Woman Starts Girls Volleyball Club

Volleyball gets lots of cheers here in Texoma but this assistant volleyball coach at Midwestern State University wants to take the sport to a more competitive level for girls.

"I see so much talent here in Wichita Falls and it just isn't that big of a sport yet here and I think that it potentially could be just as big as basketball and soccer," says Natalie Rawson, founder and director of ZIVA.

So she founded Zone-In Volleyball Academy, or ZIVA, a traveling girls volleyball club and hosted several clinics at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

And potential players poured in.

"Volleyball is my life. I've been playing it since 4th grade and I'm in 7th grade now and volleyball is just want I want to do when I grow up," says 12 year old Addison Lobaugh.

"It's like my passion and I could just spend every single day playing volleyball. I love it," adds 14 year old Camille Blanton.

After a quick stretching session clinic participants snatched up volleyballs and started getting pointers on how to perfect their game.

But only the best will join this club, which the founder says will not be the same as playing school volleyball.

"It's at a higher level than the middle schools and YMCA's. We train more and more intense. We have a whole sports performance trainer who will be doing a part of every practice session that we have so this is really, if you're serious about playing volleyball and you really want to go on to play at the next level then that's our goal... prepare these kids to play in college if that's what their goals are," says Rawson.

ZIVA tryouts start in two weeks

And once teams are formed training will start in December and members will start playing games in January.

Click here for more information on this new traveling volleyball club for girls, as well as tryout dates and times.