3STEP Sports Acquires Wildfire Volleyball Academy

Florida-based Club the Latest Addition to Growing Volleyball Division

WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3STEP Sports, the nation’s largest and most impactful youth sports club and event operator, has acquired Wildfire Volleyball Academy, adding another nationally-recognized club to its volleyball division.

Wildfire was founded in 2004 by Ore Pablos with just one team when Pablos was looking for different ways to train middle school kids and create opportunities to play volleyball for low-income families in South Florida. The club played and trained on one court at Nova High School in Davie, FL, before moving to its own two-court facility several years later. Plans are under way to expand that to four courts.

Unlike some clubs, Wildfire won’t put players on its teams until they are ready. Girls ages 6-18 start at the Academy’s training program and eventually get placed on one of Wildfire’s 28 teams starting at 11U. Wildfire’s mission is to train players one skill at a time. It now has 14 national teams and 13 state teams and more than 300 girls in its training program.

“Our culture is very important to us,” said Pablos. “We take individual care of every player who comes through the program. The goal is to get them where they want to go on and off the court. The coaching staff we have here is incredible. We are so successful in our mission because everyone is on the same page with a common goal.”

The 3STEP reach spans 43 states and serves more than 3.2 million athletes across nine sports through industry-leading events, nationally spanning club programs, premier media content and more. 3STEP was founded by David Geaslen, who sought to create better experiences and more opportunities for athletes and their families. The mission of 3STEP is to be the standard of the youth sports experience and create consistency in the industry. 3STEP also operates the non-profit charity Mission Win, which aims to transform the lives of children through sports participation, leadership training and professional development.

“Ore Pablos and his staff always put the kids first, and so do we,” said Geaslen. “We’re building something special with our volleyball group here and it’s very important to us to get the right clubs who do things the right way. Wildfire is certainly one of those clubs.”

To learn more about 3STEP Sports, go to www.threestep.com

For more on Wildfire Volleyball Academy, go to http://www.wildfirevolleyball.com/.