University of Arizona volleyball coach Rita Stubbs is serving up high energy and fun at her annual youth volleyball camps that kick off this summer.
Stubbs will host multiple camps throughout the summer where players can focus on refining traditional volleyball skills such as passing, setting, attacking and serving.
The next camp in the series on June 13 is designed for high school-level elite players to have a collegiate-like experience with a facilities tour and a fast-paced practice session.
But the camps aren’t just for the elite. They’re open to young players of all skill levels.
“It’s a way for us to get to know the community a little bit more with the mini camp that we hold in the month of May, and then the others are for the athletes to refine their skills and try to get potential students to come on campus,” Stubbs said. “Anytime you can get the campus filled with high school players or middle school players, it’s a good thing.”
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The first two camps of the series held last month, the Mini Camp and the Serve and Pass Camp, both sold out.
Other upcoming camps include the Position Camp and Intermediate Camp starting on July 7, Elite Camp on July 9, a JV Team Camp for smaller schools on July 11 and a Varsity Team Camp for bigger schools on July 18.
Interested participants can still register for future camps. Prices start at $138 and team camps start at $117 per player for JV and $148 per player for varsity.
Stubbs says that the sold-out camps are a good sign that athletes and their parents “appreciate the product and what we’re doing.”
“As I go through camp, I walk around and I ask the parents, ‘How are things going? Do you need anything?’ Just trying to get their feedback during that time,” she said. “And the reviews are always great.
“I think they enjoy being able to see me interact with them while also interacting with the campers, and then I get emails from time to time, just saying thank you and they’ll highlight certain coaches here or there saying thank you for the attention that they paid to my kid, or just the fact that (we’re) really focused on making everyone better. It’s not just the best kids, it’s making everyone better.”
One of Stubbs’ favorite parts of the camps is seeing athletes come in, unable to do something, and by the end of camp, they master that skill.
“This past camp, this past week, we had a young lady who came up to me on the second day, and she goes, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve gotten so much better, I can hit the ball down while I’m in the front row. My goal is to learn how to do it from the back row,’ and so just teaching her how to hit the different parts of the ball and becoming better at it is definitely a highlight for me,” Stubbs said.
Even though the camps focus on athleticism and refining skills, Stubbs wants to keep the experience fun for athletes while maintaining a small-group learning environment for them to learn and thrive.
“It’s an opportunity for me to give back to the community,” Stubbs said. “… And just being able to work with the kids, the students, it’s just awesome watching them get better.”
In recent years, volleyball has grown in popularity in the United States, in part because of the Olympics but also because of an increase in college volleyball on TV and social media, according to the Associated Press.
The number of junior clubs registered with USA Volleyball has nearly doubled from 2004 to 2024, the AP reported last year.
Back here in Tucson, UA women’s volleyball had a successful 2024-25 season, logging a 24-9 overall record and a National Invitational Volleyball Championship win in December, with an even brighter future in store for next season.
“It’s a fun time,” Stubbs said. “… And, you know, we want them (the participants) to come be a part of what we’re doing and what we’re building at the U of A.”
For more information about Rita Stubbs’ summer volleyball camps, visit ritastubbsvolleyballcamps.com.
Contact Elvia Verdugo, the Star’s community sports editor, at everdugo@tucson.com. A journalism and history graduate from the University of Arizona, she shares stories highlighting what makes Tucson and its community special.
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