Stingray Volleyball Academy, an Oklahoma Limited Liability Corporation, (“SVA”), is a unique volleyball club. We offer our athletes a holistic approach to the sport of volleyball, an approach that emphasizes the complete athlete who values community, service, character, hard work, knowledge and wellbeing. The Stingray Volleyball Academy is completely dedicated to educating, training and promoting the whole person through volleyball. Our staff will strive to provide our players with the technical, tactical & physical training they need to reach their highest possible potential as a volleyball player. Stingray Volleyball Academy is also committed to providing the most cost effective programming for its families through the club volleyball experience.
Stingray Volleyball Academy Philosophy
SVA prides itself as an educational program built upon the fundamental skills of volleyball. We believe the life lessons and valueswe teach are essential to a player's development as an athlete, student, and young person. Although we aim to develop individual and team skills, we recognize the most important lessons we teach athletes stretch beyond the volleyball court. Hard work is a core value that goes into everything we teach and train.
The SVA core values that we aim to instill in our athletes
- There is inherent value in hard work.
- The club volleyball experience should be challenging, fun and educational.
- Every member of the team must put their own interests second to the betterment of the team.
- SVA athletes should win and lose with equal grace while exemplifying true sportsmanship at all times.
- Each time a SVBA athlete takes the court, it is an opportunity to better themselves.
- Athletics should complement academics.
- To give your best effort each day takes courage. Courage is habit-forming!
Which is more important, winning or having fun?
There is no need to choose between the two SVA believes in winning and enjoying the club volleyball experience. These are both components and by-products of a team’s common goal which is more immediate and more far-reaching: “hard work”. There are many things an athlete can’t control; your level of effort and your attitude are not among them. “Fun” is a by-product of hard work. When you work hard in a team setting you will experience individual and team improvement, you will win a high number of matches, your chances of being recruited by a college volleyball program increase, you get the satisfaction of know you’ve challenged yourself, and the self-confidence of knowing that you were up to the challenge.
The social experience and off court fun of club volleyball happens spontaneously in the context of a cohesive group bound together by working hard towards a common goal. Consistent with this, we focus on providing the structure where a team can feel proud of its efforts. For SVA, the fun we seek is the deep satisfaction of knowing that you have given your all each time you take the court…win or lose.
Winning and enjoying the process are components of hard work.
Desire to win, or competitive spirit, is one of the main motivating forces behind hard work. Desire to win makes it easy to put the effort in, but that is only the beginning. It is essential to enjoy the feeling and satisfaction of working hard, and to maintain a positive attitude throughout. You have to love the challenge in order to put in your best effort. It’s not always “fun,” but if you dislike hard work; you’ll never reach your potential. In a team sport, lack of hard work will increase the chance of holding the team back. If you love the process, and not just the result, your pleasure will increase exponentially.
Rarely is desire to win a strong enough motivator. If winning is all you care about, then you’ve got almost no chance to be satisfied in life, unless you sell yourself short by looking for situations where you’re less likely to risk losing. You must be willing to take risks and push to work hard outside your comfort zone… only then can you truly be satisfied with the results. Put winning in its proper place: it’s a result of hard work. Do the work, and the results will take care of themselves. The best you can hope for is to work hard enough that you win every match you’re capable of winning.