Arizona Venom Sports

It's all about the game!

Original Venom Players

History of the Venom

 

The first Venom team was formed in September 2005 by Caroline Jones who was a consultant/personal trainer/shooting coach for many years.  She started the Back to Basics summer program to bring her clients together for a more interactive training environment.  At the end of the summer, the parents suggested that she take on a team for the season.  Although Caroline had some reservation about the idea, she decided to go for it. 

 

With only seven players committed to the new team, Caroline spread the word that the Venom needed a few more players.  This was not just going to be the average recreational team that would participate in leagues at the local community centers; this was going to be a club team that would compete at the highest level.  Within weeks, the Venom was formed.  Even with only one player with previous club experience, Caroline had confidence that the Venom would be successful because of the quality of the players. 

 

The picture above is the first team picture ever taken of the Venom players.  Here are the first official members of the Venom: (From left to right): Ashton Bourdon, Taylor Haney, Tevis Spiva, Cory Williams, Nici Richardson, Alannah Cullum, Katie Brewer, Catie Barr, Melanie Walsh, and Julie Seiler.

 

The improvement of team as a group has been unbelievable.  The growth of the program has also surpassed the Venoms expectations.  Within a year, with the help of two other coaches, Juanita Mebane and Marvin Stanford, the Venom organization that started out with only1 team has grown to 3 teams competing in 3 different age groups (13U, 14U, 15U) and potential for a 12U team in the fall 2006. 

 

Many of the original members were girls with no previous competitive experience. These girls have evolved as a team and are now recognized as one of the top team in Arizona.  Many of the original players are still members of the Venom, and should be until they attend college.