Life & Work with Brianna Roberts of Cleveland

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brianna Roberts.

Hi Brianna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My mother taught how to play volleyball at the age of nine and I fell in love with it ever since. I played volleyball in the eight grade taking my talent and skills into high school. During my freshman year of high school I played on the freshmen volleyball team then in the middle of the season I was moved up to varsity. My coach and teammates believed in me so much to play varsity that I didn’t know I was capable of doing. Being on varsity for four years of high school came with a lot of hard work, dedication, training, injuries, and tears everything was worth it though. While also playing volleyball in high school I also played club volleyball (also known as JO or club volleyball). Being in the gym consistently with my coaches pushed me to the best player I can be. During my senior year of high school I committed to Missouri Valley College on a volleyball scholarship. I went to play volleyball in Missouri for one year then decided to come home for medical reasons. God had a calling for me at home. When I came home knew I wanted to be involved with volleyball still I just didn’t what to do or how to do it. In 2020 I was having a conversation with my realtor about volleyball and gave me the best idea ever, to start my own volleyball club! I really thought “why didn’t I think of this sooner?!” Now I have the idea, but what now? How do I start? How can I build capital? My friend at the time gave me the bright idea of beginning private lessons, it’ll help build players for the program and capital. A small start is better than no start. In 2021 I began applying for coaching positions around Cleveland because now I knew I wanted to be a a coach! In July 2021 I received the Junior Varsity coaching position at Cleveland Heights High School and started my volleyball business, United Pyramid Volleyball Club. There’s a meaning to United Pyramid Volleyball though. The logo is an upside down triangle because in order to build a team you have to build it from the bottom up, impacting one athlete at a time. A team has to be united on all aspects such as skills, communication, trust, accountability, and mentality. When I played sports in high school that was the best way to stay out of harms way, stay focused on school, meet new people, and stay happy, that was needed in Cleveland. Cleveland is a dangerous city so being in sports will keep you focused. When COVID-19 happened I believed the kids forgot the true meaning for sports, so that meant Cleveland became more dangerous and the kids weren’t as dedicated to sports the way I knew. Once I began coaching at Cleveland Heights and United Pyramid Volleyball Club I knew I could make a difference in Cleveland and I still want to continue to do so. Going into 2025 I will be the Head Coach for Cleveland Heights High School for the boys and girls program, putting me in the position to help everyone in Cleveland. Also, I am the new volleyball program director for The Little Leagues. I am going to continue to do the Lord’s work making this world a better place.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
If everything was a smooth road everyone would be doing it. Right now in this present moment it’s still not a smooth road, but I’m not going to give up. I had to understand that what God has for me will reveal in time and I have to trust him and the process. I am a 4’11 African American woman that is a volleyball coach, not too many people took me seriously. It’s difficult to have people in your community see your vision to make a change. I had to do a lot of studying and research about starting a business legally and taxes. Finding gym space is probably the most difficult part this process. Many facilities don’t have availability, not cost effective, or simply don’t have volleyball court rentals. I have been looking for a facility that I can consistently rent their volleyball court space. Another struggle about this journey is finding athletes that really want to play volleyball. Many athletes are already playing for established volleyball clubs and there are players that haven’t heard of United Pyramid Volleyball Club just yet. Showing boys and young men that they can also play volleyball, it’s not a “girl sport”. Volleyball builds a brotherhood and sisterhood to those around you. Finding new ways to market my new volleyball club can also be difficult. Even though I am not like the coaches that has a large following on social media or have an established volleyball club, but I am learning along the way. I pray that my business will continue to impact athletes, grow, and appear to those that wants to play volleyball.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a volleyball coach and program director. Getting down to the specifics of volleyball I specialize in defense, because defense truly wins games. There are different positions, plays, defense and offense in volleyball and I choose to specialize in defense. All players need to work on serve receive and defense but defense specialist (DS) and liber(L) needs the most defense practice. I love to be known for defense, coaches that I have coached with and players asked for extra training for advice for defense. One thing about I love about coaching is learning how to put everyone talents together and figure out how to play hard to win. I am most proud of seeing my athletes grow into young ladies and men. They tell me they love me all the time and always stay in touch. When they’re comfortable around me it shows that they truly trust me. When their parents and family members are also comfortable with me it makes me feel like I am on the right path of doing God’s work. What makes me different is consistently being a student to the game as a young coach. I’m truly blessed and grateful to begin coaching at the age of 20. In order for me to grow as a coach I have to be open to learn. I attended a coaches clinic, read books, watch coaches on interviews and games.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Continue to do God’s work for our youth. It’s our jobs as adults to help the youth on their faith and their purpose. Let’s bring back the importance of sports for our youth. Sports will keep our youth focused, safe, and happy. I know playing sports can also cost, there are many affordable ways for kids to participate in sports.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/unitedpyramidvolleyball
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/united.pyramid.volleyball?utm_medium=copy_link
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bri.roberts.10
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@coachbri.vb?_t=ZT-8scABZ6aFHq&_r=1