OKEECHOBEE — Travel volleyball club Chobee Volleyball Academy (CVA) is in the early stages of hosting its second-ever mini-season right here in Okeechobee.
Back on Sept. 16 the club held a draft for its first mini-season for boys and girls aged 11-14. During that season teams practiced one to two times a week and played four, one-day tournaments during October and November.

Special to the Lake Okeechobee News/Richard Marion
The 14u team “Scotch Tape” was crowned champion of Chobee Volleyball Academy’s first ever mini-season on Nov. 23.

The 14-and-under mini-season concluded on Nov. 23 and coming in first place at the end of the season was the team “Scotch Tape, followed by “Notorious D.I.G.” in second and “Bump Chumps” in third.

Now preparations are beginning for the a new mini-season for boys and girls aged 7-10. CVA has scheduled a draft for the new season to take place on Friday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m. in the Osceola Middle School gym. All kids entering the draft will be placed on a team. The cost to join the mini-season will run $100 and can be paid on the day of the draft.

Practices and games will be played right here in Okeechobee throughout the season at Osceola Middle School and Okeechobee Freshman Campus. Practices are tentatively scheduled to be held on Jan. 6, 8, 13, 15, 22, 27 and 29, with the games scheduled for Feb. 3, 5, 10, 12, 17 and 19.

Any questions about CVA or the upcoming mini-season can be answered by reaching out to chobeevolleyballacademy@gmail.com.

CVA has fielded some successful travel teams in recent years that have brought quite a few trophies back home to Okeechobee. Back on Jan. 26-27 the CVA 15-and-under team won first place gold at the AAU Chill Blast tournament held in Orlando at the Orlando Sports Center.

A few weeks after that tournament two more CVA teams won gold at the USAV Cloverleaf Tour of Champions Volleyball Tournament at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 23-24. The CVA 13 and under team took first place in gold among 18 other teams in their age bracket and the CVA 12-and-under team won first place in gold among 16 teams.

“If you want to play volleyball in middle school, high school, or even college, and you are passionate and want to work hard, then CVA is the place for you,” said CVA President LiAnn Whipple. “We try our best to teach life skills through the sport of volleyball by encouraging our athletes both on and off the court.”