Our Approach
Confidence Through Volleyball
Volleyball is what we teach. People are why.
We love volleyball. We love helping someone figure out a skill that’s been frustrating them, and seeing hard work pay off. But our purpose is bigger than the game. We’re here to help people live better, and volleyball is how we do it.
Why TVI exists
How TVI started
Alex Hurlburt, Founder2020
In 2020, I was done with volleyball. I’d spent my twenties coaching: building a youth program, on college staffs at Northwestern and Loyola, and on USA Volleyball National Team staffs. I loved the game, but I’d let coaching become my whole identity, and it was costing me. I was ready to walk away and find a regular job.
The first lessons
Then a few families asked if I’d give their kids private lessons. Honestly, I didn’t want to. More volleyball was the last thing that fit my life at that point. But I had nothing else lined up, so I said yes. I only took the early hours, so I could be home every night for dinner with my wife, Erin, and our son, Henry.
Read the full story
Something happened in those lessons that I didn’t expect. It was just me, one athlete and a ball. Nobody was fighting over playing time. I chose when I worked. I was paid fairly for my time. And I got to watch kids change, not just their passing, but how they carried themselves. For the first time in years, coaching felt like what I was supposed to be doing.
The next coaches
I couldn’t keep it to myself. I knew so many great coaches who loved the game but couldn’t make a life out of it. So I asked Noah Randall, a coach I’d trained and worked beside, to join me. Families loved him. Then came a third coach, and a fourth.
What TVI is
That’s what TVI is. For athletes, it’s a coach who is there only for them. For coaches, it’s a career with freedom, fair pay and no drama, and time for the people they love.
Confidence Through Volleyball isn’t a slogan. It’s what saved coaching for me. Now we get to give it away.
Alex Hurlburt, Founder
Our mission shapes our priorities
Our mission is Confidence Through Volleyball. It guides who we bring on, how we teach and what we hope you take home.
We want you to become a better player. We also want you to learn how to work through something hard, use feedback, and see what your own effort can change. Those things last long after the game is over.
Winning is a joyful part of volleyball, and a healthy business keeps this work going. But helping people is the reason we do it.
“Her confidence has grown on and off the court, which is essential as she transitioned positions. She feels challenged, safe, and supported.”
“My daughter has played for 10 years, and this was the most wholesome, positive, fun and challenging environment she has trained in!”
How teaching works
Identify the problem.Apply the solution.Make it stick.
A lesson shaped around one athlete
We invest in the people doing the teaching
A great Trainer is more than a great player. They explain clearly, notice what you need and help you put a correction into practice.
We pay our Trainers well because excellent teaching deserves to be sustainable work. We want to attract great teachers, give them good reasons to stay, and help them keep getting better.
New Trainers start with our training videos: how we run a session, why we do what we do, and how to use our equipment.
We take teaching quality seriously, and we expect our Trainers to keep earning families’ trust. We listen to what athletes and families tell us, and we watch whether families keep coming back. It’s one of the ways we see whether the teaching is working. Family satisfaction is also becoming part of how our Trainers are paid.
“…individualized training and feedback but also the why behind the what. Alex is knowledgeable and patient.”
“She got a ton of reps in and got some great feedback with specific adjustments that improved my daughter’s hitting immediately.”
Tools that help you see what to change
Good feedback is easier to use when you can see what happened. Our training tools make a correction concrete.
- Delay Station
Watch your last rep on video a few seconds later. Connect what you felt with what you saw, then work out the next adjustment with your Trainer. - Radar Gun
See how fast you serve or hit, and use it alongside technique, control and the goal of the drill. - Setter Target
Get a clear target for accuracy, then adjust and try again.
The value is in what you learn from it. Your Trainer helps you understand what it means and how to use it.
Equipment varies by gym. Ask your Trainer what’s available at your location.
“Amanda is an incredible setter coach. She breaks down technique, gives spot-on feedback with video replay, and creates a super encouraging environment.”
See the tools in use
What families can expect
Progress you can use
Repetition helps a skill feel familiar. Clear purpose and feedback help you understand what you’re practicing and whether a change is working.
Our aim is for you to leave with a clearer picture of your game and something useful to work on. Maybe a more consistent serve, a better decision in a rally, or a movement that finally makes sense.
Then you take it with you: to your next practice, your own team and the next challenge.
“After only a handful of sessions my daughter shows significant improvement -her high school coach is noticing!”
Good to know
Small on purpose
Private Training is 1:1, 2:1 or your own group of 3 to 6, so your Trainer can see you, correct you and cheer you on. Mini‑Group Training is split by level.
Abuse-prevention trained and background-checked
Every Trainer passes a background check and abuse-prevention training before their first session, and renews both on schedule.
On your team’s side
We help you get better, then you take it back to your own team or school. We’d never ask you to leave one.
Right in your community
We train at community gyms near you, so training fits into the week you already have.