Volleyball Girls
Welcome to the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Girls Volleyball Program!
Our Mission: We’re more than just a volleyball team—we’re a community where athletes grow as individuals and teammates. Our program focuses on cultivating a growth mindset, resiliency, teamwork, and life skills that serve our players well beyond the game.
What’s important to us?
- Growth Mindset: We believe in the power of effort and learning, celebrating progress over perfection. We welcome feedback as a gift and use it to get better.
- Resiliency: Challenges are opportunities. We teach our athletes to rise stronger after every setback.
- Teamwork: Volleyball is a team sport, and we embrace the value of collaboration, trust, and shared goals. We > Me.
- Life Skills: Our players leave with tools for success in every aspect of life. Volleyball is the medium to learn these skills such as time management, communication, decision making, work ethic, leadership, risk management, and sportsmanship.
Contact: Coach Tim Kao
Where can I find information about volleyball at TJ?
Volleyball Girls – Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
When are tryouts?
August 4-8. 6-8pm for Freshman, 7-9pm for 10th-12th graders JV/Varsity.
What forms do I need to complete to participate in Volleyball (including green days)?
Athletic Physical from Medical Personnel Forms/Links – Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, and register at Athletics & Activities Registration 2025-2026 | Arbiter The paper copy of the physical form must be turned in to the athletic trainer at the school (or dropped off at the activities office at the school). Recommend keeping a copy of the form in case you need to resubmit it. For rising 9th graders, you will need a completed physical (form attached) turned into the TJ athletic trainer, Dr. Murphy, (HRMurphy@fcps.edu) prior to participating in green days. Dr. Murphy is only accepting paper copies of physicals.
Are green days required?
No. These are optional practices during the offseason.
What equipment do I need?
Court shoes, water bottle, white knee pads such as these Amazon.com : Volleyball Knee Pads
Who can participate in summer league?
Generally 10th-12th graders that know how to play organized volleyball (6-2, 5-1, base defense, transitions). 9th graders that have played organized volleyball before (i.e. club) can participate if there are slots left. FCPS coaches weren’t originally allowed to coach in this league so TJ coaches wont be there.
What can I do to get ready for tryouts?
Work on your vertical jump, core strength, and play volleyball! Playing beach volleyball is great for doing all of those things. There are numerous sand tournaments during the summer and several clubs (not part of FCPS or TJ) that run beach clinics (Tidal, Alexandria Titans, Grit, Monument) Sand Volleyball in Washington, DC Volleyball Life
How can I work on improving my vertical jump?
There are a lot of online videos for plyometric and developing more strength in your legs. Some sample workouts are in the links below, but you can find a lot of other ones online
Top 5 Plyometric Exercises To Jump Higher
10 MIN PLYOMETRIC HIIT WORKOUT – Speed / Vertical Jump Workout
20 Min PLYO HIIT WORKOUT at Home | Full Body Explosive Power
What other clinics/camps can I participate in?
This website shows a lot of options:Volleyball Summer Camp Schedule
Where can I play club volleyball?
Club volleyball is not associated with FCPS or TJ. Tryouts are usually at the end of October or early November. Club Volleyball can be very time consuming and costly, so ensure you are committed to play before doing club. CHRVA Girls Volleyball
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” —Theodore Roosevelt, Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
We typically select 12-15 players per team. This means there will likely be players that try out and won’t make the team. Trying out for a sports team takes courage, and it’s a fantastic way to build resilience. Stepping onto that court means you’re willing to put yourself out there, face your fears of not making the cut, and compete. That takes guts! Even if you don’t make the team, the experience itself is incredibly valuable. You’ll learn to push through discomfort, handle mistakes, and bounce back from setbacks. These aren’t just sports skills; they’re life skills that will help you in every challenge you face.
Plan to attend the ENTIRE week of tryouts.
Players must have an athletic physical Forms/Links – Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, and register at Athletics & Activities Registration 2025-2026 | Arbiter The paper copy of the physical form must be turned in to the athletic trainer at the school (or dropped off at the activities office at the school). Recommend keeping a copy of the form in case you need to resubmit it.
- Please fill out interest questionnaire here if you didn’t fill it out at the interest meeting on April 25, 2025 or at Freshman Preview night on April 29th, 2025.
When: 4-8 August 2025
- Freshman 6-8pm
- JV/Varsity 7-9pm
Where: Door 11 entry TJHSST
What to Bring and Wear:
- Water: Bring at least 32 ounces, though more is strongly encouraged.
- Proper Attire: Players should wear T-shirts, spandex or gym shorts (spandex will be required for uniform if you make a team, with religious exceptions), and non-marking volleyball or gym shoes.
- Knee Pads: White knee pads without large logos will be required if you make a team.
What are coaches looking for at tryouts?
- Effort and attitude: These characteristics are evaluated at all times (when you go to/from a water break, how you help with shagging balls, do you go after every ball or let the ball hit the ground without your body hitting the ground, how much do you encourage your teammates, what is your level of hustle, do you get frustrated easily, how coachable are you). These require NO athletic ability — everyone can excel in these areas if they choose to do so. I’ve kept many players on a team not because they were the most athletic, but because they had the most heart when it came to effort and attitude and were a critical cornerstone for a positive team culture.
- Athletic ability: We’ll test your core strength (planks), vertical jump, and speed (shuttle run). These are all things that you can work to improve on your own. These are objective, quantitative metrics.
- Physical volleyball skills: Serving, passing, digging, hitting, setting, blocking, and court movement. These are developed through reps and sets. Playing as much volleyball as you can will help you get better at these skills.
- Non-physical volleyball skills: Communication with teammates, court sense (do you know where to go when a play is happening), volleyball IQ (do you understand your responsibilities and your teammate’s responsibilities), reading the play (can you anticipate what the opponent will be doing), how well do you react to mistakes (resilience, body language, positive self-talk, focusing on the next ball not the last ball, etc), supporting your teammates (trust, encouragement, collaboration), coachability (how do you take feedback and adjust)
- Positional requirements: Sometimes you might do everything right, but we already have players that play the position you are trying out for (i.e. back row vs front row players, setters, hitters, defensive specialists & Liberos). Based on our depth chart at any position, coaches will evaluate how we put to together the best balance of players to complete the team — not necessarily the top 12-14 players ( i.e. we wouldn’t have 12-14 liberos on a team even if they were the best 12-14 players at tryouts).
Tryout Evaluation Rubric
| Skill | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Passing to target | <25% | 25%-49% | 50%-74% | >75% |
| Hitting (Over, In, Top spin, With Pace) | <25% | 25%-49% | 50%-74% | >75% |
| Serving (Flat, No spin, Seams, With Pace) | <25% | 25%-49% | 50%-74% | >75% |
| Setting to Target Window | <25% | 25%-49% | 50%-74% | >75% |
| Effort (Hustles everywhere, runs down every ball, goes to the ground to prevent ball from hitting ground) | <25% | 25%-49% | 50%-74% | >75% |
| Attitude (supports teammates, grateful for feedback, positive energy) | <25% | 25%-49% | 50%-74% | >75% |
| Volleyball IQ / Court sense (reads players, reacts to ball, puts ball in smart places (corners/ doughnut/short), defends in right spot (freeball, transitions) | <25% | 25%-49% | 50%-74% | >75% |
Tryout Day 1: Athletic Testing, Individual Skill Assessment (Freshmen that may be capable of playing at the Varsity/JV level will be moved to those tryouts for day 2)
Tryout Day 2: Positional evaluations (Setters, Back row, Front Row), partner drills, mini games
Tryout Day 3: Full scrimmages, Initial Varsity Cuts (Seniors), Juniors/Sophomores not making Varsity will continue tryouts for JV.
Tryout Day 4: JV Cuts (Juniors/Sophomores), Any Freshmen that were brought up to Varsity/JV tryouts and don’t make either Varsity or JV will be placed on the Freshman team.
Tryout Day 5: Freshman Cuts
Control the controllables. Do your best at tryouts, leave everything you have to give on the court, and whatever happens after that you can be proud that you gave it everything you had to give. This is what you can control as a player. After that, the decisions that the coaches make are no longer in your control. What is in your control is how you react to those decisions and how quickly you recover when the decision doesn’t go the way you wanted it to go. It’s natural to be disappointed when things don’t go the way you hoped. The toughest people are the ones that don’t let that disappointment negatively affect their future endeavors because they learn and grow from the experience.
Good Luck and we look forward to seeing you all at tryouts!
To send an email to a coach, click the hyperlinked name.
Head Varsity Coach
Tim Kao
TJHSST Varsity Girls Volleyball is led by Coach Tim Kao whose coaching philosophy centers on instilling a love for volleyball in his players while imparting valuable life lessons in teamwork, communication, and leadership. His primary goal for each of his players is that they become better people that will be more successful in life because of the lessons they learned on the court that season.
Before joining TJHSST, Coach Kao coached volleyball at Justice High School from 2023 to 2025. He has also coached U14, U16, and U17 club volleyball teams for VolleyViet (2022-25) and The St. James (2019-2021). In addition, he has coached beach volleyball for Alexandria Titans Volleyball Club.
His commitment to the development of youth volleyball is evident through his long-standing role as the League Commissioner and Director of Coaching/Player Development at Vienna Youth Volleyball since 2018 where he leads over 100 coaches and 500 players.
Coach Kao’s athletic background includes being a four-sport varsity athlete in high school. In his 24-year military career, he achieved the maximum score on the physical fitness tests at the Air Force Academy and the United States Marine Corps. He also earned the “Iron Mike” award in the USMC for having the highest physical fitness results in his basic school class. He has completed five marathons and continues to run regularly. He has played and coached in numerous adult volleyball leagues including teams at his last company, the Center for Naval Analyses, where he was the Vice President of Data Science.
JV Head Coach
Ashley Craft
TJHSST JV Girls Volleyball is led by Coach Ashley Craft. She previously coached the TJHSST freshman team to an undefeated season in 2024. Coach Craft played club and high school volleyball in North Carolina as a defensive specialist and right side. She teaches AP US History and AP Government at TJ.
JV Assistant Coach: Jennifer Johnson
Originally from Delaware, Coach Johnson started playing volleyball in 5th grade and continues to play in adult leagues in the offseason. Also a varsity tennis player in high school, she has a deep appreciation for the importance of sports and activities in girls’ lives. Learning resilience, adaptability, and respect for self, teammates, and opponents are critical life skills.
Coach Johnson lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her dog, Molly. In her free time, she enjoys arts and crafts, being outdoors, going to the beach, gardening, hanging out with friends, and bringing Molly along as much as possible.
Freshmen Head Coach: Morgan Vinyard
Dr. Morgan Vineyard holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where her doctoral research focused on neutrinoless double beta-decay using machine learning techniques. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Physics with minors in Astrophysics and Studio Fine Art from Union College.
Dr. Vineyard had a highly accomplished volleyball career, both in high school and college. At Webster Thomas High School, she was a two-year captain and MVP of her volleyball team, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2013. Her high school academic honors included the Morgan Clark Award (named in her honor), Scholar Athlete, Model Student, and AP Scholar with Distinction.
During her time at Union College, Morgan was consistently recognized for her academic achievements, being named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team annually from 2014 to 2016. In 2016, she received the Award for Academic Excellence and the Stephen Ritterbush ’68 Award. As a key player for the “Dutchwomen” volleyball team, she played over 120 sets each season and was twice named to the All-Liberty League Tournament Championship Team (2013, 2015). She consistently ranked among the team’s top players in points, kills, and blocks, and led the team in service aces in 2014. Her career highlights include a single-game best of 15 kills and 8 blocks.
Outside of her academic and athletic pursuits, Dr. Vineyard enjoys spending time outdoors, engaging in activities such as hiking, running, yoga, gardening, drawing, and painting.
Freshmen Student Manager/Assistant: Annie Chiu
Hi! My name is Annie Chiu and I’m a senior. I’ve been playing volleyball since I was 10 and my dad is a volleyball coach at Lake Braddock and director of Grit Volleyball. I’ve played both on the JV and Freshman team for the past three years, and although I’m not playing this year, I still wanted to help out the program. This year I will be helping the JV and Freshman team as a manager and a student assistant at practice. I plan to major in Elementary Education so I hope my work with this program will support my future. I am always happy to answer any questions you or your child may have about balancing being a student at TJ and an athlete participating in extracurriculars!
Setting Coach: Mallory Ladd
Mallory Ladd is a former Division I collegiate volleyball player who is now a research program director specializing in military and maritime operations.
Ladd played as a setter for the University of Toledo Rockets from 2006 to 2008. She was a key player, starting in 22 of 28 matches in 2007, and was recognized for her strong serving and defensive skills. During her career, she achieved several records, including a career-high 62 assists in a single game and seven service aces. Before college, she was an all-conference player at Prairie Ridge High School, where she set a school record for aces in a season.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Toledo and a doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Tennessee, Ladd became a research analyst. She has held positions as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and as a CNA analyst for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Her work focuses on joint all-domain training, Arctic science, and contested logistics. Ladd has also served as a field representative to the Carl Vinson Strike Group and has contributed to studies on maritime logistics, global integration, and naval infrastructure. She is a recognized expert in her field, having received the CNA’s Deployer Award, and has been a fellow at the MIT Seminar XXI and a Newport Arctic Scholar.
Positional Coach: Jon Sang
Coach Sang is a dedicated and experienced volleyball coach with a passion for developing athletes both on and off the court. With over 20 years of coaching experience at the youth/high school/club level, Coach Sang has built a reputation for fostering teamwork, discipline, and a love for the game.A former collegiate athlete, Coach Sang brings a deep understanding of volleyball fundamentals, strategy, and player development. Under their leadership, teams have achieved many championships, playoff appearances, or notable accomplishment at the club level. Known for a positive coaching style and a focus on skill progression, Coach Sang helps players grow in confidence, character, and competitiveness.
Off the court, Coach Sang is committed to mentoring young athletes and promoting sportsmanship, leadership, and academic excellence.
Certifications & Highlights:
- USA Volleyball CAP I, II
- Coached Top 17 at AAU National Boys U14
- Coached Top 3 ranking for CHRVA ranting for 2024-2025 Boys U14
Coach Sang is excited to continue building a strong, supportive, and successful volleyball program where athletes can thrive.
Contact: Tim Kao
