EVO Volleyball is born, for the benefit of everyone

Jeff Horr, the Suncoast Volleyball Club of Sarasota's director and owner, has watched his baby grow into a special program since he founded it in 2005.

With the club blossoming over the years, he has had no intention of ever giving it up.

So when EVO Athletics President Kyle Lawton called Horr about purchasing the volleyball program, his response was simple

"No way.”

Horr had been contacted about selling Suncoast by other companies in the past, and always declined. He figured Suncoast was a family business, and his baby. He didn’t want anyone else messing with something he had built from the ground up.

When EVO Athletics called, he was just as skeptical. He knew EVO had built a huge, beautiful facility on 15th Street geared toward gymnastics, tumbling and those who wanted to challenge themselves with a "Ninja Warrior" layout.

He didn't want EVO Athletics to swallow his very specific program. He wasn't sure EVO would carry the same philosophy as he did in terms of putting a priority on teaching over winning.

Ultimately, though, after talking it over with people he trusts and with Lawton, Horr decided the best thing to do was sell and, in September, EVO added the Suncoast Volleyball Club to its stable.

The move allows the volleyball club to utilize a bigger gym space, as opposed to places they had used previously, like Booker Middle School. For now, the club will make a home in a a facility in Bradenton that EVO Athletics previously acquired, but the overarching goal is to build a new volleyball facility in one of the buildings behind EVO Athletics' headquarters on 15th Street in Sarasota. 

The move will allow Horr to hand off the business aspects of running a club and instead concentrate on being the program director.

It appears Horr made a solid choice. More tournaments at better facilities can only mean good things for the kids in Horr’s program. I can’t wait to see the strides EVO Volleyball will make with better facilities and some financial clout behind it.

Besides helping the volleyball program, it should also benefit EVO Athletics in terms of branding. It’s not surprising EVO Athletics would want to branch out into full-on team sports as it grows. Lawton said sports like gymnastics are a bit of a closed network.

"Some people like them, some people can’t stand them,” he said. 

EVO wanted to add a sport that was more accessible to the masses, and volleyball fit the bill.

Before pursuing Horr's club, EVO had talks with another volleyball club in the area, but eventually targeted Suncoast. Horr was a big reason.

Horr founded Suncoast Volleyball after his friends had urged him for years to do so. He never started the venture to make money, but instead wanted to help children by putting an emphasis on teaching them in a positive environment. He thought it wasn't so common in the Sarasota area.

He didn't care about winning. He wanted his kids to fall in love with volleyball.

That attitude attracted Lawton, who was impressed by Horr’s strong reputation and called him “a pillar of the community, both in coaching and in general.” It was a no-brainer choice for EVO.

It still took some prodding. Horr thought back to his first youth clinic, when his club had almost no equipment or even volleyballs. He expected a few kids to show up, but 60 attended. Horr was stunned.

The club took off faster than anyone expected. Not all of those kids ended up playing a full season, but 38 did, enough to fill out four teams. The next season, Suncoast added high school volleyball, and things skyrocketed.

Several players who came through the Suncoast system have played at the college level, including Annie Montgomery, a former Cardinal Mooney Cougar who just finished her senior season at Florida State University. She led the Seminoles’ beach volleyball team to a runner-up finish at the inaugural NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. this past season.

You can only imagine EVO Volleyball will produce a lot more players like Montgomery.

For more information on the club, visit www.suncoastvolleyball.com.