Volleyball team names: 40 ideas and how to pick the right one

Volleyball team names are something you choose once and then hear announced at every match. Here you find forty ideas in six groups, the tests a name has to pass, and a way to reach a decision with your team without losing a whole evening to it.

When does a volleyball team need its own name?

In an official league your team usually has a name already: the club's, with a label such as Women's 2 or Men's 1, sometimes with a sponsor's name added. What is allowed is set by the rules of your federation or league, and that differs from country to country. You mostly pick your own name for:

• a recreational or company league;
• a tournament, from a club tournament to a summer event on grass or sand;
• a beach pair that plays tournaments together;
• a school team or a team at a sports day;
• a nickname for your club team, for practice shirts, social media and the team fund.

A nickname can simply exist next to the official name. Plenty of club teams have one for everything outside the scoresheet. If you organize a tournament yourself, ask for team names at registration; how to set up the rest of that day is in organizing a volleyball tournament.

Five tests for a good team name

1. Short. The name has to fit on a scoreboard, in a match schedule and on a shirt. Two or three words is a good rule of thumb. Long names get shortened anyway, and usually not the way you would like.
2. Easy to say. Say it out loud, as if an announcer is calling it through the gym. If you stumble over it, so will everyone else.
3. Hurts nobody. No jokes about opponents, background, religion, looks or sex, no swear words and nothing you would rather not see again in five years. With a youth team that counts double. An organizer can refuse a name, and a name that insults the opponent sets the tone of the match before the first serve.
4. Unique in your league. Check the league or tournament schedule to see whether the name already exists. Two teams with almost the same name lead to mixed-up results. Do not use a brand name or the name of a well-known club either, unless it is your sponsor and the rules allow it.
5. Fits your team. A tough name on a team at the bottom of the table turns into a joke that works against you. A self-mocking name works well for a team that is mostly there to have fun.

Forty volleyball team names

The ideas come in six groups. Take one as it is, change a word, or use it as the start of your own name. Puns work best for people who share your language; if you play international tournaments or in a team with several languages, the last group, short names without wordplay, is the one everyone gets.

Puns on volleyball terms

• Block Party, for a team that lives off its block
• Net Results
• Ace Up the Sleeve
• Dig Deep, after the dig, the ball you defend
• Tip Top, after the tip, the softly placed attack
• Set for Life
• Serve-ivors
• Side Out Squad, after the side out, winning the rally on the other team's serve
• Rotation Nation
• On the Line, because a ball on the line is in
• Free Ball Express

Self-mockery

• Four Hits, the fault everyone knows
• Double Contact
• Shanks a Lot, after the shank, the pass that flies off sideways
• Into the Net
• Always Late
• One More Set

For a beach pair or a summer tournament

• Shore Thing
• Sun Setters
• Sandstorm
• Two of a Kind
• Barefoot Blockers
• Against the Wind

For coed and recreational teams

• Mixed Feelings
• The After Party
• Clubhouse Champions
• Casually Competitive
• Here for the Snacks
• Weekend Warriors

For veterans and experienced teams

• Still Jumping
• Vintage
• Golden Oldies
• Old School
• Old but Not Out

Short names that travel well

• Skyball, after the sky ball, the very high serve from beach volleyball
• Rally
• Topspin
• High Five
• Pass Masters
• Full Swing

Choosing a team name together in three steps

1. Collect. Everyone hands in three names within a week, anonymously, on slips of paper after practice or through an online form. Anonymous works better: the quiet player dares to bring an idea too, and the loudest voice does not win by default.
2. Test. You or the captain run the list past the five tests and cross out whatever does not pass. Say why, so nobody feels rejected.
3. Vote in two rounds. In the first round everyone picks three favorites. In the second round only the two or three names with the most votes remain, and everyone gets one vote. That way you never end up with a name only a quarter of the team wanted.

With a youth team, let the players come up with the names and choose, but set the limits beforehand: no names about other people, nothing you would not want to explain to a parent. It works well as a fixed item at the first team meeting of the season, together with the agreements about practices and matches.

Use your team name the same way everywhere

Write the name down once, with the capitals and spaces the way you want them, and stick to that everywhere: on tournament registrations, on practice shirts and on social media. If shirts or hoodies with the name are coming, pay for them from a shared pot and keep track of who has paid what; how to do that without hassle is in running a team fund. A fixed name also makes it easier to share results and photos, and it helps new players feel part of the team quickly.

A sponsor in your team name?

If a company pays for the shirts or the tournament fees, it sometimes asks for a place in the team name. That can work if your league's rules allow it, but agree on three things beforehand: how long the name stays, what happens if the sponsor stops, and who pays for the shirts if the name on them has to change. Keep your own nickname as well. A sponsor name changes with the sponsor, a nickname stays with the team. How to find a sponsor and what to offer in return is in finding a sponsor for your sports club.

Your team name in Koach

In Koach you give your team a name when you create it. The team owner can change it later: Profile, My teams, tap the team and edit the Team name field. From then on the name appears everywhere your team does: in the team and season button at the top of the dashboard and the schedule, in the calendar feed that players add to their own calendar, and on the live screen above the score and on the big button you use to record a point for your own team. Next to it is the name of the opponent, which you fill in for the match.

If you are putting the rest of your team in Koach too, managing a volleyball team covers what else is involved, from the roster to attendance. What Koach costs after the 14 free days is on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

Managing a volleyball team as a coach: the complete overview The first team meeting: expectations and agreements How to organize a volleyball tournament: format, schedule, plan

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