06/17/2022
As many of you know, our family has been in the club volleyball circuit for 15 years and it has been such a roller coaster ride. These past 5 years at MAX we have accomplished so many great things. Today we want to say thank you to all of you that have supported MAX and continue to support MAX. We deeply appreciate your commitment and loyalty.
For those that recall, in August of last year an email was sent out to everyone stating the following:
"We want all of you to know that we did what we felt would be best for our teams and even made every effort to do what we felt would be in the best interest of Marion county volleyball as a whole but or efforts fell short"...
What some of you may not know is our efforts were in fact to open up talks about potentially merging with Ocala Power United as we recognized that Ocala is just too small and that two clubs was causing a division of talent between organizations. I bring this to your attention now because, this is still how we feel in our hearts. When we began Ocala Power Volleyball Academy in 2010 our goal was exactly the same as it was when we started MAX, to provide high caliber training to girls that wanted to compete at the highest level. Unfortunately, as long as two clubs exist, the division of talent will remain and frankly it is unfair to the kids we serve. The girls and their ability to play the sport they love and doing so at the highest level has always been our priority. Club volleyball is not about us as adults, it is and should always be about the girls. Therefore, we, the directors and coaches at MAX are selflessly putting the girls first and stepping out of the indoor competition ring. We have made the decision that we feel is best for our volleyball community and will no longer field indoor teams at MAX. This season will be our last season. Volleyball is a passion and a deep love for us and for years it has filled our hearts with so much joy but at the same time, we must do what is best for the masses and that is to challenge all of the girls to step outside their comfort zones so that the best athletes can be placed together on the best teams and Ocala volleyball can make its mark in the volleyball community. For some this will be be great news and for others, not so much. Even though we will no longer build teams as we have in the past we WILL keep our doors open and operate as MAX Performance Volleyball Training, strictly a training academy for both indoor and beach volleyball for those who want to put in the extra work to elevate their game as well as offer recruiting services. We want you to know that we will always be here to support you on your volleyball endeavors. Jason and I are very excited about this next chapter of our lives as we get to enjoy this last year for Kiana as strictly her parents. Additionally, we are equally as excited to announce that Ashley will continue to do lessons and training as well as coming to an agreement to work with OPU to offer coaching assistance, manage Hudl for their teams and offer recruiting services to their athletes. Therefore, If you have any questions about how to move forward and what your next step should be, we will be happy to discuss a plan of action for your daughter.
I recently saw a post on Instagram that said, "I think a lot about how we as a culture have turned "forever" into the only acceptable definition of success. Like if you open a coffee shop and run it for a while and it makes you happy but then stuff gets too expensive and stressful and you want to do something else so you close it, it's a "failed" business. If you write a book or two, then decide you don't want to keep doing that, you're a "failed" writer... The only acceptable "win condition" is "you keep doing that thing forever"... I just think something can be good and also end, and that thing was still good. And it's okay to be sad that it ended, too. But the idea that anything that ends is automatically less than this hypothetical "eternal state" of success... I don't think that's doing us any good at all." -
MAX was GOOD! (TOP 5 at a National Event every year in existence!) And will always be good and we have enjoyed the journey and will cherish the memories. Again, we want to thank all of you for your support throughout our years serving the volleyball community, especially those that have stood by our sides from day one and who have continued to support our cause in all your actions and in every spoken word. We are humbled and extremely grateful to you for your loyalty to our family and MAX as we know it was your daughters that allowed us to bring home so much success!
With all that we are, we wish all of you the very best!
MAXOut!
Jason, Millie and Ashley
