Find the Right Program for
Every Player

Coach Amber Rauh started Rec It Volleyball because she experienced firsthand how easy it is for a capable athlete to slip through the gaps of the volleyball system. At fourteen years old, Amber made her high school varsity volleyball team as a freshman. Before that, she had taken recreational classes, practiced in gym class, and believed she was being prepared for the next level. After her freshman season, she attended a club tryout expecting that her skill and effort would be enough. Instead, she walked in blindly. Neither the recreational programs she had attended nor her high school experience had taught her what club coaches would ask, what they would be evaluating, or how to speak confidently about the game. When she was asked what rotational system she had played in, she froze. Her team did use rotations, but she did not know the name for what she had been doing. In that moment, despite being a varsity athlete with real ability, she felt unprepared and embarrassed. She played poorly, did not make the team, and left feeling like she had been judged on knowledge she was never given the chance to learn.
 

That experience revealed a flaw in the volleyball world that Amber would continue to see again and again. Too many recreational athletes work hard, improve physically, and develop real potential, yet they are never given the strategic language, game understanding, or context needed to move forward with confidence. Instead of being taught the "why" behind what they are doing, many players are expected to figure it out on their own until they reach club, where higher-level coaching, clearer feedback, and more advanced instruction suddenly become available. By then, athletes are often being evaluated as though that knowledge should already be obvious. For Amber, the issue was never a lack of ability. The issue was a lack of access to the right information at the right time.

​

That is why Amber built Rec It Volleyball. With a background in education and a passion for helping people grow, she wanted to create the kind of program that gives recreational athletes the information they need before they are judged for not knowing it. Rec It is designed to teach skills, strategy, movement, and terminology in a clear and intentional way, so athletes understand not just how to do something, but how to talk about it and apply it in competitive settings. When a topic is important, Rec It coaches tell athletes directly that a coach may ask about that exact concept at tryouts, so they know to pay attention and remember it. That approach helps players walk into tryouts ready for intelligent conversations about movement, strategy, and rotations instead of feeling lost or blindsided. At its core, Rec It Volleyball exists to make sure young athletes do not miss opportunities simply because no one took the time to prepare them properly.