For her efforts during the week of Nov. 3-9, Megan Steenhuysen was named the AVCA Player of the Week for the state of Michigan.  Megan is a senior at East Kentwood HS.  Congratulations Megan!



Click here to see the complete list.

We had over 80 players at our first clinic today!  What an awesome turnout . . . thank you to everyone who attended!  We are looking forward to our second and final free clinic next Saturday.  Due to the huge turnout, we are going to do two sessions next Saturday.  You can attend either session.  We just want to make sure we have space with everyone and that all players can get individual coaching from our great staff. 

Info for Clinic #2

Location: Legacy Christian MS

Date: Saturday, November 15

Time: Session 1 - 9-10:30 a.m., Session 2 - 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Who: Players who are thinking about trying out for a Regional or National team.

Cost: Free!

See you there!

Once all of the teams are finalized for 2009, we are going to have a huge kickoff event to get the season started.  It will be on Sunday, December 7 from 3-6 p.m. at Caledonia HS.  Players and at least one parent will be required to attend.  Parents will actually be able to get involved and increase their volleyball knowledge, as well as observe a practice.  The day will end with teams meeting together to talk about the season, meet each other, and get practice gear.  We are planning to have food for everyone, too.  It should be a very fun day.  We wanted to advertise now so you could put it on your calendar.

In the last week we have had over 6,000 hits for a total of 15,400!  Keep spreading the word about FaR Out!

Since we started counting hits on our site in September we are at 9,271!  Keep spreading the word about FaR Out and let's get to 10,000.

FaR Out VBC is so excited to announce our new youth volleyball program that will begin in November.  VolleyTots & Mini Volleyball are programs designed to get girls and boys learning the fundamentals of volleyball as early as 1st grade.  Girls and boys who attend this program will learn hand-eye coordination, volleyball-specific movement, as well as the basic skills of passing, setting, and serving.  The training in this program will systematically prepare young girls and boys to excel in the sport of volleyball as they grow and develop.

VolleyTots is for girls and boys in 1st-3rd grade and Mini Volleyball is designed for girls and boys in 4th-6th grade.  The two groups will train at the same time, but the training will be geared to each group's developmental level.

The program will be at the East Kentwood HS West Wing gym.  It will run from 6:30-7:30 p.m.  It will be every Tuesday & Wednesday beginning November 11 and ending December 10.  The program will not meet on Nov. 26 (the day before Thanksgiving).  Players will meet for a total of 9 sessions.  The cost for the program is $30.  That's less than $4 a session!

We hope to see your son or daughter at this great new program!  Check the Youth Program link on the Teams page for more info.

Tryouts for the 2009 club season are fast approaching.  Here are a few updates . . .

The location for the clinic on Nov. 15 has been changed.  It is now at Legacy Christian Middle School.  The address is 67 68th St., Grand Rapids, 49548.  The time is still 9-11 a.m.

FaR Out will be hosting a food drive in conjunction with tryouts on Nov. 16.  Any player who brings in at least 1 food item will be able to choose an item from the FaR Out goody box.  FaR Out VBC is committed to teaching players the importance to give back and this is one way our club can directly impact the Grand Rapids community.  We hope you will join us in participating in this event.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our FREE clinics on Nov. 8 & 15, as well as our tryouts on Nov. 16.

Premier Volleyball Academy in Maumee, OH is hosting a college recruiting showcase on January 18, 2009.  This is an opportunity for 2009, 2010, and 2011 student-athletes to attend and display their skills for a number of college coaches from the Midwest. 

Go to the College Commitments link on the Teams page to read more about this event.

The list of Miss Volleyball nominees was announced today and we are very proud to have four players on that list.

Megan Hendrickson is a senior on the Jenison varsity volleyball team.  She has played for FaR Out VBC for 5 years.  She has been named to numerous All-Tournament teams over the last two seasons and was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2008 Prepvolleyball.com Classic.

Megan Steenhuysen is a senior on the East Kentwood varsity volleyball team.  She has been a participant in FaR Out VBC basically since she could walk!  She has participated in Nationals three times.  Her seasons were highlighted by winning the 2007 16 National Championship and being named an All-American at the Junior Olympic Championships.

Jordyn Skinner is a senior on the South Christian varsity volleyball team.  She has participated in FaR Out VBC for four years.  Jordyn has won many awards over the years with her highest honor coming at the 2007 National Championships when she was named MVP of the 16 National division.

Taylor Root is a senior on the Jenison varsity volleyball team.  She has also participated in FaR Out for four years.  She has also received some very presitigous awards including Best Passer at the Prepvolleyball.com Classic and All-American at the Junior Olympic Championships.

We are so proud of all four of these tremendous student-athletes, not only for their volleyball accomplishments, but how they represent themselves, their families, their schools, and FaR Out.  Each one would be very deserving of this extremely high honor.

Read the Detroit Free Press article here.  Read the Grand Rapids Press here.

For the first time ever there is a volleyball player on the ABC hit show Dancing with the Stars.  Olympic champion Misty May-Treanor is competing for the title starting Monday, September 22.  Let's join as a volleyball community and vote to keep her on the show.  This week you can vote 13 times.  You just go to the website, create a login, and start voting.

Go Misty!

The coaching clinic be run from 7-8:30 p.m. in the East Kentwood West Wing Gym.  We'd love to have you and your staff join us!  Please register by emailing faroutvbc@yahoo.com.

Be sure to check our Alumni page for updates on how our alumni are doing on their respective college teams.  If you have any updates to pass along, please email them to faroutvbc@yahoo.com.

If you were not a participant with FaR Out in 2008 and did not receive a letter in the mail this week, the content of the letter is below.  Tryout updates will be posted on our website in the coming weeks.  If you would like to be on our email list to be notified of updates, please email us at faroutvbc@yahoo.com.

Letter . . .

September 2008

Greetings to our FaR Out families!

It’s time to get excited for the 2009 club volleyball season!  This letter includes lots of information for the upcoming season, but you can find more details in the coming weeks on our new and improved website: www.faroutvbc.org. 

The 2009 season proves to be another great year. We will be offering competitive teams for ages 12-18 years old in a variety of levels.  We will have local teams for ages 12-14, regional teams for ages 15-17, and national teams for 14-18 year old players.  Regional teams will compete from January through May in the state of Michigan.  The top National teams in each age division will begin practicing in December, while the second National teams (if there is enough interest) will begin in January.  Both groups of National teams will wrap up their season at the JVDA Nationals at the end of June.  Tryouts for local teams will not take place until March with their season running through April and May.  We will also be starting our new youth training program for 1^st – 8^th grades this winter with a second session for elementary school players in the spring.

To help players prepare for tryouts we will be offering two free clinics on November 8 and 15.  Players will be able to become familiar with the training techniques that our coaches use to develop outstanding players each year.  We will also have two parent meetings prior to the tryout.  The first one will coincide with the first clinic on November 8, while the second will be on November 12.  The same information will be covered at both and will be a very important meeting for parents to attend.  Tryouts for any players wishing to participate on a Regional or National team will be held on November 16.  Exact times and locations, along with registration details will be posted on the website.

Our website will also have tentative schedules for the 2009 season posted by the end of September, as well as costs for each level.  We recommend that you begin preparing for the upcoming season by participating in our SCRIP fundraising program.  This is a way for you to earn money toward your club fees by purchasing gift cards for gas, groceries, and other everyday items.  You can obtain additional information and an enrollment form on our website under the fundraising tab. 

We are very excited about the 2009 season and we hope that your family is as well.  Our dedicated coaching staff is anxious to work with your daughter(s) to improve their volleyball skills and have a fun experience on one of our many teams.  Please check the website frequently for updates throughout the fall and don’t hesitate to email us if you have any questions at all: faroutvbc@yahoo.com. 

Megan Garner & Toni Bredeweg

FaR Out Volleyball Club Co-Directors

Each year Prepvolleyball.com produces a list called the Senior Aces.  We are proud to have 6 players represented on that list.  Congratulations girls!

#65 - Megan Hendrickson, Jenison

In the #101-#150 list - Taylor Root, Jenison; Jordyn Skinner, South Christian; Jessica Brown, East Kentwood; Morgan DeVries, Grand Rapids Christian

In the "150" list - Megan Steenhuysen, East Kentwood

Please visit prepvolleyball.com to see the complete list.

It was great to see so many FaR Out players at this year's WMVOA tournament.  There was great volleyball all day, but it was really fun to see girls from various schools catching up with one another after a busy pre-season.  You can read all about the tournament in the GR Press article.  Keep up the great work everyone!

Best of luck to all of our FaR Out players as the high school season kicks off this Saturday.  You can find sports schedules for most schools on High School Sports.net.

Have you been able to watch all the volleyball action taking place in Beijing?  The USA women's indoor team compete in the quarterfinals Tuesday on WOODTV 8 at 10 a.m.  A win puts in them the semifinals.

Early Wednesday morning at 12:30 a.m. you can see Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers in the men's beach volleyball semifinals.

On Thursday, the USA men's indoor volleyball team will play their quarterfinal match at 10 a.m.  That night at 11 p.m., Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor will attempt to repeat as the Gold medal champions.

USA Volleyball continues to make headlines.  Both the men's and women's beach volleyball teams won gold medals, while both indoor teams play for gold this weekend.  The women's match will air on WOOD TV 8 at 4 p.m. on Saturday, while the men's match is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Go USA!

At the end of July many former and current FaR Out players participated in the 3rd annual Emily Duits memorial beach volleyball tournament.  Emily was a member of the 2005 16 National team which finished 25th at the Junior Olympic Championships in Salt Lake City.  She passed away on October 11, 2005 from injuries she sufferred in a car accident on October 4.  You can read more about Emily on her website.

Congratulations to all of our teams on a great season and a great showing at the 1st Annual JVDA National Tournament.
16-1 - 2nd Place 16 Club
14-1 - 3rd Place 14 Club
17-1 - 6th Place 17 Open
17-2 - 11th Place 17 Club
18-1 - 13th Place 18 Club