KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As college coaches from up and down the NCAA’s range of divisions looked on, the athletes looked ready for the occasion at the Unsigned Player Workout held Friday ahead of the Triple Crown NIT event.
With workouts administered by the coaching staffs from the Munciana and Houston Juniors club programs, all the position groups spent the 90 minutes of each session flexing their fundamentals and, ideally, elevating their game in one of the early periods where coaches can scout for their future rosters. “I just thought of it as providing an opportunity for myself by working my hardest, so I can get some people watching me (Saturday). It’s all about making myself better,” said Zoe McDonald, 17, who plays for the 17-1 KC Power program and attends Shawnee Mission High School. “For me, it’s wide open, I’m looking for whatever I can get. I would love to go D-I and the East Coast would be fun.” McDonald pounded away at the ball during her swings and targeted her shots accurately, all the while showing the hustle and coachability that will required at the next level. “It was hard work here, but still really fun. I was sweating so much. It’s so cool to see all these great players together,” she added, noting that her focus also includes a terrific finish for KC Power in the tournament. “We’re hoping to go undefeated – we are definitely trying to win it all.” From a coaching standpoint, the Workout made it easy to deepen the list of prospective options, with zero wasted time in between drills. “This was a very high-level workout. The coaches running it did a wonderful job, and the level of play was some of the highest I’ve seen in the country,” said Ashley Capone, assistant coach at Hamilton College, a Division III program in New York. “We are looking into the class of 2024 and 2025, so this was very helpful. “Following up over the weekend, I’ll start watching the kids who have written us and who have reached out, and then I’ll wander a bit and look for kids who could fit in our program. We’ve got a lot of interest from players here before, so we’d love to keep that going.” “I thought this first session with the middles and the setters was extremely well run. We are looking at setters and they did a great job to optimize their contacts,” said Chuck Voss, head coach at Cleveland State for 23 years and six-time Horizon League coach of the year. “There are definitely some girls we are going to look at (Saturday) in live play and explore further. “Recruiting, since this is really the first day we’re allowed to get out and do stuff, most coaches feel so far behind, in scramble mode. We are trying to fill that 2024 class, and schools that have done that will have a leg up and get to watch the ‘25’s tomorrow.” KANSAS CITY, Mo. – At the Triple Crown Volleyball NIT, the energy and dedication of the athletes first shows up on College Camp Friday, where players add to their to-do list with a session of skill building piloted by college coaches.
In 2023, the plan required some tweaks as the NCAA altered the rules about college program presence, but the TC NIT was lucky to dig into previous relationships with coaches outside the Division I ranks and assembled a rollicking roster of camps that met the requirements of the moment. “I worked these camps before the rule change, so I knew what was going on. You’ve got some of the best teams in the country coming to this, and it’s great to work with that kind of talent,” said Chuck Waddington, head coach at Angelo State (Texas). “The kids were into it, every position group, working hard and trying to get better. Even with the huge tournament coming up, they were looking to get better. And there are some kids in (the camp), you say I’m definitely going to track her, she was really coachable and impressive. A lot of kids are not from Texas, a lot haven’t had any exposure to us, so this works out great.” “We have a really strong tradition of working with camps, high academic camps, and this is an opportunity to meet players and spend quality time with them,” said Leah Saunders, assistant coach at Emory University (Georgia). “It’s great one-on-one time, you can get immediate feedback and learn about their playing styles. We hold these moments dear to our program. “They love playing here; playing in this tournament is such an honor, and they want to rise to the occasion and take it seriously. It’s a fun group to work with; everyone is internally motivated.” Camps were held in two sessions at the Kansas City Convention Center, each one ending with high-fives, smiles and more than a few extra conversations between coaches and players who found a connection. One athlete who moved with a purpose in and out of every drill was Finley Lemay, 14, who plays for the Mavs club program, conveniently based in Kansas City. Showing excellent touch as well as a strong right arm during hitting drills, Lemay looked way beyond her years when it came to court skills, but even so, getting better never strays too far from her thoughts. “I came out here to get some work in and get better. And I was glad to get some feedback from the coaches, hearing things I had not heard before,” Lemay said. “There’s obviously stuff I need to work on; I’d say I’m good, but still not good enough. The girls were fun, very welcoming, smiled a lot, so that was all fun.” FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A coast-to-coast roster of the nation’s most accomplished volleyball programs will fill the halls again at the Kansas City Convention Center, as Triple Crown Sports prepares to unleash the 2023 TC NIT event over President’s Day Weekend.
Featuring action in age groups ranging from 12u through 18u, the TC NIT welcomes 568 teams, with balls first going in the air on College Camp Friday, Feb. 17. That full day of college-coach driven instruction and clinics is followed with three days of high-tempo tournament play, concluding with championship day on Monday, Feb. 20. The event is scheduled so the highest-ranked teams play each other right away, with Power Pool teams still guaranteed a berth in the Elite championship bracket. Other teams can earn their way into the final chase for the trophy – the 13u through 15u championship matches will be broadcast on YouTube, with the 16u through 18u title matches broadcast on ESPN-3. With 71 courts covering the grounds in Bartle Hall, the TC NIT will field 76 of the top 100 clubs (as positioned in TC’s US Club Rankings), with 147 clubs overall in attendance ranging from Hawaii to New York, and Florida to Oregon. College Camp Friday will be populated with 750-plus athletes absorbing tactics to improve their games – more than 500 college coaches will spend time at the event in full recruiting mode, and conservative estimates see about 22,000 visitors coming to Kansas City, creating a $15 million economic impact moment. “This event is a 12-month investment of work and planning, but it all begins with the tireless support of the clubs, coaches, players and fans who have stood behind the TC NIT with total enthusiasm,” said Jared Rudiger, director of volleyball at Triple Crown Sports. “I can’t be any happier with the consideration and detail-driven efforts of Kansas City as a whole. We look forward to watching these passionate and committed young women go to work on the courts and encourage others to check out the event and be inspired by the level of competition.” The TC NIT began in 2014 and moved to Kansas City in 2019. The event has evolved numerous special touches embraced by the volleyball world, including shuttle arrangements for teams to get to and from the airport, a dynamic vendor row, free seminars on helping athletes prepare for demands at the next level and a parent hospitality room, with drinks and snacks available for fans needing a break from the whistles. About Triple Crown Sports Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing youth, high school and college events for 40 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s DI Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. Triple Crown’s PV College Challenge features more than 10 of the top DI college softball teams in the country each year in Puerto Vallarta, MX. Anchored by the 1,100-team Colorado 4th of July event, TC fastpitch tournaments draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. TCS produces one of the largest youth baseball events in the world with the Omaha SlumpBuster during the College World Series. The Triple Crown Volleyball NIT has become the top-recruited club volleyball event in the country each February when 550-plus teams compete in Kansas City, MO Watch the best volleyball clubs in the country compete for a championship at the 2023 Triple Crown NIT in Kansas City, MO. The 13's through 18's Elite Division championship games will be streamed live on YouTube and ESPN3. FORT COLLINS, CO – In advance of February’s 2023 TC NIT volleyball event in Kansas City, Triple Crown Volleyball is excited to announce a partnership with The Protector Whistle, which will be the “Official Whistle” of the tournament. The Protector Whistle is the first and only hygienic whistle available and reduces consumable, expelled airborne particles by more than 98 percent.
Each team attending the event at the Kansas City Convention Center (Feb. 18-20) will receive one hygienic whistle, and every referee working the matches will be given one as well, with more than 700 whistles ultimately distributed. The idea for The Protector Whistle came in response to the COVID pandemic and discovery and understanding of the unnecessary risk introduced via standard whistles, designed and patented to cut down on airborne particles via a reduction from up and toward to down and away from players. Protector Whistles reduce droplet concentration by more than 98 percent and allow for germ reduction without sacrificing performance. “As a volleyball parent, the Triple Crown NIT is the ultimate volleyball event. When we figured out how many times a whistle blows over the NIT weekend, the choice to introduce The Protector Whistle to the volleyball community at the NIT was obvious,” said Julie Canaday, Director of Outreach at The Protector Whistle. “We are going to stop a lot of spit from flying out of whistles and take unnecessary risk off the table.” “The Triple Crown NIT is a very people-intensive setting, with thousands of players, fans and coaches in motion at the KC Convention Center. We are pleased to offer our customers the extra protection that comes with the use of The Protector Whistle,” said Jared Rudiger, director of volleyball at Triple Crown. “These whistles are an effective solution in cutting down on a concern we all have, post-COVID, and teams and referees will be impressed with The Protector Whistle performance.” About The Protector Whistle Based in Pittsburgh, PA., The Protector Whistle is the first-of-its-kind hygienic whistle. The patented design redirects air down and away and reduces aerosol droplet concentration by 98 percent. The Protector Whistle is the obvious choice for school, officials and coaches. About Triple Crown Sports Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing youth, high school and college events for 40 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s DI Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. Triple Crown’s PV College Challenge features more than 10 of the top DI college softball teams in the country each year in Puerto Vallarta, MX. Anchored by the 1,100-team Colorado 4th of July event, TC fastpitch tournaments draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. TCS produces one of the largest youth baseball events in the world with the Omaha SlumpBuster during the College World Series. The Triple Crown Volleyball NIT has become the top-recruited club volleyball event in the country each February when 550 teams compete in Kansas City, MO. |
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