The Best Kept Secret In Volleyball: Junior College

Rarely talked about, almost a secret, but is something that can be extremely beneficial for athletes who are wanting to play volleyball at a high level.  There is this little known pathway and it’s called junior college.

Wait, what?  Is it a tech school?  They have sports at a junior college?  What is this?

For some athletes, depending on the state they live in the idea of playing at the junior college level is a foreign concept, especially with scholarship money while playing against top tier talent.  

Here is the story of Ali Verzani, who is coming off an All-American Sophomore season at Iowa Western Community College and will be heading to play at Tennessee Tech University, a NCAA Division 1 University in Cookeville, Tennessee.  

Ali Verzani of Iowa Western Community College will be heading to play Division 1 volleyball at Tennessee Tech.

Verzani was a four sport athlete for Lawton-Bronson High School, a small school just outside of Sioux City, Iowa and 100 miles North of Omaha.  Verzani had options to play collegiately in volleyball, basketball, track, and softball. With strong looks for volleyball from schools in the Dakotas and Nebraska as well as her other sports combined with her academics she had plenty of places to go, but not necessarily the best fit at the time.  

Enter Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa which is across the Missouri River from Omaha.  Verzani was able to receive an athletic scholarship for volleyball, basketball (which she played her Freshman year), and an academic scholarship.  

“Leaving Iowa Western I will be 100% debt free,” Verzani says while she was also able to hold a part time job while being a full time student athlete.

Besides the financial gain, she was in a competitive setting athletically, and academically was able to make the transition managing two sports collegiately, learning time management and being proactive in her education by reaching out to professors.

“At first people would say, “What’s Iowa Western?" What they didn’t realize was that it was one of the top five junior college volleyball programs in the country.  Of the five Sophomores we had this past season, four have committed to Division 1 schools and the other going to a highly competitive NAIA school,” said Verzani.

“Everyday in the gym I learned how to compete, not only to make myself better, but just to compete for a spot on my team because we had so many talent players, everyone is looking to get better.

This past season along with Verazani, Iowa Western had Caitlyn Cooper who will be transferring into the University of Kentucky to play volleyball.  The Reivers were the number two seed overall before losing to Tyler (TX) in the elite eight. In the national championship, Miami Dade defeated Southern Idaho for the NJCAA Division 1 title.  NJCAA is the equivalent to NCAA, but for junior college and has divisions similar to NCAA with D1, D2, and D3 with various scholarship rules.

Academically Verzani was also able to succeed, finding ownership in her own education.

“I was able to develop great relationships with my professors.  In high school they kind of scare you about the the work and professors, but they were great to me.  I took ownership of my learning because it was for me, it was my education.”

Verazani will be a Golden Eagle at Tennessee Tech under the direction of first year head coach, Jeannette Waldo, a former assistant coach at Green Bay and Missouri State.

“Through my experience at Iowa Western I know I can be put in a competitive situation and find success.  I am not afraid. I have grown through my two years at Iowa Western and know I am up for any challenge that is thrown at me.”

Alicia Williams is currently the head coach at Iowa Western, she played at Iowa Western and eventually transferred to Creighton and had success in both places.

“We give players the chance to play right away, and in doing so they mature in such an amazing way.  I’ve always said to my players that in order to get better at volleyball, we need to actually play volleyball. Junior colleges give players just that.  They have the opportunity to play all four years, AND WIN all four years. You can go ‘DI’ out of high school and play right away, but unless you are that 5% of really talented and special athletes, you will not play as a Freshman, or you will play as a Freshman, but only because your team is not strong,” said Williams.

As far as helping athletes with the recruiting process the second time around the process is a little more relaxed because the athletes have a better sense of self and know what they want unlike the stress some athletes will feel in high school.

“Universities flock to us in order to get that immediate impact kid with experience at a high level.  We help our kids 100% in choosing the right school based on their needs. The great thing about JUCO transfers is that by the time they are 20 years old, they have a lot better understanding of their wants and needs than when they were 15 years old.  They know where they want to be, what their major is going to be, and what’s important in a volleyball program,” said Williams.

Aly Dawson went from Iowa Western to Illinois State, she is now coaching at Milwaukee Sting.

Aly Dawson, a former Catholic Memorial (Waukesha, Wisconsin) and Milwaukee Sting player, is another junior college success story playing at Iowa Western before heading to Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference.  

“Being able to go to a junior college my first two years, allowed me to start understanding what I wanted to do post college. I was able to do this while still getting my education paid for through playing volleyball. Going to a junior college also gave me the time and opportunity to really sit down and decide what I wanted from a university, where I wanted to be locations wise, and what each school could offer me during school and post graduation,” said Dawson who is an Assistant Coach at Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold.

Dawson had much the same to say as Verazani about going the junior college route first.

“Being at a Junior College my first two years allowed me to really establish study habits, new responsibilities, and what a college environment was without being overwhelmed at the Division 1 speed! For me it was a great stepping stone and transition from high school into college! Without going to Iowa Western, I don’t know how successful I would have been going right into the NCAA Division 1 world! I am so thankful for the route and opportunities that have been given to me throughout college because of Iowa Western!”

Lauren Hansen is the director of My Recruiting Assistant that helps athletes with their recruiting process and has helped athletes find a home at all levels of college volleyball.  Plenty of strong athletes have gone the junior college route and have seen great success.

“Junior College can be a great route for a student-athlete for various reasons. Maybe they need to work on getting their grades up to play at the D1 or D2 level, they might need to work on their volleyball skill set and IQ more, or financially it is the best option for them to get their general education credits complete before going to a larger university,” said Hansen who has worked with the Iowa Rockets and VC United.

Hansen added, “More and more opportunities present themselves to the Junior College transfer athlete as compared to the high-school junior or senior because these JUCO transfers have both academic and athletic experience under their belt and are more likely to come and make an immediate impact. Junior college has always been a popular route in Iowa because of the benefits these athletes receive in the classroom and on the court.”

Yes, junior college volleyball is real.  Yes, junior college volleyball can provide great benefits athletically and academically.  Yes, junior college volleyball is an option coming out of high school.

For Verazani and Dawson they had the opportunity to play at a high level at the junior college level that would prepare them to make an impact at a Division 1 school.  If developing the student athlete is ultimately the goal of coaching and mission of the NCAA and NAIA, then junior college for some might just be the best place to start.