540 Volleyball
Academy NoVA

While the club name and branding will change, our goal is to make this transition as seamless as possible for athletes and families. Practice locations and facilities will remain the same, and we are working to retain as many current coaches as possible to provide continuity and consistency for our athletes. Families can also expect expanded opportunities and resources through the 540 Volleyball Academy network.

While 540 NoVA will have its own teams, coaches, practice locations and community, our athletes are now part of the larger 540 Volleyball Academy organization.

For us, that should mean more than simply putting a different name on the jersey.

NoVA athletes will benefit from the same club-wide technical direction, coaching education, recruiting resources and development philosophy that we are building throughout 540. Our coaching staffs across locations will have opportunities to collaborate, share resources and learn from one another while working toward consistent standards for how we train and develop athletes.

It also gives us a larger platform from which to create opportunities for our players. Whether through clinics and training, college recruiting education, guest coaches and speakers, partnerships, special events or other athlete experiences, our goal is to use the size and resources of the entire organization to provide opportunities that may be difficult for a smaller individual club to create on its own.

At the same time, we believe strongly that bigger should not mean less personal.

540 NoVA should still feel like its own volleyball community. We want coaches to know their athletes, families to know one another and the relationships that made American Volleyball Club special to remain an important part of the NoVA experience.

The advantage we see is being able to combine that close-knit environment with the resources and opportunities of a larger volleyball organization.

540 Volleyball Academy NoVA will continue operating from the current facility at 10682 Wakeman Ct, Manassas, VA 20110, providing the same convenient location for athletes and families. In addition, we will continue to utilize the other spaces locally that have been used in the past while exploring options at a more permanent long term multi-court facility.

No. 540 NoVA is being built to provide the complete 540 experience in Northern Virginia.

NoVA teams will practice in Northern Virginia at our NoVA facility and our other established practice locations. Families should not expect to regularly drive to Fredericksburg for team practices or training simply because they are now part of 540 Volleyball Academy.

There may occasionally be optional club-wide events, special training opportunities or experiences hosted in Fredericksburg that NoVA athletes are welcome to attend, just as there may be opportunities in NoVA available to athletes from Fredericksburg. However, those are intended to be additional opportunities rather than a requirement for being a 540 NoVA athlete.

Our goal is for families to receive the full benefits of being part of 540 while continuing to train and compete from their home base in Northern Virginia.

We are actively working to retain as many current coaches as possible and are committed to maintaining continuity for our athletes throughout this transition. While staffing decisions are still being finalized, our goal is to keep the coaching experience as familiar and consistent as possible for families. We do anticipate many of the coaches to stay on board and are happy that Dejan Pejcic will remain on staff as the Juniors Girls Travel Director for 540 Volleyball Academy NoVA

We are committed to keeping athletes and families informed every step of the way throughout this transition. Important updates will be communicated through email, our website, and club communication channels, and we will share any next steps or action items as they become available.

If you have any questions during this transition, please contact us at hello@540volleyballacademy.com to connect directly with our administrative team.

Yes. Nothing is changing in that regard. 540 Volleyball Academy NoVA is a CHRVA Region club and our teams will continue to participate within the Chesapeake Region of USA Volleyball.

The transition from American Volleyball Club to 540 Volleyball Academy NoVA does not change our regional affiliation or our athletes’ ability to compete in CHRVA and USAV-sanctioned events.

Yes. We are currently in the process of unifying our non-travel programming across both locations.

As we introduce programming in NoVA, we are paying close attention to what Northern Virginia families are showing the most interest in and using that feedback to determine which programs, clinics, camps and training opportunities we offer and how frequently we offer them.

The long-term goal is consistency across 540. When an athlete attends a particular 540 clinic or training program in NoVA, we want the experience, training philosophy and standard of instruction to be the same as they would receive from that program in Fredericksburg.

That includes creating consistency in what we teach, how we teach it and the expectations we establish for our athletes.

As our NoVA programming continues to grow, families can expect to see more of the non-travel opportunities that have become part of the 540 experience in Fredericksburg offered locally in Northern Virginia.

Our tournament schedule structure will follow the same philosophy at both our Fredericksburg and NoVA locations.

We want our athletes competing in environments that challenge them. Our schedules are designed to provide teams with quality competition while giving our athletes opportunities to compete at larger and higher-level events throughout the season.

That philosophy is directly connected to the competitive identity we are building at 540. We believe development happens not only through training, but by consistently putting athletes in competitive situations where they are required to apply what they have learned, make decisions under pressure, problem-solve and compete against strong opponents.

For our older athletes, tournament scheduling also plays an important role in our emphasis on college recruiting. We want to provide athletes who aspire to play at the next level with opportunities to compete at events that attract college coaches and provide meaningful recruiting exposure.

Our goal is not simply to play as many tournaments as possible. We want to build schedules that provide challenging competition, meaningful development and quality exposure while matching the competitive level and goals of each team.

Ultimately, the tournament schedule is another piece of the larger 540 philosophy: train athletes at a high level, teach them how to play the game and then give them opportunities to demonstrate those abilities against quality competition and in front of college coaches.

Our goal is to provide an athlete experience that extends well beyond simply showing up for practices and tournaments. We want to develop better volleyball players while also providing our athletes with the coaching, education, resources and opportunities that can help them get wherever they want to go within the sport.

A major part of that direction is led by Mo Fahmy, 540 Volleyball Academy’s Director of Operations and Technical Director, who oversees the club’s technical direction, coach development and overall volleyball identity.

Mo’s background spans the collegiate, professional and junior club levels of volleyball. At the collegiate level, he has worked at Rutgers University and Villanova University, with experience encompassing coaching, technical coordination, video and statistical analysis, volleyball operations and recruiting support. He also worked professionally with LOVB Austin of League One Volleyball, giving him experience within the professional level of the game.

His junior club background has been equally extensive. Throughout his club coaching career, Mo has helped teams earn three Top 5 finishes at national championship events and has helped more than 30 athletes continue their volleyball careers at the collegiate level, including 11 who went on to compete at the NCAA Division I level.

That experience now helps shape what we are building throughout 540.

As Technical Director, Mo has been leading our coach education and training, technical development and overall club-wide volleyball philosophy. Our goal is not simply to assemble individual teams with individual coaches. We want to create an organization where coaches are continually learning, collaborating and working from a shared understanding of how we want to teach and develop the game.

We also believe athlete development should extend beyond what happens on the court.

College recruiting guidance is an important part of the 540 experience. For athletes who aspire to play beyond high school, we want families to have resources available to help them navigate a process that can often feel overwhelming. That includes understanding recruiting timelines, communicating with college coaches, developing effective video, identifying appropriate programs, showcasing an athlete’s abilities and understanding what college coaches are actually evaluating.

There is already a strong foundation for that at 540. Our most recent graduating class included 16 athletes who committed to continue their volleyball careers at college programs. We want to continue building upon that success and provide our athletes with the education and support necessary to pursue opportunities that are right for them.

We also want being a 540 athlete to provide access to experiences and resources that go beyond a traditional club season. One example is bringing Zoe Jarvis into our club to work with and provide additional resources for our athletes and families. We are already working on additional partnerships, educational opportunities and experiences with that same philosophy in mind.

Ultimately, we want the 540 experience to feel different.

We want athletes to know that when they become part of 540, they are joining an organization that is invested in their entire volleyball journey. That means developing them technically and tactically, educating and supporting our coaches, providing recruiting guidance for athletes who want to play in college and continually looking for new resources and experiences that we can bring exclusively to the athletes who represent 540.

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