april chapple

I'm a former volleyball professional, current coach and creator of volleyball voices where female players find volleyball heroes.

In 1999 I started an editorial project called Volleyball Voices. Volleyball Voices are the very personal accounts of the obstacles America's elite athletes and Champion female volleyball players had to overcome in order to reach the pinnacle of their sport.

Olympians, Hall of Famers, Players of the Decade and multi All Americans talk candidly about body image, eating disorders, race, economic, social, sexual and familial issues that challenged them as teens and young adults and how overcoming these challenges contributed to them becoming a Champion on the court and off.

If there are subjects that you would like to discuss or ask questions about- you can send me an email and I will open a category regarding that topic. For example
if you had/will have an international experience playing volleyball in China- that'd be great if you could share some of the highlights of your trip. What was it like to practice with a new coach in a foreign land?

What did you get out of that experience? Does/did this trip encourage you to want to continue to play abroad? What did you learn so that your next trip will be easier?

Here is what I know- 13 year olds learn from 15 year olds who watch and imitate and learn from 17 year olds who copy and mimic the 19 year olds on the National Team and so on....

My goal is to create the first virtual volleyball mentoring community in which every female player can come and share her experiences so that those girls who are "wondering" what its like to play volleyball -at any level ...or wonder what benefits they can have..or girls in other parts of the world (see the UNICEF post) and in other parts of social or economic strata will be encouraged to participate and start playing.

And lastly if club members and players(yours and other area club members)are encouraged to tell their (high school,college,pro beach,indoor,grass coed) teammmates to comment and participate, to email their comments and send links to this site...it would quickly become a female volleyball Learning and Teaching community where players will become MORE inspired to work harder and become the best player they can be.
I was inspired and learned my work ethic and discipline (by my coaches of course) BUT by PLAYERS who were better than I was.
I saw how they practiced, what they practiced, what their mind set was.I learned HOW they set their goals and what they did to accomplish them. (Coaches always point out their veteran players technique and habits to the younger players as an example to follow...)
I'd like for Volleyball Voices to become a place where younger volleyball players will find inspiration from older players (of different generations) who will share their experiences. That way when a coach says something-in a strict way- they may be less apt to take it personally because they've read that this is what it takes to become a better player.
Please feel free to forward this information to other College Coaches, High School Coaches, Club Directors that you know. Letting others know -creating a buzz- about Volleyball Voices is priceless.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
April