ORLANDO, Florida – Hey from the AAU Boys Junior Nationals Championships.
Monday’s second-day motion featured pool play in 12s, 13s, 16s and 18s. The AVCA placed on a free recruiting occasion and groups are gearing as much as make the push to make the championship bracket.
I’m right here till Saturday, capturing the perfect of this enormous boys match within the Orange County Conference Heart. Bought a word or story: message me on Instagram @kprecruiter I’m searching for player-of-the-day suggestions, greatest crew bonding actions, the best-dressed crew for the Fourth of July and rather more.
After I performed approach again in 2005, membership tournaments had been at excessive colleges in Southern California and most groups went to at least one main nationwide match held in a conference heart. Now we’re on this superior atmosphere and school coaches are right here en masse.
Recapping the perfect of Monday
— 630 18s out of Chicago is our crew of the day. They’re 6-0 after two days hoping to make the championship bracket on day three. Libero Lincoln Geist, dedicated to Lindenwood, is passing at 2.64 and outdoors hitter Aidan Weltin, a George Mason commit, is hitting .481
“The match has handled us properly,” 630 coach Luis Garza stated. “Being 6-0 heading right into a battle with Balboa Bay on day three is one thing our crew is wanting ahead to and embracing the problem.”.
— Undefeated 18s open groups after day two; MB Surf, Balboa Bay, Pulse, WAVE, Staff Rockstar, Bay to Bay, Arizona Concern, 630, and A2.
— Talking of MB Surf, Sean Kelly, dedicated to UCLA from MB Surf 18s, is in seek for one other gold medal.
All through Kelly’s highschool profession he has received nearly each title and award possible.
“Sean Kelly has achieved a lot within the volleyball group,” stated Micheal Boehle, Kelly’s Loyola Excessive Faculty and Manhattan Seaside Surf membership director. “What units him aside from others is his work ethic, management, drive and humbleness. Loyola and MB Surf has had unbelievable gamers over time, however Sean stands out amongst all of them.”
— The AVCA placed on a recruiting panel with the faculty coaches for athletes and oldsters, together with Hawai’i assistant coach Kupono Fey, Penn State assistant coach Pat Shawaryn and Carthage head coach JW Kieckhefer.
“I believe it’s nice the AVCA is giving athletes and oldsters the chance to study extra concerning the recruiting course of. As a former athlete, I understand how new, complicated and presumably overwhelming the method could seem,” Fey stated. “I’m glad I obtained to assist by sharing a few of my information and expertise as a coach and athlete.”
The subsequent free AVCA recruiting panel is at 2 p.m. Jap Friday in Conference Heart room N330. On the panel with be coaches from NYU, George Mason, Orange Coast Faculty and Barry.
— Pinnacle’s 18s setter Jake Pazanti is our 18s participant of the day. Pazanti, dedicated to Lengthy Seaside State, has led his squad to a 5-1 file. Pananti was just lately named to the AVCA All-American first crew.
— Undefeated 16s open groups after day two; Sports activities Efficiency Volleyball Membership, Coast, Staff Rockstar, Triangle, Balboa Bay, Sting, and C2 Assault.
— And talking of C2 Assault: Class of ’26 outdoors hitter Trevor Whittemore of undefeated C2 Assault is one other of our gamers of the day. Whittemore has hit .306 with 24 kills, six aces and 16 digs in three matches.
“I’m fired as much as play as a result of I get to play in an exceptional match with my favourite folks on the earth, my teammates,” Whittemore stated.
— Due to so many groups getting into the 16s and 18s Open, there are swimming pools of eight. The primary three days groups compete of their pool. After pool play is full the highest three groups are seeded in three-team swimming pools. Within the mini three-team pool the groups that end first advance to the championship bracket of eight groups on day 4.
— Since a big quantity of groups are signing up for the Championship Open Division, AAU goes to restrict the sector dimension to 48 in 2025. The factors to make open be primarily based on the take part and efficiency of seven main AAU tournaments, beginning with the Brickyard Battle in Indianapolis in November via the SoCal Cup in June.
— The AAU famous the mixture of the women and boys nationwide tournaments concerned greater than 117,000 athletes and coaches with an financial impression of $760 million. Click on right here for the information launch.
VolleyballMag contributor Kevin Pratte is the boys varsity coach at The Bishop’s Faculty in La Jolla, California and Grant elementary bodily schooling instructor. Pratte, who lives in San Diego, performed on the College of Pacific. He was a graduate assistant at Nebraska, an assistant at Pacific, and has coached on the junior school degree. He is also a university recruiting coordinator, Rotary member, president of the www.kevinprattefoundation.com, host of the KP HERE Podcast and editor of the boys volleyball web site middlehitter.com.
