USA Junior Racquetball

Message from the President of the Junior Council

To all supporters of the 2007 USA Junior National Team:

On behalf of the Junior Council, Head Coach Kelley Beane and her staff, and the players and families of the juniors who competed in Bolivia, I would like to thank all of you for making it possible for the team to go to the World Championships. The contributions from the state associations, individual and corporate donors were so greatly appreciated- we could not have done it without each and every one of you!!!

As you may know, our boys team won the Boys World Team title for the first time since 2001. The team was led by gold medal victories by Jose and Marco Rojas in the boys 16 and 14 singles respectively. The girls team finished 3^rd; overall the USA team finished 2^nd to Mexico.

In my conversations with many of you last year, the overwhelming support for the kids in this great sport was phenomenal! We look forward to bright futures for these young players in racquetball – whether they are elite level players or beginners – they like us have found the joys of racquetball and thus have found a sport for life!

Once again, thank you all so much for your generosity! For more information on junior racquetball, please check our website www.USAJUNIORRACQUETBALL.com.

Kelley Lavely

President

Junior Council

WE are ready to get down to Bolivia and play some racquetball!!

We have put our time in on the courts in the last 6 months and we had a great training camp at Velocity in Phoneix Az, this summer, our athletes cant wait to play!

I have all the confidence in the world in this team and there is no other team I would rather coach than this group of kids.

We are ready for our long flights, first to Miami to meet for our 11pm departure to La Paz, Bolivia. We fly all night and land in La Paz in the morning. We then have a couple more small flights to Covhabamba and arrive about 2pm. We will get a practice in that night to try to acclimate to the altitude a little bit. We have practice scheduled on Friday as well before Opening Ceremonies.

Wish us luck, and we promise we will leave it all on the courts in Bolivia! GO USA!

Coach Kelley Beane

Click the article title above for a list of USA team members and more information.

Junior Council kicks off Fundraising Campaign

In its efforts to raise money for the USA Junior National team, the Junior Council launched its fundraising campaign this summer to raise the $60,000 needed to send this team to Worlds.

The 2007 IRF Junior World Championships will be held this December in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The team members (see related article on this site) are working hard on and off the court to also raise the necessary funds to get the team to Worlds.

The first phase of the Junior Council’s campaign consists of the State Racquetball Associations appeal. Last year, the states played a huge role in contributing over $8000 to the team. 23 states participated in this campaign last year, with Michigan leading the way with a $1000 contribution. Many of the states who contributed had no players on the team.

This year’s goal is to have a 100% participation rate by all the states, a lofty goal but a necessary one considering the expense of this trip. All state associations receive money from the USAR from their memberships, a portion earmarked for junior racquetball development, so states may use these funds as well as others towards the team if desired.

The next phase is the Friends of Junior Racquetball campaign. Individuals will be contacted to ask for assistance with this year’s team. Corporate sponsorships are also being pursued.

If you would like to contribute to these efforts, please contact Kelley Lavely, President of Junior Council via Kelley@Lavely.com, or Kelley Beane, Head Coach of the Junior National team at KBeane6@aol.com.

2007 Junior National Team

The 2007 Junior Olympic Championships in Tempe, Arizona served as the qualifier for the USA Team which will be headed for Cochabamba, Bolivia this December for the IRF’s Junior World Racquetball Championships.

The top 2 finishers in the 14’s, 16’s and 18 singles qualify for the team, as does the 1^st place doubles team in each division. Kelley Beane of New Hampshire is the Head Coach of the team. Click on the link to view this year’s qualifiers.

California Wins 2nd Junior National Championship

Repeating it’s domination of USA Junior Racquetball, California won the state title at the 2007 Head Penn Junior Olympic National Championships held in Tempe, Arizona this past June for the second year in a row.

Arizona State University was the site of the championships, a facility well-suited for the event with it’s 12 glass-backed racquetball courts. Darold Key and Frank Taddonio were local organizers of the tournament and did a great job of assisting the USAR with running a great tournament. Click the title header above for the complete article and more information on the Junior National Championship.