Staying Healthy
It is not possible to prevent all injuries, but the likelihood of injury can be reduced by keeping these things in mind:
1. Avoid Overuse - Sometimes it is good to take the night off from volleyball, the body has only so many swings.
2. Use Correct Biomechanics - You can hurt yourself with improper technique. Shoulder and lower back strains are very common injuries from improper mechanics. Also, players commonly land on one foot after taking spike approaches, and should be trained to land on two feet. It is important to tell a coach about any recurring pain so they can see if there may be a technical reason for it.
3. Think About Ankle Braces - Opinions differ on the use of ankle braces. Ankle braces significantly reduce the severity of ankle rolls. Some say they weaken your ankle muscles, but many experts say that this is not the case. Our men's and women's national teams - as well as many DI college teams - require their athletes to wear them. Consider these links: 1, 2. Recently some new information has to come to our attention about ankle braces though, and it has caused our coaches to remove mandatory ankle brace policies on our teams. There is a study that indicates that during an ankle inversion (roll) when an ankle brace is present, there is an increase force at the knee, which can potentially harm the ligaments in the knee. There is also some data that suggests that ankle braces reduce plantar flexion, which may reduce vertical leap (though it is marginal). So, while ankle braces definitely reduce the likelihood of injury to the ankles, they may actually slightly increase the severity of injury since they may defer some of the risk to the knee.
4. Condition and Strengthen the Body With Balance - Athletes stay healthiest when they have strong core muscles, and when they have balanced muscle strength. Sometimes players work out one muscle just to increase power, but neglect to work the opposite muscles, which leads to joint and muscle pain. If you do strength training, work out the entire body, not just the muscles you think you need to swing harder. Sometimes seeing a professional trainer is a great way to ensure you are developing balanced muscles. Sparta (in East Menlo Park) is a great place to train - we have seen some amazing results in the athletes that train there.
5. Eat Nutritiously - Eating the right amount of healthy food is best. Many athletes eat too much fat and sugar in their diet; but also many don't eat enough of the right foods! Healthy athletes need muscle to generate power and to control their bodies and they need nutritious foods to help them build the necessary muscle and maintain strong cardiovascular health.

Useful Volleyball Links
PrepVolleyball - a nationwide high school and club news website; player & team rankings, message board
USAVolleyball - the national governing body for United States volleyball; national teams, Junior Olympics
NCVA (Northern California Volleyball Association) - region of the usav; area and power leauges, sand/indoor tournaments
CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) - state governing body for high school sports; state/norcal tournament
CCS (Central Coast Section) - 1 of 4 regions of the northern half of the CIF; regional high school rules, league alignments

Why the Flying Monkey Eagle?
It is the primordial image of aggression. When you think about aggressiveness, you think fangs, talons, and wings and monkeys. In volleyball it is not always easy to stay aggressive like a flying monkey eagle. There is a net that separates the two teams, so it is a "non-contact sport" and players forget to fight for it sometimes. Also, volleyball is such an error prone sport and the play ends so abruptly when you do err, players sometimes withold aggression for fear of failure. It started out as a stupid doodle, then progressed to tshirts for our first camps, and now made the big-time as Aggressive Volleyball's mascot.