04/08/2024
As we move into the final week of our season it is time that we let you all in on the future of our club. We will be moving out of the area this summer and will be discontinuing Riverbend Volleyball Academy following this coming weekend’s Middle School Gateway Regional Tournament.
These last 8 seasons we have had the privilege of working with young volleyball players across the Metro East. We took our first steps into coaching club volleyball back in early 2017 when we were asked to help do some special instructions for the then named Serves-U-Right 6th graders. We enjoyed finishing their season with them and after some conversations with the club directors we joined Serves-U-Right as full-time coaches in the program the following season. That first year we not only kept the original team but also added a second 13u team and a 17u team with girls from several different school districts. The next season we kept with our original team and just took a single 14u group. They had an amazing season both in club and for their school teams. In 2020 we took over responsibilities as club directors for Serves-U-Right and battled hard to have any type of club season for our 2 teams in the middle of the COVID pandemic. We were able to get a few tournaments in, but in the end the season was cut short with illnesses and COVID outbreaks everywhere we went.
That offseason we made the decision to re-brand and try to expand the club from a couple of teams primarily focused on our local schools to try to impact more of the Metro East’s volleyball scene.
Thus, Riverbend Volleyball Academy was born in 2021. In our first season we added some great coaches and brought in 7 teams and over 60 girls from 12u through 17u with players from Litchfield to Edwardsville. The following year we took another 7 teams all over the region including some exceptional finishes at some of the region’s largest tournaments. We also added “RVA Jr’s” as a great training and introductory level for kids 3rd through 5th grade. We had some really fun Saturday mornings watching those girls learn and apply their volleyball knowledge on the court! This season we took 6 teams from 12u through 18u to battle across the gateway region.
We have grown and learned so much as coaches and club directors and could not thank all of those that have come along side and coached with us in this great program. We have been blessed with some of the most amazing parents and players that anyone could ask for.
We cannot begin to thank everyone enough for allowing us to be part of the lives of so many people across the region. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to have been a small part of the volleyball journeys of so many great players. We wish you all the best of luck in your future and know that we will be watching from afar and cheering you all on along the way!
Sincerely,
Casey and Christian Lacher
