All Four one, one Four all: Rebranded volleyball club puts roots down right here at home

QUINCY — The challenges of playing, practicing, studying and sleeping on the road in order to play club volleyball are things Gabbie Wiley Weiman and Josie Stanford endured in their pursuit of high level competition and college scholarships.

They don’t want the next generation to find it so arduous.

“We had to go to St. Louis to play,” said Weiman, a Hannibal High School graduate who played setter at the University of Louisville. “But we’ve come back home. We love this area. We love the athletes here and what they are. So it’s really cool to potentially bring high-level coaching as well as a high-level club to this area to go compete.”

That is Club Four’s goal.

Weiman and Stanford have taken over the Hometown Hitters club based in Hannibal, rebranded it as Club Four and made it centrally located in Quincy. They recently finished a skill session camp that had 54 girls attend and will be holding tryouts both at the end of July and in October.

“We want a spot for everybody,” Weiman said.

They want to share their passion for volleyball, too.

“The goal is to grow the sport and grow the love of the sport,” Weiman said. “We want to have a great, national-level team at every level.”

It starts with showcasing the possibilities.

Weiman was coaching for the Hometown Hitters last year with Stanford’s younger sister on the team. With Weiman in need of an assistant and Stanford interested in helping, the two engaged in a conversation about the possibility and quickly discovered it would work.

“Like minds,” Stanford said.

The connection was immediate.

“When you have that passion, you get along very well,” Weiman said.

They’re rooted in this community, too.

“It’s good that we’re from the area and we came back,” said Stanford, a Payson Seymour graduate who played collegiately at Arkansas State. “We chose to come back to the area.”

Tryouts for the 15-16 and 17-18 age groups take place July 24 at Quincy University’s Health and Fitness Center with competition beginning in November following the high school season. The club season runs until May with March and April critical junctures in pursuit of spots in national championship events.

Tryouts for the younger groups will take place in October. Club Four plans to have teams for ages 10 to 18.

“We want to have a spot for everybody,” Weiman said.

They want the club to be a family as well.

“We want these girls to be proud to wear ‘Club Four’ on their chest and to play for something,” Weiman said. “It’s hard to play club when you don’t have the school behind you. At games, you just have your parents.

“But if we can get tournaments where the whole club goes and we’re all proud to wear that, I think that’s super important.”

That’s an extension of what Sarah Janes did with the Hometown Hitters.

Launched a decade ago — Weiman played on the first team — the Hometown Hitters have thrived under Janes’ guidance. Two teams played in national championship events this year with the 14U team advancing to Orlando, Fla., and the 17U qualifying to play in Chicago.

Janes will continue to coach with Club Four, which fits the club’s mission.

They directors want to give back to those who supported them and boost the next generation of talented players.

“It’s a really humbling experience to give back and give our all to these girls,” Weiman said. “It pulls on our heartstrings being able to coach these girls. Having high school coaches who have continued to grow their sport, continued to grow their program, have competed every year is so beneficial. It’s just as important for these high school girls to come to club and play year round.

“I’m really excited for the girls we had this high school season because they touched a ball all year. It’s super fun to watch them and see what they can do with their high school career.”

The hope is it opens avenues to play beyond the club and high school levels.

“We have a lot of contacts in the college world,” Stanford said. “Getting the girls the exposure they might not get just playing in Quincy is important. With the people we know, we think we can get them to the next level.”

And they’ve done it.

“We played at the level they play at,” Weiman said. “We understand the difference between high school and high-level club or playing against that competition or potentially at the next level. We have every perspective with it. That’s always good.”

This is their chance to share those perspectives and make the game better for all.

“We want to grow the game,” Weiman said. “And we want to give back. We’re doing this for the community and those who love the game the way we do.”