HALL of FAME : Founder of the Largest Volleyball Club in the U.S. Becomes an Institution as the Sport Flourishes at High Schools

The college recruiters who came to watch a high school tournament at Cal State Dominguez Hills a few months ago weren’t there to see the players shoot, slam and dribble. They were there to watch them set, spike and dig.

High school volleyball--girls high school volleyball--has gone the same route as boys basketball. The sport comes complete with club teams, year-round play, national recruiting services and the opportunity to earn a free ride through college.

Club teams have become the prime vehicle used by high school volleyball players to earn college scholarships. There are more than 120 club volleyball teams in Southern California that compete in two tournaments a month from December through June. The club season culminates with a junior national tournament in Minnesota and the annual volleyball festival at UC Davis in June.

“The change in the girls that play club volleyball is so dramatic, it’s hard to describe,” said Chaminade High Coach Mike Lynn, whose teams have won two straight San Fernando Valley League championships. “They have confidence and tournament toughness. They know they can play with anyone. A lot of credit for last season’s success has to go to them playing club.”

Credit also has to go to Marvin Hall--a 29-year old Tarzana resident who looks more like a middle linebacker than a middle blocker.

Hall is the founder, director and one of the coaches of the San Fernando Valley-based Southern California Volleyball Club. Things have changed quite a lot from the time, seven years ago, when Hall was the volleyball coach at Granada Hills High. Today, he oversees the largest volleyball club in the United States.

This season, 140 Valley-area high school girls are in Hall’s 14-team program. The teams are broken into three age divisions--17 and under, 15 and under and 13 and under. The teams practice twice a week at Calabasas and Agoura high schools.

The number of Valley-area high school volleyball players receiving college scholarships has grown steadily in the past few years. The rise in the quality of high school volleyball in the Valley can be measured by the number of girls who have gone out for Hall’s teams the past few years, according to area high school coaches.

Two years ago, 80 girls tried out for the club. Last year, 130 were at the tryouts.

“It’s kind of like throwing a party,” Hall said. “You plan and you wait.”

In November, Hall had quite a bash--200 girls showed up. Hall likes the party analogy--he wants to keep the game fun.

“There are some players and coaches that are so intense, it’s not a game anymore,” Hall said. “If you forget it’s a game, you have problems. You have to remember you’re not playing for $1 million.”

But even Hall admits his club members are playing for thousands of dollars in college scholarships.

“College coaches can’t afford to scout girls at individual high school games, so they go to tournaments where they can see six or seven good teams,” he said.

Hall’s top 17-and-under team finished seventh at the junior nationals last year, and nine of 10 players went on to play college volleyball.

“My sister and I felt we needed to join a club in order to play in college,” said Chaminade’s Daiva Tomkus, who has signed a letter of intent with UCLA. Her sister, Monika, was named All-Ivy League at Pennsylvania this season. “You play against so many good players, you have to be up all the time.”

As a coach, Hall found that out the hard way. In 1980, he took a makeshift team to UC Davis and “got baptized,” he said.

After that experience, Hall began to use the time he spent officiating high school volleyball games to recruit. Last season, Hall was standing above the net five to six times a week.

“It’s like I get gas money to go around and recruit for the club,” he said. “There are really no borders or limitations. It’s open season.”

The hunt has paid off. This season, Hall has some of the best players in the Valley. His 17-and-under Red team is among the best in California--as good as Asics Tiger of Santa Fe Springs, Ichiban of Lakewood and the California Juniors from Orange County.

Playing for the SCVC are Tomkus, Melissa Ingalls and Kathy Ahl of Chaminade, Alissa Evans of Westlake, Tina Kohler and Maureen Gaffney of Louisville, Lynn Goldstein of Calabasas, Beth Welch of Thousand Oaks and Amy Adler of Agoura.

Dues for the club is $50 a month. The money goes to pay for uniforms, coaches, tournament fees and travel to competitions in such places as Las Vegas, Portland, Minneapolis and Davis.

For parents and players, the money is an investment.

“A lot of parents are recognizing the opportunity to get financial aid,” said Cal State Northridge Coach Walt Ker. “If their girls are talented, they want them to develop into college-level volleyball players.”

Coaches from all over the country watch that development even if they can’t see the girls play.

“California is the hotbed,” Hall said. “Every year, I get letters from coaches back East or in the Midwest who are desperate for girls from California.”

Providing those coaches with information is the job of Pat Zartman, a high school teacher from Hermosa Beach who runs his own South Bay Volleyball Club. His Spoiler Enterprizes--a national recruiting service--provides colleges with information on prize recruits. Zartman says he spells it with a “z” to “put my stamp on it.”

Zartman charges the college coaches who subscribe to his service $200 for the five newsletters he publishes each year.

Zartman puts the girls into five categories:

“Impact players,” who can step right into a Division I program and start

Girls with “all the tools,” who need experience in the college game

Talented players, but ones who may have a hard time competing at the Division I level

Outstanding athletes short on volleyball skills or skilled volleyball players without any overwhelming physical abilities

Long shots--girls who are tall and may turn into good middle blockers with time and work.

Four of Zartman’s newsletters list the girls’ names, grade-point averages, height and contact information. His final printout at the end of the year includes individual player evaluations.

In order to be evaluated, to be seen, a player almost has to play for a club. Like any team sport, there are numerous good volleyball players on bad high school teams. Club competition helps provide the polish.

“The level of competition is so far superior to what we see in high school,” said Ingalls, a senior at Chaminade who has signed a letter of intent with Pennsylvania. “The ability level is high, but it’s the mental part that’s the biggest difference.”

Sometimes, however, the mental pressure takes its toll.

Said Hall: “The fact that coaches are interested in these girls is great. But, as some of the really good players get closer to signing a letter of intent, it can become a difficult time. Their minds are everywhere but on the court.”

Just as it has in boys high school athletics, the year-round requirement has contributed to player burnout and the decline of the three-sport athlete.

“Last year, I got a lot of heat for pushing girls toward club volleyball because they were choosing to participate in one sport rather than three,” said Dave Rubio, who coaches Westlake High and one of the SCVC’s 15-and-under teams. “It’s sad that a freshman or any high school athlete has to choose so young, but we’re there if they make that choice.”

Evans, who played for Rubio at Westlake, gradually narrowed her list of sports to include only volleyball. In her freshman year, Evans played volleyball, basketball and softball. During her sophomore year she played volleyball, soccer and softball. By Evans’ junior year, her participation had dwindled to volleyball and soccer. As a senior, Evans plays only volleyball.

“As a volleyball player, I couldn’t afford the injuries that come from playing goalie in soccer,” said Evans, who has signed a letter of intent with Cal State Northridge. “I had to make a choice.”

Tami Aldrich, a senior at Canyon High and the Golden League MVP, played for Hall last year and has decided to play for Master’s College next fall. She chose to attend Master’s after weighing several offers from Division I schools. Like Evans, she had to make a choice before the club season began. She chose to sit out.

“I got into club because I wanted to make volleyball my career. I wanted to play in college. But I was kind of burned out. I was tired. I know I have a long way to go and if I played another season, there is no doubt that I would improve. But I wanted some time to get more involved in my church activities,” Aldrich said.

Hall is sensitive to such situations, and he, too, is concerned about the time he spends with the program.

“My wife used to really dislike volleyball,” Hall said. “She thought I was just going out to play, drink beer and have fun. But what it comes down to is helping these girls develop into top-flight volleyball players.”

Hall’s immediate concern is preparing two of his teams for a 17-and-under junior tournament Sunday at Cal State Northridge. The one-day tournament, which begins at 8 a.m., includes 10 of the top teams from the Southern California region.

Hall’s long-range goals include starting a boys club team in the Valley and further expanding the girls program.

“My daughter Janessa is 23 months old,” Hall said. “We’re already working on her defense. Who knows, we might start a 3-and-under program next year.”