Upcoming BC3 Clinics To Help Girls Gain Volleyball Skills

Girls as young as fifth-graders can develop skills in volleyball by attending Butler County Community College clinics directed by a BC3 head coach whose players have won 475 matches and earned 14 All-American awards.

BC3’s winter skills clinic Jan. 25 will be followed by one-day spring skills clinics that will also be held on Saturdays in February, March and April.

Clinics in the Field House on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township will be supervised by Pioneers head coach Rob Snyder.

“These clinics will be especially good for younger players who haven’t had the opportunity to play much volleyball yet,” said Snyder, who has guided BC3 to a 475-168 record through 26 seasons, four national championship tournament berths, and nine conference and six regional titles in a row.

“Volleyball is not like soccer where you can start playing when you are 4 or 5 years old,” Snyder said. “You have to be a little older because the net can be restrictive. For some of these kids, it might be their first opportunity to get volleyball training.”

Pioneers setter Anora Robare will assist in the clinics, as will a number of other current or former BC3 players.

Girls are shown practicing skills during a Butler County Community College volleyball clinic Saturday, June 23, 2023, in the Field House on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township. Girls as young as fifth graders can develop skills in volleyball during upcoming BC3 winter and spring clinics.

“I learned a lot … I had a blast”

Robare last fall was named to the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference all-conference team and to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 20 all-tournament squad.

As a Slippery Rock Area High School senior, Robare was selected by the Butler Eagle’s sports staff as the Butler County girls volleyball player of the year in 2023.

She began to attend BC3 volleyball clinics as an eighth-grader at Slippery Rock.

“I learned a lot of skills at the clinics,” Robare said, “and they really helped me out in the long run. We played a lot of games, and that definitely helped me.

“I am very shy. I went alone to my first clinic and it was hard meeting new people. So then we played games and I got to know all the girls. I had a blast. It was really fun.”

Winter skills clinic to offer individualized instruction

Girls in the winter skills clinic will learn a variety of skills, receive individualized instruction, and participate in drills and competitions.

Fifth- through seventh-graders will be trained in the winter skills clinic from 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.; and eighth-graders through seniors, from 1 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

The deadline to register is Jan. 22 and the cost per player is $40. Each session is limited to 28 players.

Rob Snyder, head coach of a Butler County Community College volleyball program that has won 475 matches and produced 14 All-American awards, is shown during a dual-championship match Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in the Field House on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township. Snyder will direct upcoming winter and spring skills clinics for girls as young as fifth graders.

Spring skills clinic “to go more in depth”

Girls in the spring skills clinic will learn hitting and hitting progression skills Feb. 22; serve-receive, serving and serving strategy skills March 22; and defensive fundamentals skills April 12.

“We’re going to go more in depth on one or two particular skills in these clinics,” Snyder said. “It’s not just introductory.”

Fifth- through seventh-graders will be trained in the spring skills clinic from 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.; and eighth-graders through seniors, from 1 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

The deadline to register for the Feb. 22 session is Feb. 19; for the March 22 session, March 19; and for the April 12 session, April 9.

The cost is $40 per girl per session. Each session is limited to 28 players.

Medical release forms must be completed by each girl in advance of their first winter or spring skills clinic session.

Snyder’s team in 2024 was 25-2 and earned a berth to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national championship tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the Pioneers finished 3-1.

BC3’s appearance in the NJCAA Division III national championship tournament followed those in 2002, 2009 and 2021.

For more information, visit www.bc3.edu/vbclinics