Today we’d like to introduce you to Texas Legacy Katie Davis
Hi Texas Legacy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2014, Katie left a job in oil and gas to pursue a passion project that would later become known as Texas Legacy Volleyball Club. From scratch, she built this club on a Christian-based foundation that puts the athlete first and fosters an environment that feels like a family. Throughout the years of growth and change, Katie maintains that the one thing that remains the same is the dedication to providing an excellent experience for the athletes that you won’t find in other organizations. Jen Cobb moved to north Houston from Fort Worth in 2014, but prior to that, she had created a business plan to start her own club in the western metroplex. Once in the area, she and Katie immediately connected and joined forces to combine their ideas, interests, and philosophies to grow TLVC to what it is today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has certainly not always been smooth! There are many challenges that come with starting a business from the ground up, especially in the club volleyball world. Heavy competition, market saturation, club size, quality of coaches, gym location, gym size, win/loss records, playing divisions, and many more obstacles have led to ups and downs over the last ten years. Not to mention, when you’re in the business of training and developing young athletes, the expectations are always heightened. Parents’ sole focus is on their child (rightfully so in a lot of ways), but we have to span our focus to a much bigger picture. That type of disconnect often leads to people looking for the next best thing, because in sports, the grass is always greener! The Houston market for club volleyball is incredibly saturated, and there are many different aspects to build your brand on. We do believe there is a niche for everyone, but some organizations lean toward the false promise and ego-driven approach when recruiting athletes and their parents. We stand firm in our decision to not make those types of promises and work to be as fair as possible when hosting tryouts and choosing teams year to year. This can put us at a disadvantage, but it’s something we will not compromise on to try to get a leg up. These challenges are daunting, but we know that with each challenge, there is growth and opportunity to be better for the next year!
We’ve been impressed with Texas Legacy Volleyball Club, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Texas Legacy Volleyball Club is a non-profit organization that aims to train and develop young athletes using a Christian-based background and approach. We focus not only on the physical skills of volleyball, but also heavily on the mental and emotional game. We work to train the whole child, teaching them to be great teammates, how to overcome failure, what it means to work for a purpose bigger than yourself, and so much more. These efforts to build character and develop great sportsmanship will take kids far further than the game itself.
We pride ourselves on the emphasis we place on building our kids up and not just focusing on winning (which we do love to do as well!).
The family-centric culture we have created at TLVC is something that we are extremely proud of and will always work to maintain and build upon. Our coaching staff is second to none, and the way our coaches run our teams and incorporate our core values is exceptional. We love our people and work very hard to be intentional and create a space that everyone can thrive in.
Legacy offers developmental programs for young athletes ages 5-12, position-specific training for all athletes, a transitional Premier Academy to segue from developmental to club, and club volleyball for both boys and girls ages 11-18. We are located in a beautiful facility in Tomball, Texas, just off 249 and very close to 99.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
We are all about taking risks! With great risk comes great reward!
For the first several years of Texas Legacy, we functioned out of schools, work out gyms, and various spaces before committing to leasing our own space in 2017. Our first facility held 3 courts, and we were so proud and excited to have a space where we were not limited and could host our own camps, clinics, and multiple programs in addition to our club for the first time! The space was wonderful, but we grew out of it quickly. We ended up renting courts at a school and another facility to run all of our teams out of by 2020. It’s hard to maintain the “family” culture when you’re running programs out of multiple facilities!
With 2020 came Covid and all of the unknown that arose during that time period. It was then that we were in talks to build a larger space and the fear associated with such a risk at that time was incredibly heightened. We worked daily to keep our athletes engaged from afar, by creating videos and online workouts for our athletes (shout out to our partners at Uplift!), among other silly but necessary things! The unknown was terrifying, but we knew it was a temporary hitch and once things were back to normal, we’d need more space.
We began working with Jorge and Stacey Campos, who owned our old facility, to create plans for a bigger space. It was a long and emotional process, with all kinds of setbacks following Covid. We relied heavily on our faith throughout this time period and continued to pray about the bold move that would be a great risk financially. In January of 2022, we moved into our beautiful, state-of-the-art complex, Element Sportsplex. The complex houses both Texas Legacy Volleyball Club and a basketball gym run by the Campos family. We have six volleyball courts, with offices and a conference room upstairs that overlook the courts. There is a lobby, a concessions area, and a pro-shop where we sell gear to family and friends. This complex enables us to host tournaments, high school programs, and college clinics and showcases. The main perk: it allows us to run all of our teams out of one building!
With our family back together in one place, we have started a boys’ club program, and created a Premier Academy transitional program to help athletes make the jump from developmental volleyball to club volleyball.
Risk is a necessary tool to grow and succeed in business. Belief in your organization and what you’re doing is also vital to enable you to take those risks!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.texaslegacyvolleyball.com
- Instagram: @txlegacyvolleyball
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/texaslegacyvolleyball
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@texaslegacyvolleyballclub2652
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@txlegacyvolleyball
Image Credits
Alvin Shaffer
Neil Martin
