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High school & Volleyball

In the USA

Enrolling in an American high school can be a great way to enter the American world, its culture, and feel the daily reality of this huge country, better understanding what opportunities it can offer even before the university level.

Let’s start by saying that both in the USA and in Italy the secondary school project (second grade) and university engages the student for eight years: there are four years of high school and four of college in the United States, while in Italy there are five years of high school and three years of three-year university degree.

Italian students who leave usually do the fourth year of high school, which in America corresponds to the last year of high school. It is an ambitious proposal that requires a lot of commitment because when you return you still have to keep up with the last year of school which is very demanding since you have to prepare both for the high school diploma and, in the case of student-athletes, for competitions.

It must also be said that there are few forward-thinking principals and professors who understand and welcome the desires of students and student-athletes who get out of their comfort zone and venture into this kind of experience. In many cases, the boys are more penalized than helped in their return, making the choice of departure even more difficult.

As we said, you can do the fourth year of high school in the States (which coincides with the US diploma), but also the third or both, if you have this possibility and desire. Some parents are inclined to have their senior year of high school in the U.S. done directly, so they can start college there with a background background.

There is also a need to address an organizational “problem” that arises when the athlete who chooses this solution is already on his way to a sports career. In fact, starting from high school and not from college (where there is a more structured program to accommodate student-athletes) it is not guaranteed that the athlete can play the sport that is practiced in Italy.

How come? Because the sports year in American high schools is divided into two semesters: for one half of the year you quietly play the sport for which you have prepared and with which you are already familiar, but during the other semester you either play another sport or enter the activity of a club.

The club is neither free nor inexpensive: while in Italy the cost of sports activities for six months can range from 300 to 400 euros or even less, in the States it can fluctuate between 3000 and 4000 dollars, practically ten times more. Again, there are opportunities to take scholarships, but they are not as widespread as those for the figure of the college student-athlete.

It must also be said that there is the problem of finding host families who allow an adult to supervise the trips, and this effort must be coordinated in advance. Or, you can opt for enrolment in an Academy, i.e. an organisation that can optimise contacts between schools, coaches, agencies and parents, and host the student on a campus.

Our High School service evaluates all the options available in the American system in both women’s and men’s volleyball and also in beach volleyball for both sexes.

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