USA NT 2012

  • It's not about racism. I want to make this clear. It's more about a matter of choice. Afro-americans seems to have a preference for Basketball. I don't know if any of you watched any match of the US men's national basketball team, but if you did you surely noticed that Kevin Love was the only white on the team.

  • There are more basketball courts than volleyball courts around the USA. If there are volleyball courts, they are usually of the sand variety. Much tougher to learn how to play the game when you can't jump over the net due to the weight of the sand!


    Not all sports in this country are played at the high school level. In my state of Oregon, I played club volleyball because volleyball was not offered as a boys' sport, but it was for girls.
    In the USA schools must offer the same sports opportunities to boys and girls, but that does not mean the same sports.


    In fall sports boys have football or soccer, girls have volleyball or soccer. In winter, basketball for both. In spring, baseball and track for boys, softball and track for girls.


    In those states that have volleyball for boys as a high school, California, Hawaii, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and others, it is not a problem because the girls have equal sports to play for themselves.

  • Club volleyball is nothing compared to NCAA division 1 volleyball. I have to to Stanford matches and it is awesome!


    UC Irvine FTW! (Kevin Tille)

  • There are only 27 schools that play NCAA Division 1 volleyball. The number of schools that play the sport for women is over 300.


    There are other schools that play at lower levels, but our best players are at Division 1.


    Club volleyball for boys/men is usually high school and post college.

  • At the end of the day it has much to do with the economics of professional sports. A highly athletic, tall man, regardless of race, can make millions of dollars and live a celebrity lifestyle if they excel at basketball where as even the most successful volleyball players don't come close. The lack of volleyball courts and Division 1 NCAA opportunities are a result of that. A prime example of this is Chase Budinger, who was a very young and promising outside hitter that was dominant for his age group and was probably the next big thing for USA volleyball but he had the opportunity to play basketball in the NCAA and NBA and while he isn't a famous superstar he's still making more money as a reserve in the NBA than he ever would as a volleyball player.


    On the women's side, a professional volleyball player can easily make as much as pretty much any other professional female sport, besides the top tennis players, in the world.

  • At the end of the day it has much to do with the economics of professional sports. A highly athletic, tall man, regardless of race, can make millions of dollars and live a celebrity lifestyle if they excel at basketball where as even the most successful volleyball players don't come close. The lack of volleyball courts and Division 1 NCAA opportunities are a result of that. A prime example of this is Chase Budinger, who was a very young and promising outside hitter that was dominant for his age group and was probably the next big thing for USA volleyball but he had the opportunity to play basketball in the NCAA and NBA and while he isn't a famous superstar he's still making more money as a reserve in the NBA than he ever would as a volleyball player.


    On the women's side, a professional volleyball player can easily make as much as pretty much any other professional female sport, besides the top tennis players, in the world.

    This is for me one of the reasons. Hockey for example is also not very well-paid sport if we exclude NHL from the accounts. And so is basketball in a lesser case. And what about baseball and american football which are developed mostly if not only(for american football) in the US. The main issue for me is that the US government or the ministry of sport if you call it that way, together with the market don't need the sport of volleyball to be developed in the level of Big 4 sports. I've heard that some sports in the US get no money if they are not popular enough in the country no matter that they are very popular worldwide, And if it wasn't that volleyball is an Olympic sport, I guess that there wouldn't have been men's volleyball in the US at all.


    But why do they misregard volleyball so much I can't say.


    BTW, wasn't this guy Budinger a red-head from Houston Rockets who has sth like 2 games per season?

  • This is for me one of the reasons. Hockey for example is also not very well-paid sport if we exclude NHL from the accounts. And so is basketball in a lesser case. And what about baseball and american football which are developed mostly if not only(for american football) in the US. The main issue for me is that the US government or the ministry of sport if you call it that way, together with the market don't need the sport of volleyball to be developed in the level of Big 4 sports. I've heard that some sports in the US get no money if they are not popular enough in the country no matter that they are very popular worldwide, And if it wasn't that volleyball is an Olympic sport, I guess that there wouldn't have been men's volleyball in the US at all.


    But why do they misregard volleyball so much I can't say.


    BTW, wasn't this guy Budinger a red-head from Houston Rockets who has sth like 2 games per season?


    For women's sports in our country, volleyball, basketball and soccer are near the top in participation at all-age levels. Additionally, players can receive scholarships to go to college if they are good enough in school and on the court.


    There is no such thing as a Ministry of Sport in this country. The US Olympic Committee is not funded by the US government, it is funded through sponsorship and donations by individuals. Individual sports, such as volleyball (USA Volleyball) earn income through membership fees, club fees, tournament fees, sponsorship, ticket sales and tv revenue.


    The majority of professional sports in this country started as collegiate sports, excluding baseball. Someone decided that there should be a professional football league (American Football) in the 1920s because of the popularity of college football. The NFL was started as a business. So was the NBA and the NHL. There have been other volleyball leagues at a lower level, but the biggest challenge for pro leagues of minor sports (there are soooo many leagues over the years) is creating an appealing environment while not in a large arena.


    I attended Major League Volleyball a women's league in the 1980s, which had put a team in Portland after it moved from elsewhere. It played in a smaller college gymnasium, 2,300 seats. They did not sell out. The league failed because it did not do enough to attract fans to matches.


    Many colleges do not sell out their women's matches. The really good teams do, Hawaii, Texas, Minnesota, Penn State and Nebraska. These environments provide an excellent experience for the fans and the players and hopefully for television. But with college players, they are not "paid to play."


    I would love to have our US men and women play at home, but even in the WNBA players play in Europe in the winter and then in the summer in the WNBA. Without a workable business model, it is difficult to do a pro league for men or women in the US.


    Yes Budinger is the red head for the Rockets, who just got traded during the draft in June.

  • To be fair, baseball is popular in some countries in north east asia and latin america. America still pays higher i believe.


    Baseball, hockey and basketball, compared to other leagues around the world are the highest paid in the US. Also, these US leagues have the highest level of talent, so if you want to prove that you are playing among the best, you go to the NBA, MLB or NHL. Baseball in Japan is at a high level, but teams are still run very poorly. Also, they have a limit on the number of foreigners.


    US sports leagues do also have limitations, but it is not as strict as overseas leagues.

  • I've read that there will be a volleyball professional league in the USA in 2018 at the latest. Do you have any additional info and is this only for women's volleyball or also for men's?

  • I've read that there will be a volleyball professional league in the USA in 2018 at the latest. Do you have any additional info and is this only for women's volleyball or also for men's?

    I only read that in USA they want to create men professional league by the end of 2018. American Federation of Volleyball has signed an agreement with Grand Prix in this case. It was said that in USA interest in volleyball significantly increased after Olympic Games in Beijing. They want to create a professional league so they can jump on the next level. Women professional league was already created this year from what I know.

  • I think that USA could have won olimpics but coach wasn t realy good at last momnts of the game because he took a time out and then he wasn t talking to player but to assistant coaches. Or he isn t a good coach or he just choke at the presure.

  • Here's a few words from Lloy Ball about the whole professional league idea:



    source: http://volleyballnews.ru/blog/all/486.html

  • Here's a few words from Lloy Ball about the whole professional league idea:




    source: http://volleyballnews.ru/blog/all/486.html

    Wow! Thanks very much for this :drink:


    The situation in the US is nothing new under the sun. But I was wondering why they don't try to "teach" the general American audience to understand volleyball and in this way to start liking it. I smiled at the "bikini" part and then I started thinking...They like hockey because the players are tough, play rough and fight often. They like basketball, baseball and American football partly because the players are great athletes and have big, muscular bodies. American audience at least to me is comparable to the audience in Ancient Rome(at least the way they describe this audience in books, films and documentaries). Volleyball players are just tall and jump high. They don't have huge biceps muscles or such bodies. Although I don't want a huge league in the US like NBA, MLB, NHL, I'm a bit disappointed why volleyball isn't treated well in many countries. USA, UK, Scandinavia, Spain(Spain has a decent team, but compare it to any other team sport in the country...)

  • Nobody stops volleyball players from obtaining more athletic posture to attract audience and money, an athlete should look like an thlete after all