The East Coast Championships (ECC) are held each year over Memorial Day weekend, and until this year, have always taken place at the PSU main campus in State College, PA. Personally, I prefer spending the holiday weekend in State College over Pittsburgh. Apparently Pittsburgh is somewhat of a "working" city. Hardly any restaurants were open the entire weekend.
This might seem inconsequential to many people, but try spending three days with ten fifteen year-old girls when there is no possibility of shopping or eating-out. Tempers begin to flare when teenage girls are tired, sore, bored, and hungry. To be honest, if you eliminate the boredom and hunger, they are still tired and sore which leads to a lot of drama in itself. In the past I've spent some time at the Cafe in order to "process" and "strategize" with other coaches and parents, but this option was also unavailable in Pittsburgh. Hopefully the restaurants that were open will spread the word that there is a plentitude of money to be made by staying open through the weekend, and next year there will be more options.
Clearly the restaurant and shop owners in downtown Pittsburgh do not realize what a big business youth sports have become! Perhaps they should visit the page of the East Coast Volleyball website that lists the teams that participated in this weekend's tournament. If they checked, they would see that there were teams in seven different age groups ranging from 12s to 18s. In each age group from 14-18, there were two divisions. Each division had an average of approximately 30 teams, and each team has an average of 10 players. When you do the math for those stats, and factor in the two younger age groups, you get a total of approximately 3,300 players. That number alone translate into a LOT of money. Parents weren't even factored into the above mathematical equation!
Technology has allowed parents are overly involved in the competitive process. There are now sites purely dedicated to discussion about Pennsylvania girls' volleyball. Pennlive is a forum where coaches, parents, and occasionally players post and respond to comments regarding high school and travel volleyball. During the ECC, parents could get live online scoring updates for certain matches, and could get updated lists of college coaches that were in attendance.
Parents are seeking college scholarship opportunities for their girls, which has made operating a travel volleyball club a competitive business. Many clubs have websites that offer club philosophies, coach bios, alumni player information, and current competitive results and schedules. The club that I coach for has such a site because parents and players now expect this technology.
I truly enjoy coaching volleyball, but a three day trek to Pittsburgh can be a little stressful. I hope that word spreads to the businesses of Pittsburgh, and next year I'll be able to relax in a dining establishment while my tired team eats a good meal!
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