Young volleyball players take a water break during a training session at The Bold Break, a new volleyball empowerment and training studio in Napa on Wednesday, October 30.
HILARY WENDEL
Parents of young athletes in Napa Valley know the assignment: a lot of driving and hours of cheering on the sidelines, but mostly driving.
Many parents find it necessary to drive to Marin or even San Jose for their kids to join competitive travel teams or to find training facilities and coaches to level up their skills. Girls' volleyball is an example of a popular sport that is short on facilities and coaching opportunities in Napa.
Gabby Cole, the founder of The Bold Break, is on a mission to change that. The Bold Break is a new state-of-the-art training facility for girls' volleyball, centrally located behind Walmart.
Cole explained, "It's all about getting higher quality reps (repetitions) year-round" to level up players' skills. She also created her Bold Break Method to teach self-realization and empowerment in a "safe space for girls."
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Cole is well-qualified to take on this role.
She grew up in volleyball gyms and began playing when she was eight. Her mother was a volleyball player and her coach. Cole and her younger sister spent hours in volleyball gyms as children.
"I was one of the top 50 recruits coming out of high school." Both sisters landed full scholarships to play Division One volleyball. Now, her 12-year-old twin daughters follow in her footsteps, training as she did to be competitive volleyball players.
"It has taken quite a bit to get here. I quit my corporate career in 2023 (in pharmaceutical sales). I was good at it but never enjoyed it. I didn't like how women were valued in the corporate space."
She continued, "'The Bold Break' refers to boldly breaking through barriers. As an adult, that is my superpower. It starts with how we value ourselves." She wanted to share her journey with others. At first, she started a self-help application for moms to learn to value themselves.
Her Bold Break methodology was beginning to take root. She eventually realized that the moms were too busy focusing on their families. She decided to focus on the kids instead.
Cole started applying this method with her daughters' volleyball practice and saw immediate results. "I was like, Oh my gosh! I need to make this a thing!" she recalled.
The full 12-week curriculum is offered to girls of all levels and ages, focusing on volleyball fundamentals, serving, passing, and hitting, improving mental and physical strength, and assessing skills and strength using the most modern technology.
"I have a lot of technology in here. I am obsessed with technology -- you can scale faster and more efficiently. It makes for a more consistent program."
Cole demonstrated machines that measure jump height and serving speed, and she explained that the Styku machine performs a 360-degree scan to analyze body fat, bone density and hydration.
Messaging on body image is also part of the program. "We are teaching about what your body needs to hit your goals, not these arbitrary external measuring points of what is pretty and what is not that they see on social media," said Cole.
She encourages girls to sign up for the entire 12-week course, though a la carte sessions are also available. In a two-hour session, girls rotate from learning and journaling, strength training, and skill development to hands-on activities, like cooking high-protein nutritious recipes.
Cole invited a visitor to tour the facility (located at 1834 Soscol Ave. Suite C-2 in Napa) which she explained is designed to feel like a clubhouse.
From the outside, it is a mostly bland and uninspiring storefront tucked between a tax accountant office and a massage business.
A surprise awaited behind the swinging glass door as visitors entered a small but cheerfully lit room equipped with multiple massage chairs, fully charged Theraguns, and Hyperice compression sleeves ready to be applied to sore muscles.
She explained they also have red light therapy, stretching tools and cupping devices. An orange neon sign on the wall reads "BE CHILL" -- an appropriate message for this room, which Cole explained, is the Recovery Room.
Here, the girls can recover after training or simply relax after getting dropped off or waiting to be picked up by their parents. There are even phone chargers in the massage chairs. She wants her athletes to become proactive in caring for themselves. The ceiling is a deep raspberry pink, the signature color dominant in every room as visitors continued a tour.
The brightly lit pink hallway leading from the Recovery Room takes visitors to the rest of the complex, originally three separate spaces that Cole re-designed and combined to create The Bold Break.
Turning left, visitors are led into the Classroom, dominated by a large smart board showing today's quote and built-in seating with inviting pink cushions. The turquoise neon sign in this room reminds occupants to "BE CONFIDENT."
Before each training session, the girls gather to journal and watch volleyball match videos to strategize and learn best practices. A large box of new dry-erase markers in a rainbow of colors is ready for the coach to draw out plays on a screen.
Several purple notebooks lay scattered on the benches. These are The Bold Break Journals, and Cole opened one to explain the book she developed and sells.
She said she has already successfully sold 1,500 Bold Break Journals to other volleyball training clubs and institutions, including the University of Arizona, UC San Diego and UC Riverside and has developed an accompanying smartphone app.
It has either 12 weeks or six months' worth of pages dedicated to goal setting, reflections, and affirmations. She explained that The Bold Break Journal is an integral part of her method and something she has been developing for years.
She created the journaling structure, called MAZE, when working with busy moms and now applies it at The Bold Break for kids. The letter M stands for Mindset, A for Analyze, Z is for Zero-In, and E is for Execute.
Each section comes with corresponding exercises. There are also game pages, practice pages, and a section to record new milestones.
From The Classroom, visitors turn right and enter the jewel in Cole's crown: the volleyball gym -- a full-sized court with extra high ceilings; natural light comes in from the skylights and the glass doors on the far side of the court.
The walls are stark white, with the motto "BE BOLD" on an oversized, colorful banner. Cole showed visitors the weight training corner with pink Nike barbells and emphasized that the specially installed floor is vulcanized rubber with a vinyl top, which is gentler on joints and growing bodies. She is proud of how she transformed this space from a dingy, dark warehouse to a state-of-the-art gymnasium.
Upon entering, the athletes place their backpacks and outdoor shoes in a turquoise locker. A nearby restroom -- with glitter grout between the colorful tiles -- is fully stocked with feminine hygiene items that girls might need.
Next to the lockers is a sizeable kitchen. Cole explains that they make healthy snacks and try nutritious recipes as part of the 12-week curriculum. A staircase leads up to the viewing level, furnished with oversized armchairs, a welcome alternative to the hard bleachers most parents have come to accept.
It is nearing 3:30 p.m., and girls began trickling in after being dropped off after school.
Amira Wasserman, 13, arrived with her mom and hurried to get her knee pads and shoes on. Deborah Wasserman explained, "She was a novice, but Gabby focuses on everyone getting a chance to play."
Wasserman said they didn't know what to expect but that she felt "Amira needed something more than just volleyball- at The Bold Break, she is also learning about goal setting and meeting people outside of her school. I appreciate the holistic side, which is important and unique because most girls stop playing sports around middle school."
Cole underscored this point and confirmed that 47% of girls quit sports by the age of 14, which she attributes mainly to body image issues.
Cole concluded a tour, saying, "I have two goals. Number one is to elevate the level of volleyball in Napa Valley. Second, I want to amplify female empowerment and convince as many girls as possible to look inside for their power, not externally. Stop looking at others to tell you you're great or for validation. Find your authenticity; you are already great, right?"
With The Bold Break, Cole has given the parents and their volleyball players a gift. The modern facility and expert coaching would have been enough.
Still, if her message on female empowerment and breaking barriers gets through to all or even a portion of the athletes who pass through the glass door, then this endeavor will genuinely be a game-changer for girls' volleyball in Napa.
You can reach business editor Jennifer Huffman at 707-256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com
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