Event sponsored by:
American College Volleyball Showcase
Women's Volleyball
9TH EDITION WOMEN'S SHOWCASE
2026
8-9 June (Rome) - 11 June (Busto Arsizio, Milan)
The dates for our not-to-be-missed Showcase have been set. Now in its ninth edition, the event will once again take place in summer 2026, aiming to bring Italian and international volleyball players closer to the world of college sports and help them discover its opportunities.
The aim, as always, is to ensure that each athlete has the opportunity to showcase her athletic, relational and cultural skills, in order to be considered for an athletic scholarship at U.S. universities.
To give more opportunities to athletes from all over Italy, we have updated the format: for the first time, players will be able to attend in Rome or Milan … or both!
OPEN TRYOUT
Monday, June 8 – Rome
Double technical and game practice sessions dedicated to athletes born from 2007 to 2011, competing in regional Serie C or D leagues or at an elite youth level. Training sessions will be led by Coach Pat Kendrick and Coach Luca Cristofani (curricula available in the staff section). The coaches will be supported by our student-athletes: players who have already obtained an athletic scholarship in American colleges who will support technical work and facilitate intercultural and linguistic exchange between athletes and staff.
SELECTED SHOWCASE
Tuesday, June 9 – Rome
Thursday 11 June – Busto Arsizio (Milan)
Double technical and game practice session reserved for selected athletes born between 2005 and 2011, currently competing in Serie B1/B2 or higher. Younger players who are starters in Serie C will be evaluated individually for selection purposes.
During these days, in addition to our coaches, coaches from prestigious American colleges representing the main American leagues and divisions will be in attendance. They will observe practice sessions and evaluate the athletes with a view toward potential scholarship opportunities in the United States.
Coach Joanne Persico
Coach Tim Doyle
Coach Todd Lowery
Coach Kyle Robinson
Coach Pat Kendrick
Coach David Nguyen
Coach Amable Martinez
For all Showcase sessions between the two training sessions, lunch at a nearby facility is included, followed by a presentation on the U.S. college academic and athletic system,
open to parents or other interested attendees. At the end of the second practice, individual meetings will be held between the consultants and each participating athlete.
Location:
- ROME – PalaExperience, via Roberto Rossellini 19;
- BUSTO ARSIZIO (VA) – E-Work Arena, viale Gabardi 43.
Transportation:
A transportation service to and from the airport or train station and the sports facilities will be provided, according to the schedule and arrangements agreed upon with the organization.
Tentative schedule:
| Monday 8 Open Tryout Rome |
Tuesday 9 Selected Showcase Rome |
Wednesday 10
|
Thursday 11 Selected Showcase Busto Arsizio |
|
| Morning | Check-in Practice |
Check-in Practice |
Check-in Practice |
|
| Break | Lunch Presentation |
Lunch Presentation |
Lunch Presentation |
|
| Afternoon | Practice Meetings |
Practice Meetings |
Practice Meetings |
Pat Kendrick: Head Coach at Xavier University of Louisiana (NAIA)
She coached for 30 years at George Mason University in NCAA Division I, winning the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Coach of the Year award eight times, before deciding to bring her experience to Xavier University of Louisiana. After securing 10 consecutive titles in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, Coach Pat’s Xavier volleyball team moved to the Red River Athletic Conference in the 2022–23 season, where they also won two consecutive titles, the most recent in 2023. Several Italian athletes have been—and continue to be—part of the team on athletic scholarships. Coach Pat has led the training sessions at all our previous Showcase editions, and we are proud to have her with us again this year.
Luca Cristofani : Technical Director of Volleyrò Casal De’ Pazzi
He is an Italian coach who has won almost all the titles that the Italian national volleyball system can offer (except the A1 series at the moment). He has won 15 Italian youth championships, the first in 1995. In his career he has won the Serie C, Serie B2, B1 and the Serie A2 championship 3 times, the most recent in the 2020-2021 sports season with Acqua&Sapone Roma Volley. He was the head coach of the Peru women’s national team in 2011-2012 and assistant coach of the Italian senior national team that won the Mediterranean Games in 2013. He coached the Italian U23, U20 and U18 national teams for 7 seasons, in the 2021-2022 season he was the head coach of Bartoccini Fortinfissi Perugia Volley in the women’s Serie A1. In the summer of 2023 he was Technical Director of the senior and junior, women’s and men’s national teams of Puerto Rico and in 2025 he will continue the path in view of the 2025 World Cup at the end of the summer.
He is currently Technical Director of Volleyrò Casal de’ Pazzi, the most titled team in Italy at youth level.
Cost: Open Tryout €80 Selected Showcase €120
INCLUDES:
- Double practice session in the selected location;
- Apparel kit;
- Water for training;
- Lunch;
- Presentation on how to obtain an athletic Scholarship at U.S. colleges;
- English-speaking staff available throughout the event;
- Personalized evaluation and and one-on-one meeting with each participant at the end of the event;
- Feedback report from the U.S. coaches (sent in the days following the event).
Registration procedure:
- Submit your application by filling out the form.
- In the week following the submission of the form you will be contacted by our staff to confirm your participation and ask for further information if necessary;
- After selecting the session and event,a deposit will be required to confirm participation and reserve a spot;
- Once booked, participants will receive an email with a link to a free English language assessment, which will help provide further feedback in the final individual meeting;
- Participants will later receive an email with instructions to pay the remaining balance, a list of items to bring to the Showcase, and the final details;
Registrations are open until all spots are filled, based on role and age/grade level.
Presentation:
On Monday, June 8 and Tuesday, June 9 (Rome) and Thursday, June 11 (Busto Arsizio) at 2:00 PM, the presentation “How to obtain an Athletic Scholarship at U.S. Colleges” will take place. The event is free and open to athletes, parents, and anyone interested in receiving information. Lunch will also be available.
Limited spots available.Please register using the form below, specifying the number of participants and if you wish to join for lunch.
Note: Parents of participating athletes may register their attendance using the athlete’s registration form.
* In case of withdrawal or cancellation, the deposit will be refunded in full or in part as follows: – Full refund (100%) in the event of cancellation due to force majeure.
– 100% refund in case of cancellation by April 30, 2026.
-50% refund if cancellation is made by May 30, 2026.
– No refund of the deposit in the event of cancellation after May 30, 2026, but the athlete will have the full credit for participation in a subsequent edition of the Showcase and other events or a discount on the consulting service.
In previous editions...
Over 200 participating athletes who were able to show their talent and skills
More than 40 college coaches from across the U.S. who have observed, evaluated, and offered scholarships to athletes.
Some of the athletes who have participated in previous editions:
- Amanda Caputi participated in our Showcase in 2022, 2023 and 2025; in the summer of 2024 she left to begin her overseas adventure at Colby Community College, with whom in 2024 she won a historic third national place at the NJCAA D1 finals and was named First Team All-America; in the recently concluded 2025 season Amanda was named Second Team All-America;
- Gioia Riccato took part in the seventh edition of the Showcase in 2024 and, after graduating in Italy, flew to Albuquerque in January 2025 to complete a Master’s degree in Business Administration and play on the University of New Mexico team;
- Lara Del Core participated in the Showcase in 2023, receiving several offers from the coaches present during the event: her choice fell on Virginia Commonwealth University, where in the 2024-25 season she played her first championship in the NCAA D1, also being named to the All-Conference Rookie and Second Team;
- Giulia Bonifacio was one of the athletes present at the 2022 Showcase during which her qualities did not go unnoticed and in August Giulia was already on the flight to reach Binghamton University, a team and university militant in NCAA Division 1, in which she ended her first season overseas receiving personal awards and recognition. In 2023 she moved to Florida Southwestern State College where in December 2023 she won the NJCAA national title with her teammates; he is currently completing his studies and playing in NCAA D1 at Louisiana Tech University;
- Julia Stanev took part in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Showcase and in the summer of 2023 she flew to Eastern Illinois University where, at the end of a triumphant regular season with 24 wins and only 4 losses, Julia and the Panthers won the Ohio Valley Conference; in Fall 2025 Julia moved to Marquette University ending the season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament;
- Giorgia Walther and Lucrezia Lodi participated in our Showcase in 2019 and 2021 respectively: both received a sports scholarship offer from coach Joanne Persico (head coach of St. John’s University, NY), who was present at both editions of the event.
- Alessia Sgherza and Camilla Tamburini took part in the 2019 edition of the Showcase, where they were noticed by coach Fred Chao, who was present at the event: after being invited to officially visit the college, in 2020 they both flew overseas to start a master’s degree and an undergraduate degree at Old Dominion University respectively and play for coach Fred in the university’s first historic volleyball championship;
- Chiara Cucco participated in the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Showcase obtaining a scholarship that allowed her to start her student-athlete career at Hofstra University, NY;
- Emma Erteltova, with her sister Ella , came from Slovakia to participate in the first edition of our Showcase and returned with an offer of scholarship to play volleyball and beach volleyball at FIU (Florida International University) where two years later she was joined by her sister Ella: both, after the experience at FIU, continued their academic and sports careers at California State University, Bakersfield;
- Margherita Marconi, from the first edition of the Showcase to the NAIA title with Park University – read her story (link to the dedicated article)
- Anna Dalla Vecchia, in 2017 she took part in the Showcase and obtained her scholarship for the Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans; after an excellent first season at this college, her passion for beach volleyball led her to look for solutions that would allow her to practice both beach volleyball and volleyball and then she continued her path as a student-athlete with a scholarship for sports merit in California at University of San Francisco where she graduated in 2021; in 2021-22 he completed his Master’s degree at Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii.
