KATY, Texas — In sports, it’s only natural that we focus on the results, but the reality is that every match, every set and every point are outcomes of years of practice.
Cinco Ranch star volleyball player Gabi Martinez is very familiar with just how much it’s taken her to get where she is.
"There’s a lot of competition out there. if you want a spot on the court, you need to keep working hard,” Gabi said.
Gabi’s in her senior year and ready to go play in college on a scholarship. Her results all started at The Volleyball School.
“I practice in school. I do all the training there, and then I come over here. and I know other girls are doing the same thing because we want to go to state and we want to win,” said Gabi.
Domingo Martinez is the owner of The Volleyball School. He’s also Gabi’s dad.
"It’s extremely competitive, especially in this area,” said Domingo. "Most kids today are doing private lessons and stuff like that so if you’re just training with your team, your chances are slim,” he continued.
His school offers kids in the community a chance to receive elite volleyball instruction at an affordable price.
“We see these kids who have tremendous physical talent but maybe not the right technique, and that’s where we come in. We do a lot of work with the community. We want to help those kids and we see volleyball as a platform to something greater,” said Domingo.
He is now running the school’s soon-to-be four locations full-time, but that wasn’t always the case.
Domingo's career was in tech -- that was until Gabi’s older sister Catalina started to play club volleyball. Even though she had the talent, she lacked the instruction that would allow her to get the playing time to prove it. So, Domingo looked for a solution.
“Your options are if you want to get better, private lessons. There was really nothing else and private lessons were something that was expensive. It was $85/hour and so it’s not something most can do. At the time I was fortunate enough I could do it, but in my head, it wasn’t something that was sustainable for most,” he said.
Domingo realized that if his own daughter was dealing with this issue, there must have been other kids and families facing the same problem.
"What we saw with the school is that this was an opportunity to teach kids the proper technique and maybe give them a chance,” says Domingo.
The Martinez family not only made their school more affordable at $35 for a 90-minute class, they also made it elite by employing college and professional-level coaches and giving those kids who might not be afford private lessons access to a level of instruction they might otherwise never have had.
"When they see these coaches that can not only give direction – talk the talk – but have done it at the collegiate level, then they become role models,” said Domingo.
Catalina is now a setter at the University of Memphis, while Gabi is headed to play at California Baptist and hopes her Cinco Ranch team can reach the state championship for a second year in a row.
Their success is no doubt a product of their years at the volleyball school.
“Like them, we have a number of success stories, like that, because of the training they received here early on were able to get into the right program and they’re playing at the next level," Domingo said.
But what makes the Martinez family's story so special isn’t just what this father would do for his kids, but how he would help make the dreams of countless other families possible.
“I think he’s helped a lot of people, and I’m so proud of him because of that because people come here and they’re not afraid to make mistakes, and it’s not like a club. There’s no pressure. you come here, you learn, you train, and it’s amazing,” said Gabi.