Carolina UVC: Conception to Reality:
For several years prior to the building of Carolina Courts, Ron Esser and Scott Chitwood had been working together coaching recreational basketball. Seeing a demand that was not being met, they started to discuss the possibility of opening up their own sports complex. In 2007 that dream became a reality as Ron and Scott left their businesses behind to establish Carolina Courts, and as the building neared its completion in 2008, they began the RISE basketball program.
But basketball alone was not the end goal for Carolina Courts. With the growth of volleyball in the Southeast, it quickly became clear that the demand for volleyball training at a high level far outweighed the current supply. Under the direction of Shelton Collier (Head Volleyball Coach at Wingate University, USA Junior National Coach, former record setting coach at Georgia Tech and Pitt.) and Barbie Curry (former player and assistant at Wingate University) the RISE program was expanded to include volleyball. Carolina Courts is now the sole place in the greater Charlotte area where volleyball training at ALL levels is provided on a year-round basis.
Just down the road, the already established Union Volleyball Club, under the direction of Carrie Powell (Current Head Volleyball Coach at Weddington High School), was beginning to outgrow itself. Wanting to keep up with the demand to provide both national and regional club volleyball teams, it became evident that change was in the future for UVC.
The idea for a possible merger began to brew in the latter part of the 2009 club season. As they began discussing the possibility, both Barbie and Carrie realized that merging would allow them to keep up with the growing demand for training volleyball players at many different ages and ability levels. And so, Carolina Union Volleyball was born.
Club Philosophy:
If the goal of CUVC were to be summed up in one sentence it would be the following: We exist to provide volleyball players at varying ages and abilities the opportunity to reach their full potential.
What that means for you, the player and/or parent, is that whether you are a great player already, or a good player that want to develop into a great player, we want to help you get better every time you step foot on the court.