Former Minnesota Monarch reflects on history, future of women's professional volleyball in the state

CHRIS FARRELL: Recently, two professional women's volleyball leagues announced they're coming to Minnesota. Major League Volleyball and League One Volleyball will launch teams in 2027. But it won't be for the first time.

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In 1987, NPR'S Jim Bickal went to tryouts for a professional women's volleyball team called the Minnesota Monarchs. It was part of a brand new league.

JIM BICKAL: Lots of professional sports leagues have come and gone recently. And this one will have to compete with the North Stars, the Strikers and the Gophers for those coveted sports entertainment dollars. They'll also have to compete for players with the league in Europe that pays about twice as much. There's also the sobering fact that no professional team sport for women has ever been successful in this country. But the organizers of this league believe that volleyball is the ideal sport for women because it's fun to watch and completely different from the men's volleyball.

JILL HALSTEAD: There's much longer rallies. It's much more exciting than men's, put it up there and slam it down and the play's over in two seconds. This, we have the long rallies and the great defensive saves. And still, the power of the net is there.

CHRIS FARRELL: That was Minnesota Monarchs player Jill Halstead talking with NPR's Jim Bickal in 1987. Now, the league fell apart halfway through the season in 1989 due to financial problems. But while it lasted, the Monarchs had a steady fan base. And today, Minnesota is a steady source of volleyball talent. Former Monarch Annie Adamczak-Glavan-- Sorry. I mispronounced your name. I do apologize. Annie Adamczak-Glavan-- there you go, and you're nodding, thank you-- is part of that as Coach and Director of Club 43. It's a youth volleyball club based in Hopkins. And she joins me in the studio now. Welcome.

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Welcome. Great to be here.

CHRIS FARRELL: So what was your reaction to hearing how the league was talked about in the 1980s?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Interesting, but I think it was pretty factual. So new-- you have to remember there was no internet then, no TikTok, no Instagram to promote like we have now. So if you were in the volleyball know, you knew about it. But other than that, I think it was pretty foreign to most fans of what? Volleyball, pro women-- what? That's never going to work.

CHRIS FARRELL: Although the 1980s-- wasn't that kind of an exciting time for volleyball in the US? I mean, you had the 1984 Olympics. And Team USA won its first medals in men's and women's volleyball. And so was there a spike in interest?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: I think so. But still, I think it was a small circle. It was the people that consumed volleyball. I don't think it was globally or nationally yet. You have to remember that Title IX was passed in '72. And 1982 was the first time that women received NCAA scholarships. So that was only five years after that that the pro league started. So there wasn't a lot of backstory or history to get the pro sports going in the United States. So I think that had a factor in why the league wasn't successful in that first round.

CHRIS FARRELL: Yeah. I mean, you were an incredible athlete in high school, not only volleyball, but basketball and softball. You went to University of Nebraska on a full volleyball scholarship. So what was it like being a standout athlete in that time?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: For me, it was awesome. I mean, to go to 10 state tournaments that I did as a high school athlete and won five. I was Miss Basketball. I was in Sports Illustrated. I got flown out to New York City to receive a Hertz Rent a Car, number-one athlete. So for me, it was exciting. And I think you get in your own bubble where it's happening to you, so it must be happening everywhere, right?

CHRIS FARRELL: Right.

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: And you don't realize that until you step back and say, hey, I want to go play pro or I want to continue my sports career. And there was nothing for me to do when I graduated in 1985, except go to Europe. So things have changed drastically in the last 40 years for the good. And I'm so thankful to be a part of that start.

CHRIS FARRELL: So let's go to 1987. And so what was it like to be a Minnesota Monarch?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: It was cool. I mean, come on. I'm 23 years old and I get to play professional sports. And I don't have to go to a quote, "real" job. I can go to practice, run around with the girls, play the game that I love, and continue to be in the gym. I mean, it's a dream come true. Even though we didn't get paid very much. I don't think--

CHRIS FARRELL: How much did you get paid?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Oh, my gosh. Somebody asked me this, and I think it was $250 a week. And we all had full-time jobs.

CHRIS FARRELL: Even back then, that wasn't much money.

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Yes, that wasn't very much money. We all had full-time jobs or worked a little bit part-time here and there. And then I think if you won, you got $75 and if you lost a game, you got $50. There was no per diem, there was no housing, there was no cars, there was no sponsorship or name, likeness, and image. It was all just, you played because you truly loved playing the game.

CHRIS FARRELL: And what do you remember about the fans?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Awesome. We played at Augsburg for a while, we played at the Armory, Minneapolis Armory. I remember that. Very involved and very knowledgeable-- I mean, I think that's one thing about the Minnesota fan base. They are very knowledgeable in volleyball, even at the Gopher games. People understand when there's a call or a carry or questionable play, they have the knowledge to respond and go, oh, cool, I know what that is. And I think that's only gotten better over the years. And I think with people who grew up with basketball, basketball has been around for what? 150 years. So everyone knows a little bit about basketball. But volleyball-- the knowledge and the Minnesota fan base is exceptional.

CHRIS FARRELL: And I have to circle back to something that you mentioned because you said you were in Sports Illustrated.

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Mm-hmm.

CHRIS FARRELL: Now, this is back when Sports Illustrated was the bible of sports. I mean, it was an incredible magazine. So that must have been very cool.

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Yeah, I was Faces in the Crowd as a ninth grader, for pitching, of all things. I had a tremendous softball career-- two-time state champion, 42 and 0 with an ERA of 0.005. But softball was just a kind of a fun little thing I did on the side. It wasn't something that I wanted to pursue. I wanted to play college basketball. I wanted to be the first player, a female in the NBA. I wanted to play with Larry Bird. That was my dream. My brothers all played basketball.

And then volleyball came calling. And I was very hesitant to play volleyball. I'm like, it's kind of a stupid sport. We're so good at it. We won the state tournament 18 to 5 and 18 to 6. It wasn't a challenge. And basketball was on TV. The NBA was thriving. All the boys played basketball. Everybody knew what basketball was. And that's what I wanted to do.

At the end of the day, when recruiting came, I had about 100 Division I offers for volleyball and maybe two for basketball, mostly Division II and Division III. And nobody really wanted me in basketball. I was perplexed, didn't what to do. And my parents were like, listen. You need to take this scholarship and go where the money is. And I said, reluctantly, OK, I'll go to Nebraska and I'll play volleyball. And I fell in love with it within two weeks of being on campus. And I'm so glad I made the decision to play volleyball.

CHRIS FARRELL: Even though you didn't get to play with Larry Bird?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Yeah, I didn't, unfortunately.

CHRIS FARRELL: Oh well, that's OK.

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: I did in my dreams.

CHRIS FARRELL: There you go. So why don't you think the league lasted?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Last time? I think it was too soon. Like I said, the NCAA had just taken over women's sports in 1982. That's only five years later you're going to introduce a pro sport? We didn't have internet. Right now, I mean, you can promote anything you want. You can promote eating ants on TikTok and get a million views. And I think the fact that we have women in power, we have women who run corporations, we have women who run television shows-- not that men don't support women's athletics, but I think when you have more women in power, the resources are spread more equally to girls and to women.

And I think the time is rife right now. We have so many girls. I think we're the fourth largest participatory sport-- is in Minnesota for volleyball. Minnesota's the number-three recruiting bed for volleyball in the country. So it is just an explosive sport right now, and same with basketball and soccer and women's sports. But I think the time is now. And we finally have got to where we have the resources, we have the rights, and we have how. And I think back in '87, we were still trying to figure out how to string it together with a couple dollars here and there.

CHRIS FARRELL: So what does it take to-- what kind of investment does it take to stand out as a youth volleyball player today?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Wow. Well, if you're 6' 4", it doesn't matter. Someone's going to find you. If you're the 5' 9" kid, it's just like everything else-- it's hard work, it's dedication, it's getting the reps, and it's training. And I think we've lost sight of, you need more training and more reps on and off the court. You need to do stuff at home versus playing. And I think we've gotten into a society where we need to play, we need to have four uniforms, we need to travel all over the country, we need to go to all these camps, we need to spend, spend, spend.

And we forget the most important part-- A, the kid wants to do it. It has to be kid-driven. It can't be parent-driven. And the kid wants to put in the time when no one's watching. And I think we've lost some of that because back in the day, I didn't play travel sports. We didn't have it. I lived on a farm, and I had a barn with a hoop that was bent with no net and a piece of plywood that was 8 by 4 that my dad rigged up. And we had a flat basketball. That's what you did. And now kids have nutritionists, sports psychologists, training, jump training, plyometrics. And I don't know if the kids are better than some of the kids back in the day, they just have more opportunity now.

CHRIS FARRELL: Yeah. So we only have a short time left here. But are you optimistic about-- I mean--

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: Absolutely.

CHRIS FARRELL: --two teams coming in here to Minnesota?

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: That's the interesting thing-- super excited that there's two. Eventually, it'll go to one. I think we have to pool resources and go to one. I'm excited about the Major League Volleyball here because of their ownership, the Wild. There's some minor ownership by the Timberwolves. I think they have the right people. It's going to be exciting whether we have two or one. And I hope people get out and support the teams.

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CHRIS FARRELL: Well, thank you very much.

ANNIE ADAMCZAK-GLAVAN: You are welcome.

CHRIS FARRELL: Annie Adamczak-Glavan was a member of the professional volleyball team, the Minnesota Monarchs in 1987. She's now the head coach and director of Club 43, a youth volleyball club based in Hopkins. That's all for Minnesota Now today. By tomorrow at noon, it sounds like this winter storm will have landed. We'll have an update on the snow. Plus, we'll dive into the science of how Minnesota's wolf and deer populations impact each other. Join us for all that and more tomorrow on Minnesota Now. And I'm Chris Farrell. I'm filling in for Nina Moini this week. And really, thanks for listening. Have a great afternoon, and have a happy Thanksgiving.

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