Youth Volleyball: Why are Girl's Volleyball Shorts So Short? (Part 3)

What??? Beach Volleyball without Bikinis at the London 2012 Olympics. TV ratings must be down and NBC must be furious.

In my last post on this subject, I stated that my post called Youth Volleyball: Why are Girl's Volleyball Shorts so Short? has received the second most all time traffic on my site and it's the number 1 most commented on post on my site. The Olympics bring volleyball to the masses, so the Olympics have increased the number of visits to my site by people trying to figure out Why are women's volleyball shorts so short? Traffic to that post has tripled since the Olympic volleyball started.

Did anyone notice that Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were wearing long sleeves and pants when cool London nights forced the teams to cover up? 

Did you know that bikinis are no longer required uniforms out of respect for the cultural beliefs of some participating countries.

When I first wrote about this subject, I was not advocating for longer shorts or berating shorter shorts, I was just curious about when, where and why the shorts came to be in women's volleyball. I concluded that tight spandex short shorts and the skimpy bikinis do have some function, but these uniforms have more to do with fashion and publicity. Or as the Australian Sport Commission calls it the Sexploitation of sports.

British star Denise Johns agrees with this point of view in a interview in the Sunday Times which was also quoted in the Huffington Post article called Olympic Volleyball Uniforms: Bikinis No Longer Required. 

 "The people who own the sport [the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball] want it to be sexy," Johns told the Sunday Times. "I used to play in shorts and a T-shirt and was reluctant to change. But if it gets volleyball attention, so be it."

The Main Point

More evidence that women's volleyball uniforms have more to do with form over function.

So I have a new question, why are men's divers swim shorts so butt-crack-showing short? I assume for the same reason - to attract an audience.

Youth Volleyball: Why are the girl's volleyball shorts so short? (Part 2)

On January 9th, 2011, in a post, I asked this question "Why are the girl's volleyball shorts so short?". That post is the second most visited post on my site almost every single day and now has over 33,000 pageviews. It is also the most commented on post on my site.

I asked the question after I saw daughter play her first parochial school 4th grade volleyball game. I wondered why the Catholic school would have such strict and modest uniform mandates for school, but allow shorts that Ke$ha might wear to the MTV awards show.

In that post, I determined that the short shorts are for fashion purposes only and have no competitive advantage. This point of view was argued by many volleyball players on my site, but I am still not buying it. If that were true, women basketball players and men volleyball players would wear them to.

Well here is more evidence. This year the NCAA debuted sand volleyball as a sport. Pepperdine was the inaugural champion after they beat Long Beach State in the 2012 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship.

Pepperdine played in loose fitting gym shorts against Long Beach State who donned bikini style shorts. Watch Pepperdine dominate Long Beach State in this video.

The Main Point

I am not arguing for or against short shorts for college volleyball. Volleyball is a great game with or without the short shorts.  I am simply saying that Spandex short shorts do not provide a competitive advantage for volleyball inside a gym or out on a beach.

Youth Sports: Expensive Shoes Obsession

Is your young athlete obsessed with expensive athletic shoes? Do you let him or her buy expensive shoes? Do you pay for them? If you do why? If you don't why? 

Share your point of view with me and my readers.

My son is obsessed with basketball shoes, baseball cleats and golf spikes.

My 14 year old son, Nic, is only 5' 6" but he has size 11.5 feet. I always tell him that one day he is going to be a big strong athlete or a short clown. Those constantly growing feet have cost me a lot of money over the years because every sports season since he was 5 and I have had to purchase him new athletic shoes. That's what dads do. Another thing dads do is put a reasonable budget on each shoe purchase and I have always done that.

Apparently in this Facebook super transparent world, the shoes still make the man.

My son likes to stand out. That's a problem when you play a team sport with uniforms. However, the one element of a uniform that Nic can control in most cases is his shoes. He uses his choice of shoes to make himself standout. Shoes have become a part of his identity and a reflection of his "full of life" personality. As such, he is currently obsessed with basketball shoes, baseball cleats and golf shoes. 

Over the last 6 months, Nic has purchased five pairs of basketball shoes for a combined total of about $550. You'll notice from my Youth Sports Costs list that only one is listed. I agreed to pay a portion ($80) of the only pair of these shoes (the white retro Jordans) that qualified as school shoes under his school's strict uniform policy. 

You are probably wondering how he buys his shoes if I don't buy them for him. Well, Nic is a hard worker. He mows lawns and watches a neighbor boy periodically to earn money to support his obsession with shoes. I keep telling him to put the money in his car fund (which I match dollar for dollar), but I guess shoes today are more important than a car tomorrow. I constantly remind him that his shoes will get him from point A to point B just like a car, but it's really tough to take a girl to the movies when the only mode of transportation you have is a pair of Pink Nike HyperDunks. I guess saving for the future is a lesson that he needs to learn the hard way though experience.

Here is a list of shoes he has purchased most recently to stand out. He also has purchased a matching headband for each pair.

Nike KD III Christmas Edition  (Yellow) KD is for Kevin Durant

Nike AirMax Flight 11 Reke Havoc (Purple) Tyreke Evans

Nike Zoom Kobe IV (Camo in Blue and Black) Kobe Bryant

Nike Jordan 5 V Retro Independance Day (White) Michael Jordan

Nike Hyper Dunk 2011 (Pink)

He bought these shoes online or at his favorite store the House of Hoops. The House of Hoops is a store within a store at select Footlocker locations. The closest one to our house is 100 miles away in Columbus. Fortunately for my son, we are in Columbus for soccer, baseball and basketball tournaments every other month. 

Nic was inspired to purchase the pink pair by watching the NFL breast cancer awareness campaign. During the month of October, the NFL players and coaches are raising awareness for breast cancer by donning pink (gloves, hats, shoes, sweatbands, etc.) for the A Crucial Catch Pink Campaign. 

The Main Point

You'd have to be crazy to buy multiple pairs of basketball shoes totaling $550 for feet that may still be growing. I'm not crazy, but my son apparently is and so are some of his friends. 

I am not really happy about his choice to spend money in what I think is a frivolous manner, but I also think that a person who works hard and earns his or her own money should be free to buy whatever they want to buy (as long as it is legal). I believe in limited government and freedom, so it's against my principles to mandate how my son spends his hard earned money or what color shoes he can and cannot wear.  It would take away all of his motivation to work. 

My wife and I have taught our son that you need to work hard to get the things you want in life. He has learned this lesson loud and clear. I hope that our message regarding the importance of saving money for the future is being heard too and that one day he will put it into practice.

What is your stance on expensive sneakers?

Youth Soccer: Hope Solo Jr.?

My daughter, CC, and I watched the FIFA Women's World Cup this summer. CC is a goalie so she paid particular attention to Hope Solo. She noticed her athleticism. She noticed her technique. She noticed that Hope Solo is pretty. And she noticed that Hope Solo wore many different color uniforms.

So you know what that meant for me? Yep, trips to the sporting good stores and endless searches online for Hope Solo jersey's in size women's XS.

This past weekend, my daughter played in the Mead Cup, one of the best soccer tournaments in the country. She played in three games and like Hope Solo she made some spectacular save. Like Hope Solo she allowed some goals. And like Hope Solo, she wore a different goalie uniform for each game.

Hope Solo Diving Attempt

CC Diving Attempt

Hope Solo Clearing Pass

CC Clearing Pass

Hope Solo Save Attempt

CC Save Attempt

Hope Solo Save

CC Save

Hope Solo Concentration

CC Concentration

Hope Solo Water Break

CC Water Break

The Main Point

If you want to be the best, you need to study the best. Study their careers, study their moves, study their practice regimens. 

Side Note: I could not find Hope Solo uniforms. I was surprised the Nike or Puma did not exploit the popularity of Hope Solo and make her uniforms available. My daughter and I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and found green and purple Under Armor shirts that worked well.

Youth Volleyball: Why are the girl's volleyball shorts so short?

What is the deal with short tight volleyball shorts for girls volleyball?


My 4th grade daughter played in the first volleyball match of her career. My wife is the coach and she has been telling me that CC is a natural at volleyball. I had never seen CC play or even practice before today. Turns out my wife was right, CC was a star in a three game sweep. I was really not surprised that CC was good at volleyball too because she is a terrific little athlete. What did surprise me was that 4th grade parochial school girls were wearing such short and tight uniforms. The school has a very strict and conservative uniform policy during school hours.


This got me thinking. Why do women play volleyball in such short and tight shots? When did it start? I went on line to find out.

On a EastofIndy.com thread a volleyball player named Lauren says:

"There is a reason volleyball players where those shorts. It is easier to dive, roll, and move around. Every sport has there own equipment. I play volleyball."

Anwers.com does not have a good answer.


Topix covers the debate but provides no convincing answers.


Chacha.com claims flexibility and temperature control are reasons. 


Overall, the Yahoo Answers thread on the subject provided the same type answers but it still begged the question, "Why don't woman basketball players wear tight fitting uniforms. They jump, bend, twist and occasionally dive for loose balls. Vollygrl added that "your long shorts can get caught in the net, which could get called against you." Now we have a competitive advantage reason that perhaps led to the decision for the use of the shorts because this net violation costs a team a point and / or side-out. 

Still, I am just not buying these reasons.