Rick Butler

Rick Butler first became involved with the sport of volleyball by chance in 1980. A former football player for the University of Redlands in California, he had never attended a volleyball game prior to working for the Sports Fitness Institute in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. During the course of his work, he became aware of some injured volleyball players at the facility. He thought that their injuries could have been avoided through the proper use of conditioning. He began attending volleyball matches to help develop a conditioning program and found himself drawn to the sport. Rick Butler’s involvement in the sport grew from there, eventually leading him to co-found two volleyball organizations and coach and mentor many teams and players. In 1981, Rick Butler founded the Sports Performance Volleyball Club in Aurora, Illinois. Since then, he has served as Co-Director and Head Coach at the facility and has monitored the training of thousands of volleyball players through the Sports Performance Volleyball Club and at the many summer camps that he has worked at throughout the years. The Sports Performance Volleyball Camps are the largest camp program in the United States with well over 2,000 participants each year. In 1990, Rick Butler and his wife founded another athletic facility, Great Lakes Volleyball Inc. (GLV Inc.), in Aurora. He has served as the CEO and President of GLV Inc. ever since then. In this position, Rick Butler is responsible for maintaining the corporate structure and overseeing all company activities. Additionally, Rick Butler has served as coach or support staff for several national teams, including the bronze medal-winning 1992 USA Men’s Volleyball Olympic team. He was also the Head Coach for the USA Girls Youth National team in 1989, the USA Men’s National B team in 1993, and the USA Men’s National Collegiate team in 1994. As part of his duties with these teams, Rick Butler traveled to Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain.