball Director of Sport Peter Vint, only 26 percent of athletes who should be in the HP/NTDP program are trying out. Why is that? What were the hangups? What is being done to get the right athletes in the pipeline?That’s a really important statistic.

In the last year, we’ve been research-ing “where are we” so we know where to go. We were able to look at how many of the top recruits and athletes were choosing to try out. The factors included some athletes and families not knowing that try-outs existed. There are some parts of the country that our presence wasn’t known. And tryouts are mainly at certain events. So, for some, that’s not convenient or it wasn’t in prox-imity to where they live. Also, our process was backward. We were wait-ing for athletes coming to us instead of going out and actively seeking them and talking to them about what it would mean for them to be a part of the national team development program and play against the best athletes in the country and the world. Having a one-off tryout on a day before a big event and only getting to see athletes for two hours — it’s not enough time to get an athlete’s whole story. Our tryouts were getting a bad rap and were just known for the $90 t-shirt. Having an identification program to help watch and track our athletes will help make this program open, continuous and fluid. It gives us a chance to watch them more and work with coaches who work with the athletes. We don’t want folks to come to a USA Volleyball program leave and that’s it. We want to work with their high school coaches, their club coaches and the Regions. We get that everyone has their stake in the ground, but we want to collaborate with these groups to help the athletes further their volleyball careers.

3. Are clubs and coaches training athletes the right way? What are some of the things you

find yourself having to enforce or correct for athletes coming in to the national team programs?On the women’s side — this won’t

come as a surprise to anyone — our biggest thing is finding girls who can stay on the court the whole time. Any time I get a chance to talk a club or high school coach, I make a point to emphasize that we aren’t pigeon holing someone as not a passer. Or that someone shouldn’t play back row. We need coaches to teach all of the skills at the young-er levels. It will be to an athlete’s benefit that they play all the way around because they might be an outside hitter when they get older. Even at the national team level, there are tournaments that we enter (not the Olympics), and granted we do well, but we are prepared to possibly take a beating. But we want those athletes to be exposed and get experience. We have no choice. They have to pass. They have to play at that high level to get better. It’s the same with our opposites. The right side hitters are some of the most dominant hitters in men’s and women’s volleyball. But, the pool we are scouting from for that position is very small. Not a lot of girls are being trained to do that and are being subbed out for a defensive specialist. I’d love to see this position be developed more by club and high

school coaches in a more meaning-ful way.

4. Regions, clubs, high schools, etc. are VERY protective of their athletes and don't want to send them to another club or group for training/development/compe-tition. How do you break down those barriers and encourage everyone to work together?Every one of our women’s Olym-

pic team athletes is playing for a dif-ferent club somewhere around the world right now playing at a really high level. They are playing with and against some of the best players in the world. Lauren Carlini (former University of Wisconsin standout), is playing for a team in Turkey, and her coach has a completely different blocking system than we have in the United States. For Lauren, that is really hard because she has to learn that and then transition back to when we hit the ground running in the summer. For us though, the benefits outweigh the negatives for athletes to be competing at that really high level versus just training and not really grow and make those breakthroughs. That can be tough as a coach. I think as long as we are very clear as to “why” we are train-ing things a certain way, that will really help the athletes understand things more. We encourage athletes at every level to embrace the way they are being trained from club up through the national team level. In the National Team Development Program, we’re not the primary developer of these athletes, and we know that. What we want to do is to have more touchpoints with these top athletes throughout the year rather than them just coming to us for a week in summer and that’s it. We understand that clubs are very protective in a positive way. They have the best intentions of the kids in mind. No one is doing that in a malicious way. We want to make sure that we are a part of that solution.

5. In your mind, where do you see the U.S. fitting in on the international scene? How will the United States do in Tokyo?The last time our team competed

at on the world stage was the fall of 2019. And our world ranking is based on what we were able to do in 2019 and anything prior to that. So we have lost quite a bit of time to be able to compete and learn where other teams actually sit prior to the Olympics. Our women’s ranking is No. 2 in the world and our men’s ranking is No. 3 in the world. And that’s just off the FIVB ranking system. There’s a lot of really good teams to look out for – China, Serbia, Italy, Turkey – every team is going to be strong at the Olympics. Those four teams have some of the most talented individual athletes in the world, but our goal as the United States is going to be to “out team” these opponents. We have a really balanced unit and the No. 1 offense in the world. Winning the VNL in 2019 and qualifying for the Olympics and then finishing second to China in the world cup was one of the best years women have had. So we were on a really good trajec-tory heading into 2020.

BONUS QUESTION: How does Wisconsin compare on the national scene. What can we be doing better to train and then sub-sequently get our athletes noticed? As I was getting ready for this

interview, I looked and saw that in 2019, Simone Lee (Menomonee Falls) and Jenna Rosenthal (Fond du Lac) played with our National Team in the Volleyball Nations League and the Pan Am Games. The cool thing about the national team program is that athletes can come from anywhere, any state, any region and we find so many success stories like that. And the develop-ment patterns are unique to where they are coming from. Wisconsin is obviously one place our scouts are going to be very focused on with the strong club programs, strong colle-giate programs and a growing boys population in Wisconsin which is exciting. What can we do better to train better and get noticed? Learn about the national stage and learn about what’s next. Seeing someone who is out there doing it or who has done it, is huge for the girls (and boys). Any time we can talk about what is next – what’s the next dream for a young athlete is just as import-ant as the training and the grind that they are currently in.

VIRTUE, From Page 1

"Any time we can talk about what is next – what’s the next dream for a young athlete is just as im-portant as the train-ing and the grind that they are currently in."

Erin Virtue

PAGE 5 — BADGER BEACON

A BUSY ROAD AHEADThis winter and spring are going to be filled with an overwhelming amount of volleyball at almost every level for every gender. That means referees in Wisconsin and the Badger Region will be in very high demand. Interested in becoming an official? Email sara@bad-gervolleyball.org. Here's a look at just some events on our radar.

OTHER SPRING EVENTS

Many states, including Illinois, have moved their full high school seasons to spring. There are also lots of National Bid and Qualifier Tournaments around the country that will require officials. And on top of that, late spring sees the arrival of international volleyball events in prepa-ration for the Tokyo Olympics. One of those events is the Volleyball Nation's League in Evansville, Ind., May 14-16. The event will feature the U.S. Men's National Team vs. Brazil, Argentina and Canada.

HIGH SCHOOL EVENTS FOR WIAAFrom Feb. 22 through April 17, there will be quite a few "spring" high school matches taking place for teams who opted to partake in the "alternate fall season" in the WIAA. There are a total of 21 boys teams from Racine, Madison and the Fox Valley who are compet-ing in the spring. There are 138 girls teams from throughout the state who will be competing in the spring. These events will take place during the week and weekends and will utilize WIAA-certified officials.

NCAA AND NAIA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

NCAA and NAIA men's volleyball usually takes place in the spring. So this season will take place roughly during the same time frame. Coaches are reporting that their seasons are starting slight-ly later and that their non-conference events have been pared down. Some schools are plan-ning to have double-headers with their school's women's teams on both weekends and week-nights to cut down on demands for facility time and officials.

NCAA AND NAIA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALLIn Wisconsin, there are four NCAA Div. I, one NCAA Div. 2, 20 NCAA Div. 3, three NAIA pro-grams, and a handful of NCCAA and NJCAA programs. These teams usually compete in the fall (September through No-vember). However, due to COVID-19, these sea-sons are being moved to the spring. Some double-headers are planned for women's NCAA programs who also have men's programs at their colleges and universities.

BADGER REGION TOURNAMENTS

Club volleyball is up and running in the Badger Region. Tournaments for both boys and girls start-ed this past weekend already. As of Dec. 3, more than 100 clubs are registered in the state of Wisconsin (down by only 10 percent to an average year). These mostly week-end events will require officials at tournament sites throughout the state now through April — with a handful of events in May and June.

PAGE 6 — BADGER BEACON

USA Volleyball has selected Phoenix to host its 2021 High Performance Champi-onship on July 21-25. The event showcas-es players who are rising stars in the USA Volleyball National Team pipeline.The Badger Region will bring four

teams (two male and two female) to the event — with tryouts taking place in mid-spring this year.Teams will compete at the Phoenix Con-

vention Center in the heart of downtown.“We were delighted to select Phoenix to host

our 2021 High Performance Championship,” said USAV President and CEO Jamie Davis. “We look forward to bringing the future stars of Team USA to a city with a passion for sport.”The USA Volleyball High Performance

Championship puts the spotlight on boys and girls teams from the USAV National Team pipeline, region high performance teams, and teams from foreign countries. In the last few years, girls U18 and boys U19 national teams from Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico have competed along with those from the United States. Approximately 145 teams attended the 2019 Championship.Prior to the HPC competition, athletes

from the USA Volleyball National Team pipeline will vie for spots on the top teams in their age groups in a five-day training camp on July 16-20.“The High Performance Championship is a

special event that brings together the very best age-group athletes from across the country to compete with and against their peers,” said USAV Chief of Sports Dr. Peter Vint. “These ‘Best v Best’ opportunities create unique chal-lenges that can accelerate the development of these promising young players, some of whom may someday represent our country as members of our National Teams.”

This time of year usually is highlighted by all the joys of the holidays, winter break and the opportunity to use some downtime to dive into officiat-ing training for junior athletes, coaches and club directors.However, due to the change

over from Webpoint to Sports Engine and all of the program-ming adjustments that go along with that switch, the online

modules for junior referee train-ing have been delayed.The online training opportu-

nities will be released by USA Volleyball in the coming weeks, and the Badger Region will make sure to communicate the launch of these modules loud and clear for all to hear.In the meantime, clubs are

welcomed to offer their own training to their athletes and

coaches based on information available in the 2019-2021 DCR (rulebook) — as there are no rule changes heading into the 2020-21 club volleyball season.Clubs will not be penalized for

not having their athletes formally trained heading into their first competitions of the year, which we are sure are coming in early January. The club directors are remind-

ed they should still fill out the Badger Region's online form af-ter they have completed training of their athletes and coaches.Certified officials will not

be doing any in-person clinics for clubs this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Have questions about any-

thing related to ref training? Email us at membership@badgervolleyball.org.

Phoenix to host HP Championships

Young volleyball ath-letes who want to take the next step on their path to the podium can now be part of the new USA Volleyball National Team Development Program (NTDP).Launching in 2021, the

NTDP will fully replace the USA Volleyball High Per-formance program. Since the 1990s, USAV High Performance has identified, evaluated, trained and developed young athletes to build a sustainable pipeline of future Olympians and Paralympians. Volleyball has flourished into the most popular high school team sport for girls and the fastest-growing high school sport for boys in the U.S.The NTDP will increase

the opportunities for athletes to be seen and evaluated and to develop within the USAV National Team system. “As the popularity of

volleyball continues to grow in the United States, USAV needs to grow with it,” USAV Chief of Sports Dr. Peter Vint said.

“Throughout the past year, we have challenged the way we have done things and have worked toward a better and more robust system of identifying and developing athletes.”The NTDP will be

a fluid system with an athlete-centered focus that emphasizes the health, well-being and overall development of each individual player. Indoor, beach and sitting vol-leyball players will have increased opportunities to play with and against the best athletes from across the country and to learn from some of the best minds in the game.“Aligning our National

Team Development Pro-gram with the philosophies, methodologies and culture of our national teams is import-ant to sustain competitive excellence in our sport,” U.S. Women’s National Team

Assistant Coach / NTDP Senior Manager Erin Virtue said. “I am proud of our NTDP team for the research, time and passion it has put in throughout this difficult year. We have more work to do and we are excited to roll out these new initiatives in 2021.”Age-group categories will

begin with girls under-15 and boys under-16 with the oldest age groups for both genders being under-21. Ath-letes U15 and older may par-ticipate in the NTD Training Series held quarterly at locations across the country. A new series of local events called NTD Accelerators will offer athletes the chance to train against top competition in their area.Younger athletes may

participate in USAVplay. These single-session and summer-camp programs allow any athlete to partic-ipate in a development-fo-cused training session.

USAV modifies structure of HP

Junior ref modules coming soon

PAGE 7 — BADGER BEACON

Every member and family of the Badger Region should feel wel-come, regardless of race, gender, identity, socioeconomic status or other identifications. We know that racial and other

forms of discrimination are not new, however recent events have made it painfully clear that progress cannot be made unless each individual and organization within our community makes a decision to step out of their comfort zone, learn something new about someone different than themselves, and take action to make inclusion a priority. The racial, socioeconomic status

and gender identity demographics in our region and in volleyball are significantly different than our state and especially of our country. We at Badger Region, have, are

and will continue to undergo an internal examination to address the shortfall of diversity and inclusion within our organization, in our clubs and in volleyball as a sport and community. The Badger Region and its Board

of Directors and staff commit to: * Listening and learning with

open minds, and assisting others in doing the same, so that volley-

ball can be a sport where everyone feels safe and welcome.* Exploring our organizational

structure, policies and procedures to examine ways to be more inclusive.* Creating a Diversity & Inclu-

sion Committee and seeking input from our membership* Reaching more areas of need

through a Badger Region Grant Program* Reducing current barriers to

entry into volleyball, and col-laborating with other entities to increase access to our sport* Creating opportunities for

outreach to under-served commu-nities and populations

* Increasing access to employ-ment opportunities for families and individuals in need* Looking at ways to develop a

minority coach and official schol-arship and mentoring program* Developing a resource and

outreach page on the Badger Region website for diversity and inclusion initiatives and information* Diversifying Badger Region’s

social media following and shared contentGoing by the mantra of “If you

can’t see it, you won’t be it,” these steps and more are important and the time is now. Thank you to "Match Point" for this pow-erful video — with Wisconsin ties — to help explain some of the many reasons these actions are needed: https://www.facebook.com/112142830251137/vid-eos/281930069659362/Please look for more infor-

mation on these initiatives as we examine how to best implement and expand access to our sport. If you would like to volunteer or have ideas for implementation, please contact Executive Director Jennifer Armson-Dyer at jarmson-dyer@badgervolleyball.org.

Region continues diversity & inclusion mission

EQUALITYThe assumption is that everyone benefits from the same supports.

This is equal treatment.

EQUITYEveryone gets the supports they need (this is the concept of "affir-

mative action), thus producing equity.

JUSTICEWhen the cause of the inequity is addressed and the systemic

barrier has been removed.

Potential conversation starters

Keep up to date on all things volleyball via the many channels of the Badger Region

Facebook: /BadgerRegionVolleyball

Twitter: @BadgerRegionVB

Instagram: @BadgerRegionVB

Website: www.badgervolleyball.org

Pinterest: /BadgerRegionVol

YouTube: /Badger RegionVolleyball

https://www.facebook.com/112142830251137/videos/281930069659362/https://www.facebook.com/112142830251137/videos/281930069659362/https://www.facebook.com/112142830251137/videos/281930069659362/

PAGE 8 — BADGER BEACON

WANTEDREFEREESREWARDS:

(CLICK HERE FOR MORE)

HARD WORKING. DECISIVE. CONFIDENT. CONSISTENT. DEDICATED

TRAINING OFFEREDGOOD COMPENSATIONFLEXIBLE SCHEDULES

GIVE BACK TO THE GAME

BADGERVOLLEYBALL.ORG

PAGE 9 — BADGER BEACON

Badger Region, Frisco Mo partner for unique Wisconsin-themed volleyball shop

How do I get fun, Badger Region apparel all year round? Now you can thanks to a recent partnership between the Badger Region

and Frisco Mo.The online-only shop offers everything from pillows and posters to stickers

and mugs to the more traditional hoodies and t-shirts.A permanent link to the store now sits on www.badgervolleyball.org.A portion of the proceeds benefits future Badger Region programming in

the state of Wisconsin. For a link to the shop, click here.

Buy through Amazon Smile and support Badger Region

Do you shop on Amazon? Do you want to support the growth of volleyball in the state of Wisconsin?

Then you need to make your purchases on the popular online shopping website via the Badger Region Charity Link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/39-1802573

When you purchase through the link listed above, a percent of your purchase comes back to the Badger Region Volleyball Association each month.

WAUSAU

TOMAHAWK

MARINETTE

MEDFORD

SUPERIOR

ASHLAND

MARSHFIELD

TOMAH

LA CROSSE

STEVENS POINT

APPLETON

GREEN BAY

MADISON

MILWAUKEE

KENOSHA

RACINE

SHEBOYGAN

FOND DU LAC

JANESVILLE

PLATTEVILLE

CHIPPEWA FALLS

EAU CLAIRE

MENOMONIE

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11

BADGERREGION

TOTALS* 141 CLUBS (15 OF WHICH ARE SATELLITE CLUBS OF A BIGGER ORGANIZATION)* TOTAL MEMBERSHIP:2018-19: 20,747 (+2.6%)2017-18: 20,202* JUNIOR FEMALE:2018-19: 16,163 (+1.6%)2017-18: 15,730* JUNIOR MALE:2018-19: 1,673 (+2.5%)2017-18: 1,632* ADULT FEMALE:2018-19: 1,869 (+2.6%)2017-18: 1,815 * ADULT MALE:2018-19: 1,042 (+2.6%)2017-18: 1,025

DID YOU KNOW: THE BADGER REGION IS THE NINTH BIGGEST REGION OF THE

40 REGIONS OF USA VOLLEYBALLAS OF DEC. 4, 2019

FOR LINKS TO ALL CLUBS, VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.BADGERVOLLEYBALL.ORG

13

19

72

20

26 92

99

79

85

21

36

39

45

42

40

48

44

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83

87

109

60

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71

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88

93

94

98

100

101

102103

104

105

106

107

139

108

110

111

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113 120

114

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136

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134

Get yourjersey questions answered

The Badger Region Volleyball Association wants to make sure your team's jerseys are compliant with all rule sets and changes that have gone into effect starting in the 2020-21 season regarding uniforms.

To do so, the Region’s Ref Chair (Jim Arts) is encouraging club directors or coaches to upload images to this link (below) if there is any concern that numbers are not contrasting enough with the dominant color of the jersey or if a jersey is not contrasting for libero purposes.

UPLOAD HERE: http://badger-volleyball.org/jerseys/

Reminder: All numbers must clearly contrast with the color of the jersey, regardless of the color of the outline of the number.

Have questions? Email badgerref-chair@yahoo.com.

https://teespring.com/stores/badger-region-volleyball?pr=FREESHIP/https://smile.amazon.com/ch/39-1802573http://badgervolleyball.org/jerseys/http://badgervolleyball.org/jerseys/

Jan. 24: Badger Boys Series (Boys 13s) at the Adversity-Wisconsin Training CenterFeb. 14: Badger Boys Series (Boys 12s) at the Adversity-Wisconsin Training CenterFeb. 20-21: Second weekend of Badger Region Power LeagueFeb. 22: Badger Region Board of Directors Meeting (5:30 p.m.)Feb. 22: First day of practice for WIAA high school teams who opted to compete in the "Alternate Fall Season" through April 17.Feb. 28: Badger Boys Series (Boys 13s) at the Adversi-ty-Wisconsin Training CenterMarch 7: Badger Boys Series (Boys 12s) at the Adversi-ty-Wisconsin Training CenterMarch 12-14: First weekend of Badger Region Champi-onships. Girls 12s, 15s and 16s. Age levels are subject to change.March 19-21: Second weekend of Badger Region Champi-onships. Girls 11s, 13s and 14s.Age levels are subject to change.March 26-28: Third weekend of Badger Region Championships. Girls 17s, 18s and all boys divisions. Age levels are subject to change.April 17: Conclusion of WIAA's "Alternate Fall Season" for high schools who did not compete in the fall of 2020.April 17-18: Third weekend of Badger Region Power LeagueMay 10: Badger Region Board of Directors Meeting (5:30 p.m.)May 14-16: Volleyball Nation's League in Evansville, Ind., featuring the U.S. Men's National Team vs. Brazil, Argentina and Canada.May 21-23: USA Volleyball's Girls Junior National Championships for 18-and-unders in Columbus, Ohio.May 28-June 2: Adult Open Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.June 1-3: Volleyball Nations League in Wichita, Kan., featuring the U.S. Women's National Team vs. Japan, Belgium and Turkey.June 26-July 5: USA Volleyball's Girls Junior National Championships in Las VegasJune 30-July 7: USA Volleyball's Boys Junior National Championships in Kansas CityJuly 21-25: USA Volleyball's High Performance Championships (Phoenix, Ariz.)Sept. 19: Badger Region Board of Directors meeting (1 p.m.)

PAGE 10 — BADGER BEACON

Badger Region Volleyball Association2831 N. Grandview Blvd.Suite 105Pewaukee, WI 53072

StaffJennifer Armson-DyerExecutive Director/ Commissionerjen@badgervolleyball.org414-507-1124

Brian SharkeyProgram Directorbrian@badgervolleyball.org414-313-9055 (cell)262-349-9785 (office)

Scott Spiess Operations Managerscott@badgervolleyball.org414-303-5624 (cell)262-349-9785 (office)

Kelly LehmanTournament Directorkelly@badgervolleyball.org 262-470-0837

Sara VoigtProgram Specialistsara@badgervolleyball.org262-349-9785 (office)

Fax: 262-349-9971

More online:www.badgervolleyball.org

Twitter: @BadgerRegionVBFacebook:

Badger Region Volleyball

Pinterest: BadgerRegionVol

Instagram: BadgerRegionVB

The Badger Region Volleyball Association promotes initiatives for safe, structured and fun life-long volleyball experiences!

If you (or you or your organization) would like to advertise in a future Badger Beacon, contact Brian Sharkey at the phone number or email address above.

Badger Region Volleyball Association

Calendar of events

Have a great story idea or person you want featured in the Badger Beacon? Email Brian Sharkey at brian@badgervolleyball.org.

PAGE 11 — BADGER BEACON

How is the Badger Region Board structured?The Badger Region Volleyball Association

is governed by a Board of Directors that must be elected by members on a regular basis. Area reps serve three-year terms, while members of the executive board serve four-year terms.

Members, whether they are players, coaches, parents, directors, athletic trainers or officials, are encouraged to communicate with their respective representative if they

think policies or financial decision in the Region need to be changed.

Some policies enforced by Badger Region come from USA Volleyball, our sport’s national governing body, so those can’t be changed. But many others can.

The Board is advised by a 11 chairpersons (or experts) in various parts of the game, and five staff members (some of which have multiple responsibilities).

The state is divided into five parts geo-graphically for representation. Plus, there are two at-large board members who you can approach if you don’t feel comfortable with your current rep. And there is a rep dedi-cated just to issues that surround our Junior volleyball clubs and athletes.

You’ll be hearing from each Board mem-ber twice a year in the form of a column in the Badger Beacon. Now, let’s meet them:

REGION STAFFExecutive Director/Commissioner: Jennifer Armson-DyerProgram Director: Brian SharkeyOperations Manager: Scott Spiess Tournament Director: Kelly LehmanProgram Specialist: Sara Voigt

Elections for the Badger Region Board of Direc-tors occur. Nominations take place in April and the election is for adult members May 1-10.

Individual chairs and advisors who offer input to the Board of Directors but don’t have authority to vote at meetings:

Susan Peterson (At-Large Rep)Elected in 2020Email: susanpeterson2005@gmail.com

Josh Price(At-Large Rep)Elected in 2018Email: wijrs.josh.price@gmail.com

Brian Rushmer(Junior Rep)Elected in 2020Email: brushmer@gmail.com

Angie Lubach(Independent Rep)Appointed in 2017Email: Angela.lubach@yahoo.com

Madison

La Crosse

Stevens Point

Betty Lange (Northwest Rep)Appointed in 2019 Email address: Betty@allmetalstamping.com

Mark Rushton(Southwest Rep)Elected in 2018Email address: mark.rushton@cvamadison.net

Holly Jablonowski(Southeast Rep)Elected in 2019Email: hvogelsang15@gmail.com

Curtis Madson(Metro Milwaukee Rep)Elected in 2020Email: Curtis.Madson@cuw.edu

Financial Chair: Anne SlatteryGrassroots Chair: Lexi Middleton Officials Rating/Training: Julie VoeckJunior Girls Chair: Heather Curley Junior Boys Chair: Jeff LikerAdult Chair: TJ Abshire Past President: Julie Voeck

Jim Momsen(President)Elected in 2020Email: jkmomsen@yahoo.com

Scott Blackmon (Vice President)Elected in 2019Email: Scottlblackmon@gmail.com

BJ Le Roy(Treasurer)Elected in 2018Email: 4bjleroy@gmail.com

Kim Wudi(Secretary)Elected in 2017Email: wudikm@uwec.edu

Todd Mattes(Northeast Rep)Elected in 2019Email: todd.mattes@nivbc.com

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| FRIDAY |

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| SATURDAY | 1-2 COURTS

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| SUNDAY |

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Contact Club Administrator Shari Pauers

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reserve for your event!

262-853-3333

 AdversityWisconsin@yahoo.com

https://adversitywisconsinvbc.sportngin.com/home

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