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By Andrea Honaker
Mercer University

A Mercer University alumnus (and former Pfeiffer University coach) is in Paris helping the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball National Team prepare for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Jeffery Hicks, who graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, has been a full-time performance analyst for the U.S. men’s and women’s sitting volleyball teams since 2022 but first began working with them in 2013. As an analyst, Hicks collects and analyzes data during matches to help with game strategy.
Hicks, originally from Atlanta, fell in love with Mercer during a campus visit and found a passion for volleyball as a student here. He served as the student manager for the university’s volleyball teams and got to know the sport even better while playing and then leading the Mercer club volleyball program.
Right out of college, he took a job coaching men’s and women’s volleyball at Pfeiffer University. Not long after, his first opportunity came to work with the U.S. sitting volleyball teams during a training camp at their training site at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma. His performance analyst skills were put to the test during a scrimmage against Russia, and he was invited to travel with the team to the Moscow Open Cup.
“That for me was such a huge moment,” Hicks said of going to Moscow. “It was my first ever international trip outside of the States, and then to go work and represent the United States in an international event was mind-blowing for me.”
Hicks went on to positions with volleyball programs at Mississippi State, Emory University, Michigan State and University of Denver, while continuing to work with the U.S. sitting volleyball program. He volunteered as a tech analyst for three years; flew in for training camps and tournaments as an independent contractor for about five years; and was offered a full-time role as a program analyst in 2022.
“It’s been a blessing so far. I really enjoy it, getting to work with both our men’s and our women’s sitting national teams as well as traveling with both teams internationally and domestically,” he said.
Sitting volleyball is a faster-paced version of the standard game with a few main differences, according to USA Volleyball, the national governing body for the sport. It’s played in a seated position on a smaller court, which measures about 32 by 20 feet, and the net is 3 feet high. Players can use their arms and legs to move across the court, but they must remain in seated contact with the court when handling the ball and cannot stand, rise or take steps. To compete on the U.S. teams or in the Paralympics, players must have a qualifying physical disability.
As a program analyst for the U.S. teams, Hicks collects data live during games, including which players made contact with the ball, where it happened on the court, what skills were executed, and grading the skill on a scale of 1-5. As the information is compiled and analyzed using statistical software, he shares it with the coaches so that adjustments to the game strategy can be made in real time. He also uses that data to build game plans against future opponents that tap into their weaknesses and to assist players in their personal development and progress.
Sitting volleyball is a year-round sport, and the U.S. teams train from January through November to compete in games throughout the year. Hicks accompanies them on their travels, which this year included to Nancy, France, for the World ParaVolley Super 6 in June and to Assen, Netherlands, for the Dutch Sitting Volleyball Tournament in July.
The women’s team qualified for the 2024 Paralympics, which begins in Paris on Aug. 28 and plays its first match at 6 a.m. EDT Aug. 30 against China, a longstanding rival. The team has about 20 members, but only 12 players can play in the Paralympics, which was a difficult decision for staff. Three alternates were chosen in case a substitution to the roster is needed prior to the start of the competition, Hicks said. Players and staff arrived in Paris on Aug. 19 and have been busy training and acclimating to the weather and time change.
The women’s team has built a winning reputation at the Paralympics, taking home a bronze in Athens in 2004, silver in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, and gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020. This will be Hicks’ third time traveling with the team to the Paralympic Games, which take place every four years in the same location as the summer Olympics and is one of the largest sporting events in the world. According to the International Paralympic Committee, 4,400 athletes from around the world will compete in 549 events across 22 sports.
“It’s just getting the athletes to always remember to stay present, stay focused, and take it one day and one game at a time. We really like to limit the information that’s given to them statistically, so we’re not overstimulating them going into a match. They are professional athletes, so they know exactly what they need to do,” Hicks said.
Hicks said this could potentially be the last Paralympic Games for some of the older players on the team, and he wants to help them have the best possible experience in Paris. The athletes competing in the Paralympics are some of the best in the world, and they deserve as much praise and recognition as Olympic athletes, Hicks said.
“It’s definitely been an eye-opening experience to not only represent team USA but to help the Paralympics to become more of a household name over the years and raise (awareness) that the Paralympics are just as prominent as the Olympic games,” he said.
Hicks said he’s loved getting to know the athletes on the U.S. teams and their individual personalities over the years, and working with them has given him a different perspective of the world.
“Since it’s been over 11 years now that I’ve worked with many of these athletes and staff, it has become very much like a family for me. Some of these athletes got started when they were 18, and I’ve seen them grow up, get married and have families,” Hicks said. “(I am) blessed and lucky to work within this field and love what I do. The relationships I’ve built throughout the world and to be welcomed within their communities and cultures has been life changing. I feel I’ve grown as a person through these experiences and am enlightened to the fact that life is all about the people you spend it with.”
Paralympic events featuring U.S. teams will be broadcast on NBC and through the Peacock app. Events can also be viewed on the Paralympics YouTube channel. Follow the women’s sitting volleyball team on Instagram at @usav_sitting_wnt.