In 2007 I moved to the edge of nowhere, putting down roots in Southeast Mesa. My main crossroads were made of dirt and there were gorgeous mountain views in every direction. Lines at the local grocery store were rare and people were kind. Then one day – about 5 years ago – I found myself smack dab in the middle of everywhere, only… I hadn’t gone anywhere.
The change happened fast – one day I was racing 2 cops down Signal Butte in my husbands mustang and the next thing I knew I was stuck in a traffic jam pulling out of my neighborhood. The negative side of rapid growth had arrived. I knew I couldn’t stop it, so I stayed home and complained about it instead.
My youngest started kindergarten the same year Covid closed our country, and by the time everything reopened she was eager to get out of the house. When she asked to play volleyball, I was thrilled. Kids in team sports develop a type of confidence that you just don’t see otherwise. Not to mention, student athletes are 50% less likely to dropout of school and 40% less likely to use illicit drugs compared to non-athletes. There is no shortage of reasons to participate in youth sports and research shows the positives from doing so continue throughout adulthood, but that same research says 70% of kids will drop out of organized sports entirely by age 13.
I signed my kid up to play in our local rec league. She got through 2 seasons before she was placed on a team with no coach, with a notice that “no one had stepped up yet, so a parent would need to volunteer”. I played multiple sports in school and was a competitive gymnast for 14 years, before I started coaching gymnastics, so I know how impactful a coach is, and if you’re just starting a sport, your coach could easily be the reason a child quits a team or even walks away from sports in general, so creating a team that forces a parent to coach is wrong, for so many reasons. So, when my daughters team needed a coach, I volunteered.
That was almost 5 years ago, and the things I’ve learned since are shocking to say the least. As for the 70%, the number one reason that athletes give for quitting is that it stops being fun due to increased pressure and lack of playing time, with the high cost of club teams being a close second.
Club and club-prep teams prioritize winning over fair/earned playtime which leaves some kids sidelined for most… if not all of the matches and the typical cost is between $3,000 to over $10,000+ per season… why anyone would pay that much to ride the bench is beyond me. Another negative that directly correlates to quitting rates is assigning positions too early. Research shows early single-sport and position specialization can lead to mental burnout and overuse injuries, yet most club & club prep teams prioritize position specialization over 6-6 rotations [where each player plays all positions].
Between the horror stories I’ve heard and the obstacles I’ve encountered as a coach – I say with confidence – for the sake of our children something has to change. My daughter is at the age where she will either fully fall in love or walk away from volleyball and I have very little confidence that any of the 3 programs we’ve experienced are capable of holding her attention. And after speaking with several dozen parents, I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
As a community our needs are not being met. Our leaders have failed us... and nobody is holding them accountable.
We were sold one neighborhood and they delivered a different one. The open spaces are filled but the town they built – is not the one they promised. The problematic E-bike kids and the Gilbert Goons were child’s play compared to what’s coming if real changes aren’t made. I have seen the ugly-side of unsupervised boredom – it happens fast and will hijack an entire generation before anyone knows it’s happening.
I moved here because of the town it was. I stayed here because of the town they said it would become. Now I’m stuck in the town it is. And that means my daughter suffers because our leaders value profit over promises. The whole reason I moved to Arizona in the first place was so my kids had a better childhood, one that allowed them to stay kids much longer than I was. I can’t sit by quietly as all of the places kids created memories are paved over, walled off, and built up into massive warehouses that disturb our peace and destroy our property values.
Everyone (myself included) complains about the kids riding e-bikes in the middle of the streets and in the community parks. Southeast Mesa was an awesome place to ride, especially off road. Even though our desert spaces have been consistently shrinking for at least 20 years, we still had small pockets of open desert up until very recently.
But now, we have asphalt and block walls. Going on a family ride these days requires putting your life in the hands of hundreds of thousands of distracted drivers who race through Southeast Mesa everyday, and if you try to avoid all that traffic by riding through one of the MANY empty parking lots along your old route an alarm will sound and a voice will come through the speakers telling you to vacate the property or the police will be called.
The clubhouse I’m building may not fix all the broken promises or solve all of our problems, but it solves a big one and helps a lot of working families in the process.
Did you know: About 1 in 5 kids are alone and unsupervised after school while their parents work. Data consistently shows that juvenile crime rates on school days spike between 2:00 and 6:00 PM, and 75% of kids who abuse drugs and/or alcohol say they started using after school because they were bored and their parents weren’t home to catch them, which led officials to dub after school hours as The Danger Zone.
The Spot, provides working parents with peace of mind.
Families in Southeast Mesa can relax knowing their kids are in a safe environment by opting into our homework hangout from 2 – 6pm where they can get help with homework, workout, play ball, access the internet, find peer-support, talk to a counselor, or even practice driving on our simulator (don’t worry it’s virtual). But that’s not all we do…
In the morning hours, we cater to our senior community and homeschool families, with creative art and physical fitness classes led by experienced instructors or if you need more free-time opt-in to our certified teacher-led micro-school, Ascensus ad Veritatem (3rd-8th grade curriculum). Our members aged 50+ can attend daily classes such as: Bungee Assisted Fitness, Beginners Aerial Yoga, and Partner Stretching. While homeschooled children can participate in structured gym classes, where they’ll play a variety of intermural sports, and busy moms will love the free-time they get when they drop their kids off for recess at The Spot.
From 6 pm on we cater to the 70% of athletes that decades of research tells us will drop out of organized sports by age 13. Whether you didn’t make the team at school… can’t or won’t pay $3,000+ per season at a typical club… or prefer a program that is committed to whole-person, athletic development through knowledgeable coaches, advanced training methods, and up-to-date technology, The Spot, has a team for you.
Enjoy the difference a club where people are put above profits makes.
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Whether you landed here by mistake or it was intentional, you’re here now, so you might as well stay awhile, don’t worry – we’re good people, who live in a neighborhood with no safe spaces for kids. But I’m going to change that.
The Spot is a trusted 3rd space that caters to the needs of our community. From a morning wellness center and micro school to a homework hangout and youth sports hub. The Spot is the space you need when you need it.
But we need your help. So please shop our fundraiser, enter our giveaways or donate directly to the Project Smile Fund. And don’t forget to show your support by following our blog.
She used to talk about how much better life would have been if we both stayed living in AZ. I don’t like to think about how great that could have been.
I used to think that our town was targeted, that we were unknowingly participating in some freak experiment. Now that I’m grown, I see we weren’t the only town hit by that plague. But when you have just over 50 kids per graduating class the decline is in your face, you can’t look away.
I was lucky, my dad lived out here – so it was easier for me to leave my home behind. When I got here I went back to school and got degrees in criminal investigations and psychology and became a counselor for court-ordered clients, allowing me to help hundreds of clients navigate complex personal and legal issues, but now I’m ready for the next chapter.
I have been passionate about things in the past, but this is different. I know this is what I’m supposed to do.
My past experiences and choices, both good and bad have prepared me for the next step.
My grandfather always said: If you want it done right you have to do it yourself. He wasn’t wrong.
For the past five years I’ve been searching for the perfect volleyball program for my daughter… I haven’t found it… but I have found some very disturbing trends.
After coaching in 3 leagues and talking to dozens of parents and coaches I’ve heard enough to know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
But before I continue, I want to say that Gilbert Youth Athletics, is an amazing REC league, unfortunately I only just discovered them and my daughter’s ready for more advanced play.
Before GYA I volunteered for the biggest rec league in the area for about 4 years, the one that forms teams with no coaches and then expects them to find and pay for their own practice locations (or you’re practicing outside in Arizona).
The gate keeping within youth sports is nuts. Club teams cost an absurd amount and club prep teams have try outs – meaning an athletes skill and perceived potential at the time of try-outs determines if they make the team… or it’s supposed to be the deciding factor.
But, who you know and what you’ll pay trumps talent and hard work at times – dump a donation in their lap and it buys you the right to veto coaches decisions. But, we’re not supposed to talk about that.
There is no programs for kids who any serious training without the cost and tryout requirement of club… Until now…
Sports at The Spot are different. We utilize qualified coaches, up-to-date training methods and advanced technology to ensure our athletes have the best opportunity. We have standard and advanced teams and develop well-rounded athletes by teaching every position giving them the best chance in high school and beyond.
Too many kids are forced to choose: rec leagues where nobody pays attention, standards are low, and coaches just roll out the ball; or high-pressure club teams where families pay a mortgage-sized fee just to watch their kid sit on the bench while politics override performance. We know this is why 70% of all athletes will drop out of sports by age 13.
So we cut the noise and built a program for athletes willing to work hard and players who want to grow. Here, kids learn to respect the game, respect the gym, and respect each other. We provide elite, club-level training and real technical skill-building, paired with our core values: effort over outcome and genuine team culture. We don’t bench kids for politics—we coach them up, we require their focus, and we give every athlete the floor time they earned. This is where serious development meets a healthy community.
Decades of research shows positive coaching instills confidence in athletes that stays with them long after they leave the court. But the benefits begin immediately with 80% of parents reporting an improvement in their child’s overall mental health.
Long after graduation, that foundation continues to pay off in the professional world. Research tracking long-term career trajectories shows that former student-athletes climb into management and executive roles faster and at higher rates than their non-athlete peers.