Welcome to Flow STG!
Whether you've been with us from the beginning or you're stepping onto the sand with us for the first time, welcome! We're so excited to have you as part of Flow for the 2026–27 season.
As our program continues to grow, we know that many of our athletes and families are brand new to Flow - and, for some, brand new to beach volleyball altogether. We created this guide to give you one place to find the things we think every Flow family should know: who we are, how we train, what makes beach volleyball a little different, what you'll need throughout the year, and what we expect from the athletes and families who make up our community.
If you've been here awhile, some of this will be familiar. If you're new, we hope you finish this page feeling like you know exactly what you've signed up for.
We're glad you're here.
About the Program
Flow STG was created to give athletes in Southern Utah the opportunity to learn, train and compete in beach volleyball in an environment that develops great volleyball players and emphasizes the importance of being great people beyond the game.
Whether an athlete is seven years old and touching a beach volleyball for the first time or competing nationally with the goal of playing in college, our goal is to meet her where she is, challenge her appropriately and help her continue becoming a stronger, smarter and more confident athlete.
In our first year, more than 100 athletes came through the program, and Flow has continued to grow into a community of athletes ranging from brand-new players to nationally competitive high school athletes.
Our Values. Strength. Teamwork. Grace.
These three words are at the center of everything we do at Flow.
We develop physical strength, but strength means much more than that to us. We want our athletes to develop mental strength and strength of character—to do difficult things, respond to adversity, advocate for themselves and learn that they are capable of more than they sometimes realize.
Teamwork - This may be the most important expectation we have. Every member of the Flow community is expected to genuinely want the best for every other member of the Flow community. This includes athletes, coaches, and families. That means we encourage each other. We celebrate each other's improvement and success. We speak respectfully about other athletes. We don't root against someone else's success because we want the spot, ranking, partner or opportunity they have. Beach volleyball may be played with only two athletes on the court, but Flow is a team.When you watch one of our training groups - whether the girls are seven or seventeen- it should feel like every athlete there wants every other athlete to become the best version of herself and to be as successful as possible.
Grace - We believe in grace under pressure, but we also believe in giving grace—to our teammates, our coaches and ourselves. Learning requires being willing to try something you aren't good at yet. It requires making mistakes. It requires failing, adjusting and trying again.You'll also hear us talk about some other important G's: growth, growth mindset and grit. Sports give kids an incredible opportunity to learn how to work through frustration and adversity, and we want the sand to be a safe place to practice doing exactly that.
Protecting the culture is non-negotiable for us. Athletes or family members who repeatedly choose not to uphold it will not be able to continue in our program.
Beach Volleyball Is Different
If your family comes from indoor volleyball, there are a few important differences you'll notice immediately. Beach volleyball is played 2v2. There is no bench and there are no substitutions. Athletes have to learn the complete game, communicate constantly with their partner, make decisions and solve problems for themselves.
At Flow, every athlete within a group receives equal training time. If your athlete chooses to enter a tournament, she and her partner play their matches from beginning to end. There is no coach deciding who starts, who sits or who gets more playing time. This independence is one of our favorite things about beach volleyball - and it's something we intentionally teach.
You may notice something else if you're accustomed to indoor volleyball - you won’t hear coaches talking in matches as much as you’re used to. That's intentional. In indoor volleyball, coaches can communicate extensively with athletes throughout a match. Beach volleyball has much stricter coaching rules. Depending on the tournament and ruleset, coaching may be permitted between points, during side switches or during timeouts. As athletes get older and compete at higher levels, coaching opportunities generally become more limited.
Ultimately, the two athletes on the sand have to learn to solve the game together. Our practices reflect that.You'll often see a coach introduce a concept or focus, send athletes into gameplay for several minutes, bring the group back together for feedback or questions, and then send them back out to try again. We frequently ask athletes questions instead of immediately telling them the answer. We're teaching volleyball, but we're also teaching their brains how to process the game.When they're eventually in a match, something isn't working, and there's no coach standing beside them telling them exactly what to change, we want them to be able to look at their partner and say, “Okay. What are we seeing, and what are we going to do about it?”
Training Seasons & Registration
Unlike many indoor volleyball programs, joining Flow does not mean committing to an entire year. Flow operates seasonally and families register for each season separately.
We know our athletes are multi-sport kids. They play indoor volleyball, basketball and other sports; they dance; they travel; and they have lives outside of beach volleyball. Our seasonal structure allows athletes to opt in and out throughout the year rather than requiring a year-long commitment.
If you're registered for Fall 2026, for example, you'll receive information when Winter registration approaches and will need to register separately if you'd like to continue.
Please pay attention to registration announcements and register early. We intentionally keep our training groups small, and while we love having returning athletes continue with us, participation in one season does not guarantee a spot in the next if registration fills.
Attendance & Communication
Because our training groups are intentionally small, attendance matters. Our coaches plan sessions based on the athletes we expect to have on the sand that day. Knowing about absences ahead of time allows us to adjust groups, drills and practice plans so that every athlete gets the best possible training experience. If you already know your athlete has conflicts with the published calendar, please let us know as early as possible. For unexpected conflicts or illness, simply text us with as much notice as you can.
Our full training and tournament calendar is always available here: FLOW CALENDAR
Weather & Cancellations
We train outside—and we train in the weather! Rain? We train. Wind? Definitely. Cold? Grab your layers. Heat? Bring your water and sun protection.
We intentionally schedule our seasons and session times to avoid unsafe conditions whenever possible. In our first 18 months of operation, we only had to reschedule one training session because of weather. We will cancel or adjust training when conditions become unsafe, including lightning, temperatures below freezing or dangerous heat/heat advisories. If a session needs to be canceled, we'll communicate that as quickly as possible. Instagram is the easiest place to find immediate program updates, and families will also receive direct communication from one of our coaches. When possible, a canceled training session will be replaced with an alternate training opportunity.
What to Wear & Bring
Beach volleyball is an outdoor sport, which means what belongs in your volleyball bag changes throughout the year.
Every Session - Bring plenty of water, sunscreen/sun protection and polarized sunglasses. Athletes should arrive with their hair secured and ready to train. Hats and visors are optional. Athletes may train in athletic shorts/spandex, leggings, sweatpants, long sleeve or short sleeve t-shirt, T-shirts, tanks and sports bras. Bikinis are not permitted at Flow training sessions. The secret to success is: wear and bring LAYERS!
Both locations where we regularly train and compete have restrooms available. Athletes are always permitted to use the restroom when needed and are required to go with a buddy or adult.
Please be particularly mindful of water during the winter months. Water fountains may be shut off for the season, so athletes should arrive with more than enough water to get through their entire session.
#1 gear recommendation: SAND SOCKS. Your athlete will need them in both hot AND cold weather. In cold weather, athletes often wear warm / wool socks UNDER their sand socks as well. Here is a link to an affordable pair!
Flow Gear
Every athlete receives a Flow T-shirt when she first joins our program. If your athlete has been with us long enough that she's outgrown hers, please let us know! Additional Flow gear is available through our gear store. Most items are available to all Flow athletes and families, while a small number of pieces are reserved for our competition groups.
We ask athletes to represent Flow at tournaments. Athletes do not have to compete in Flow gear for every match—for example, an athlete may prefer competing in a sports bra on a hot day—but if you find yourself standing on the podium with a medal, please throw on your Flow gear for the photo!
Tournaments: Go Play!
One of the best ways to get better at beach volleyball is very simple: Play beach volleyball. Our training calendar includes a number of tournament opportunities throughout the year, including events we host locally at Little Valley and tournaments our coaches may travel to or recommend. But you are absolutely not limited to the tournaments on the Flow calendar. Grab a friend and go play! Your partner does not have to train with Flow. Athletes are welcome—and encouraged—to find opportunities to compete whenever and wherever they can.
VolleyballLife.com is the best resource for finding beach volleyball tournaments anywhere you're going. Going to Hawaii for vacation? Check VolleyballLife. Spending a week on the East Coast? Check VolleyballLife. Visiting California for the weekend? There is a very good chance somebody is playing beach volleyball nearby.
You do not need Flow coaches to attend a tournament with you, and you do not need to wait for us to put an event on the calendar. Find a tournament, grab a partner and go play.
Memberships
Tournament organizations require athletes to maintain memberships in order to compete. Which membership your athlete needs depends primarily on her age and competitive level.
Not yet in high school → P1440 membership ($30 Regional Player Card)
P1440 MEMBERSHIP LINK
Freshman or older → BVNE membership
BVNE MEMBERSHIP LINK
Flow National Competition athletes → BVCA membership
BVCA MEMBERSHIP LINK
If you aren't sure which membership your athlete needs, please ask us before purchasing one.
Choosing a Partner
Unlike indoor volleyball, athletes register for tournaments with a partner. Outside of our national competition team, Flow coaches do not assign tournament partners. Athletes and families are responsible for securing a partner, confirming that both athletes have the appropriate memberships and completing tournament registration. We expect athletes and families to communicate respectfully when navigating partnerships. Playing with different partners is a completely normal—and valuable—part of developing as a beach volleyball player.
Register Early. All tournament registrations are first come, first served. A Flow training spot does not reserve a tournament spot, and tournaments can fill. Once you and your partner know you want to play, don't wait to register.
Parents at Tournaments
We love loud sidelines. Cheer for your athlete. Cheer for her partner. Celebrate great plays. Celebrate effort. Celebrate the other Flow teams playing around you. We do ask parents to cheer rather than coach. This is especially important in beach volleyball because learning to communicate with a partner, make adjustments and solve problems independently is fundamental to the sport.
At Little Valley tournaments, parents and spectators should remain outside of the sand in the designated grass/spectator areas unless otherwise instructed. Our athletes should be able to look around a Flow tournament and see a community that is excited for them, supportive of one another and allowing them to own their game.
Parents at Training
Parents are always welcome to watch training. We simply ask that you remain in the grass or designated spectator area rather than entering the sand and that you allow athletes and coaches to work without parent interaction during the session. Please don't coach your athlete from the sideline or call her over during training. Once practice ends, we're happy to talk.
Giving athletes some independence during training helps them develop confidence, build relationships with their coaches and teammates, and learn to advocate for themselves.
Drop-Off & Pick-Up
The safety of our younger athletes is especially important to us. For our younger/Lite training groups, please plan on getting out of the car and coming to the sand area to pick up. We will not send a young athlete toward a vehicle or person we cannot clearly see.
This is particularly important when one training session ends as another begins. If we're transitioning directly from a 5:00–6:00 session into the next training group, our coaches need to be able to safely dismiss younger athletes while also preparing to coach the athletes arriving for the next session. You can make that process much easier for us by getting out of the car and coming to an area where we can clearly see you.
College Beach Volleyball
Yes—you can play beach volleyball in college! Women's beach volleyball has grown tremendously at the collegiate level, with programs available across the country. For athletes who love this sport and want to continue playing after high school, collegiate beach volleyball is a very real goal. Flow is still a young program, and we've only had a small number of graduating seniors so far, but all of our senior athletes have received offer to play beach volleyball at the collegiate level.
That doesn't mean a 12-year-old needs to start worrying about recruiting.Our younger athletes should be focused on learning the game, competing, becoming great athletes and loving the sport. As athletes get older and reach the appropriate competitive level, our coaches can help families better understand the college recruiting process and what athletes should be doing to pursue those opportunities.
The AVCA maintains a list of collegiate beach volleyball programs, and it's a great place for families to begin exploring what's out there.
A Few Things We Ask From Our Flow Families
Most of our expectations really come back to the same principle: help us create the kind of environment you want your daughter to grow up playing in. Support your athlete. Support her partner. Support the other girls in her training group. Cheer for Flow athletes - even when they're playing against another Flow athlete. Let the coaches coach. Allow your athlete to make mistakes. Encourage her to advocate for herself. Give her room to solve problems. Communicate with us when you need something.
Help us protect a culture where athletes can compete fiercely without needing someone else to fail in order to feel successful themselves.
That's Flow.
Your Flow Checklist
Before the season begins, please make sure you've taken care of the following:
Review the 2026–27 Flow Calendar and let us know about any known conflicts.
Purchase the appropriate P1440, BVNE and/or BVCA membership for your athlete.
Make sure your athlete has polarized sunglasses, sunscreen/sun protection and plenty of water for training.
Purchase sand socks before cold-weather training begins.
Follow Flow STG on Instagram for announcements and weather updates.
Check out the Flow Gear Store for additional apparel.
Bookmark VolleyballLife.com and start looking for opportunities to play.
Save your coaches' contact information so you can communicate absences or questions as needed.
We're Glad You're Here
Whether this is your athlete's first season on the sand or she's been with us since the beginning, we're grateful that you've chosen Flow.
There will be wins. There will be losses. There will be windy practices, cold toes, missed serves, great swings, frustrating days, breakthroughs, new partners, new friendships and a whole lot of sand everywhere.
Through all of it, we hope our athletes become stronger - not only as volleyball players, but as people.
We can't wait to see you on the sand.
Strength. Teamwork. Grace.
Flow STG Volleyball