Our History

With the loving support of his amazing wife, and IPFW standout Ashlee "Roth" Robbins, professional indoor and beach volleyball player, William Robbins, founded Empowered Volleyball Academy and Pro Beach Juniors. After returning from playing professionally oversees, William started his first volleyball business Pro Beach Fitness, where he implemented the first volleyball specific sports performance program in Fort Wayne. With William's strength training background, and in-depth volleyball knowledge, he began instructing and training the areas top individuals and teams, and within a year had well over 100+ athletes involved in his programs, and decided to walk away from his overseas career.

The results he produced, brought immediate growth, and the formation of Pro Beach Juniors, Indiana's first ever beach volleyball club program. William's sports performance also grew rapidly from Pro Beach Fitness, to UFIT (Universal Fitness & Sports Performance), and eventually an Anytime Fitness. All of this was just the tip of the Iceberg. William would go on to help open up and manage the SportONE Fieldhouse, where he helped found and build the girls indoor club program Pineapple SportONE VBC into the biggest club in the area, and continued to grow his beach club Pro Beach Juniors.

December of 2013 brought about a monument change and a volleyball revolution in Northeast Indiana, when William left SportONE and Pineapple, to purchase his own facility and launch the Empowered Movement! Built on the same Christ-Centered foundation and superior holistic training model that had made Pro Beach Juniors the top beach club in the Midwest, Empowered Volleyball Academy was constructed and went straight to the top!

"Empowering the Mind, Body, and Soul of Champions!"

William's vision of building an all-inclusive elite level junior olympic training program had come to fruition in the 2014-15 season, when Empowered became the most successful club in Fort Wayne its first year, producing the state's first-ever collegiate beach scholarship athlete, and other top Division 1 indoor recruits. His unique holistic approach involves character building, leadership development, mental conditioning, volleyball specific strength and conditioning (led by one of the top volleyball specific strength coaches, former Butler Strength Coach, Scott Charland). William has also hired one of the most elite coaching staffs in the country, with 5 former national team players, 9 former professional indoor players, 36 former collegiate players and coaches; and to top it all off, Empowered has a home owned by the club, dedicated to the club, and designed to support the athletes of the Club. Empowered Sports Club has a Doctor with Division 1 volleyball experience, Dr. Sherman, onsite, sports massage therapists, 13,000 sqft Parkview Sports Medicine Clinic (Athletic Rehab, TherapyONE, Sports Dietitian, and 8,000 sqft brand new performance space), pro shop, and smoothie bar.

Everything a young Volleyball Player would ever need is right here at Empowered! It's a volleyball club built for the volleyball community, by the volleyball community. For the next 50 years and beyond, Empowered Volleyball Academy and Pro Beach Juniors will be the Elite Junior Olympic Training Program that will guarantee your son or daughter reaches their God-given, genetic, and volleyball potential!

"Empowered, where the best get better!"