Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Harris.
Julia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Elevate Volleyball began back in 2020 as a very, very small group of about 7 athletes who knew our club director, Jeff Walker. Jeff wanted to create a club for his girls and their friends to play at that provided quality coaching and a great environment to play club volleyball. We held many academy sessions, academy tournaments, and summer camps, and our interest quickly grew. After about a year and a half of academies, Elevate expanded into its first ever club season in the 2022-2023 season. We began with 27 girls trying out, and a grand total of 3 teams. While continuing to run academy sessions and camps, we also knew our club demand was growing. After the first season with 3 teams, out 2023-2024 season expanded to a total of 9 teams, and then the 2024-2025 season we expanded to 12 teams.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting any new business is rarely a smooth road. We wanted to ensure that we had the best coaches and athletes to represent and build up Elevate. We were very fortunate in the fact that for the most part, we were able to find those coaches to provide high quality instruction, and we have the best group of athletes!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are a volleyball club located in Greenville, South Carolina. We live and work by our four core values: respect, integrity, selflessness, and encouraging. We believe that our coaches, athletes, and parents living and playing volleyball by these values set us apart from others. We want to create a positive environment to uplift and encourage every athlete, both on and off of the volleyball court! We believe in developing the full athlete. We believe academics are of upmost importance, and we train our athletes not only in the physical volleyball aspect, but also in the mental game. We partner with Sports Psychologists to provide our athletes the best help and education on how to grow their mental game as well as the physical.
What were you like growing up?
As a child, I (Julia) personally was always doing something volleyball related. If I wasn’t at practice or a game, I was begging my dad to go out in the front yard and pass a volleyball with me. If I couldn’t find anyone to pass with, I would be watching NCAA Volleyball matches online. If my team was at a tournament and finished up, I would immediately go find some other team to keep watching.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elevatevolleyballsc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatevolleyballsc/
