Frequently Asked Questions
What can my son learn from Adversity?
How much experience does the coaching staff have?
Does Adversity have alumni playing NCAA Volleyball?
When are Adversity tryouts held?
Where are the Adversity tryouts held at?
Is a deposit required at tryouts if my son is picked?
When does Adversity Boys elite teams practice?
If I play volleyball for Adversity, can I play other school sports?
How much does it cost to play for Adversity?
What do the Adversity fees pay for?
Does Adversity offer video taping opportunities for its Athletes?
The Adversity Volleyball Club is a Non-Profit youth organization founded by Mike Hulett, (USA Women’s National Sitting Volleyball & USA Volleyball CAP Level 4 Head Coach) in 1997 for boys volleyball players ranging in ages from 12 to 18 in the north shore suburbs of Chicago. Adversity added its girls program in 1998 and has now grown to include more than 140 athletes each year. Due to the limited opportunities for Boys, Adversity now focuses on just Boys, offering multiple teams per age group.
What can my son learn from Adversity?
Adversity Volleyball focuses on teaching advance techniques that college and national team coaches want, as well as providing numerous opportunities for boys on the north shore to compete. Adversity trains some of the best high school players to compete locally, regionally, and nationally in USA Volleyball and Great Lakes Region sanctioned tournaments.
The program itself is a vehicle for young athletes to improve their skills and to be seen by college coaches in hopes of being recruited and receive a college athletic scholarship. Adversity athletes are recognized as some of the best players in the local high schools earning recognition by local and national media outlets.
How much experience does the coaching staff have?
Adversity’s coaching staff is one of the most consistent and accredited coaching staffs in the area.
Mike Hulett - President and Head Coach of Adversity VBC, Inc. Mike is a USA Volleyball CAP Level IV Accredited coach who has served on the Great Lakes Region's Board of Directors for 15 years as well as working with the Boys Committee of USA Volleyball.
Mike served as the Head Coach of the Men's Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Teams from 1996 (Atlanta) through 2000 (Sydney) before beginning the Women's program assisted by Denise Van de Walle of Bowling Green State University. They lead a very young team to the Bronze medal in Athens in 2004, truly shocking the Volleyball World. Hulett was named the 2004 US Olympic Committee's Paralympic Coach of the Year. At the 2008 Paralympic's in Beijing China, Hulett and Van de Walle led the team to the Silver medal. Over all Hulett led teams have won the only Paralympic Medals in volleyball.
Hulett has been an IMPACT clinician for more than 15 years, being named the Clinician of the year in 1997. Awarded the George J. Fisher award by USA Volleyball for twenty years of service in 2001, he continues to be active in the American Volleyball Coaches Association. In 2012, Hulett received the George "Friar" Friarmood award, USA Volleyball's highest award.
Steve Wolf - CAP 2 certified, a 2006 USA Volleyball Men's Junior National Team Camp Coach, over 26 years of coaching experience including a Medal at the Girls National Championships. Steve has been involved with Adversity since it's inception. Steve continues to work with the USAV High Performance program as a tryout evaluator and camp coach. Steve teaches at Riverwoods middle school where he coaches Boys and Girls volleyball.
Roger Ozima - Former College of Lake County Women's Volleyball Head Coach, USA Volleyball National Certified Referee, Qualified International Score Keeper, Member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), over 24 years of coaching experience. Roger works at most of the major tournaments on either the computer side of things, the officials assigner and of course, officiating. Roger has played as an adult as well as run Adult tournaments at various sites over the years.
Jeremy Desiron - Adversity Alumni, four year starter at Rutgers University, 10 seasons coaching Boys 18 Elite at Adversity. Jeremy was coached by Mike Hulett and worked as his Assistant on the 18's before taking the team by himself. Still a standout player in leagues, USAV tournaments and Adult Nationals
Dan Fabry - in his first year as a coach, Dan played his college ball at Long Beach State and is another alumni of the Adversity program who is coaching. Currently playing professionally in Sweden
Chris Morehead - long time coach at Lake Bluff Middle School where he is now the Athletic Director, this is his second year coaching club. He is entering his first season as a member of the staff at Lake Forest High School.
Kyle Masterson -Assisting with the 17's when he can, Kyle was recruited to Penn State, and is also an Adversity Alumni. Currently playing professionally in Finland in his third Pro season, Kyle assists when available
Jorge Tamayo -entering his sixth year coaching, the first four at the Adversity South program. In his second year he led a team to the National Championships. Jorge played at Shoreline under Hulett's term as director, and was coached by Hulett at Evanston Township HS. Currently Coaching high school teams at Libertyville (Girls) and Evanston High (Boys) Schools
Kyle Muldoon -coaching his 5th year of club volleyball, Kyle played at Deerfield High School and then went on to Carthage College to play for four years. Kyle is on the volleyball staff for both Boys and Girls at Deerfield High School, where he is a Teachers Aide. Kyle is an alumni of Adversity.
Stephen Hammond-is in his third year on the Boys side after coaching girls for 7 years. Steve led the first Adversity Elite 14's team to the Open Division in 2010.
Erin Jessen-Erin returns to coaching at Adversity after several years off. Erin played Division 2 in Florida, tranfered to College of Lake County and finished her career at Elmhurst College
Carl Hamming-began his career as a 15 and played thru his senior year at Adversity, played for 4 years at Lake Forest HS and then 4 years as an opposite at Princeton, where his brother Brian, also played. Carl is in his first season coaching at Adversity.
Kyle Bolinder-Played Outside Hitter at Barrington High School for 4 years, and moved on to play Libero at St. Ambrose, earning the School records for Digs for both season and career. Coached a year at St. Ambrose and 1 summer of club. Kyle is in his first season at Adversity.
Ryan Schneider-Played Middle Blocker at Barrington High School for 4 years, All Conference as a Senior. Played at St. Ambrose, earning All American honors his Senior year in 2010. In his first year at Adversity
Chris Koch-Played Middle Blocker at Barrington High School for 4 years. Played at St. Ambrose for for years. Has coached two years of High School and is in his second year at Adversity.
Tom Hammond-Played four years at Stevenson High School, club volleyball and now Men's Club at IIT. Coached club for 1 year before joining Adversity, now entering his third season of coaching club.
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Does Adversity have alumni playing NCAA Volleyball?
Yes. We have many players from both the Boys and the Girls team's that have played College Volleyball on varsity programs. Many others have continued to play Collegiate club. Many recent graduates are currently playing Volleyball (all levels). Schools such as UCLA, Pepperdine, MIT, Cornell, Michigan Tech, UIC, Rutgers, George Mason, Pacific, Brown, Northwestern, Long Beach State, University of Houston, Ball State, Penn State, U.C. San Diego, IP-FW, Emory University, Carthage College, Cardinal Strich University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, etc to name a few.
We have also had many players earn places in USA Volleyball's High Performance program including, Youth and Junior National Teams as well as the developmental camp program.
Several Alumni that have or are playing professional volleyball in various European Professional Indoor Volleyball leagues.
See the Alumni page
When are Adversity tryouts held?
Adversity Boy's Elite team tryouts will be held the day after Labor Day. All tryout information, specific times, for Boys will be posted on our web site when available.
Where are the Adversity tryouts held at?
Adversity Volleyball Center
700 Corporate Woods Parkway Enter thru the double doors marked 710
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
847-793-0900
Yes, there is a $40 tryout fee, payable at tryouts.
Is a deposit required at tryouts if my son is picked?
A first payment will be required once selected. A contract detailing the payment schedule will be provided. A credit card will be required to insure timely payment.
Athletes will be told they have made the program. Athletes will be placed on a team based on their performance during the first few weeks of practice, based on attendence, performance in practice and frequent inter squad competition.
When does Adversity Boy's elite teams practice?
In the past, practice has been Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays. We will have scheduled Saturday practices for poosiion specific work. When we add teams, that may change due to court/time restrictions.
If I play volleyball for Adversity, can I play other school sports?
Adversity has no restrictions on playing other sports, but there is an attendance policy. You need to review your schedules and determine if you will be able to consistently attend practices and tournaments. Attendance is just one of several factors that go into a coach's decision on playing time at a tournament. Many Adversity players in the past have been able to play other sports and Adversity volleyball.
How much does it cost to play for Adversity?
We will provide parents and players the total estimated fee for the upcoming season on our tryout flyer. The fee listed is a total estimated fee for the season that includes hotel expenses for out of state events during the Winter and Summer seasons., All travel must be provided by the Family during the season.
All flight arrangements for the Summer must be made and paid for by the Family
We have found that parents are more appreciative when we present the total estimated fee up front. Typically fees are paid over five to six billing periods however, parents can make arrangements with the club's director if they need to spread out the payments over more periods.
What do the Adversity fees pay for?
Along with paying for gym rental time and coaches stipend, player fees also include the following: jerseys, shorts, Active Ankles, knee pads, team sweats, team back bag/pack, and tournament entry fees.
Although we train hard and compete on a regional and national level, Adversity VBC is committed to the total development of our athletes and helping our athletes meet their athletic goals.
Does Adversity offer video taping opportunities for its Athletes?
Yes. You can arrange an opportunity with the club director for any Adversity athlete to come in and put together a tape to send off to colleges.
Club tryout flyers will be posted and available for everyone to access on our web site, both in the front page and in the tryout section.
Boys tryout flyers usually are posted in late July of each year.
Tryout flyers will include tryout dates and times, club information, equipment, fees, and coaching information for the Adversity Program.