3Step Sports, a youth sports club and event operator, has bought MOD Volleyball Club, a youth club based out of the northern suburbs of Chicago.
MOD was founded in 2020 by Karen Sonders and Derek Jensen with the merger of Division I Volleyball Club, a Chicago-area club with 27 girls’ teams and 20 boys’ teams and Wildcat Juniors, a girls’ volleyball program. The name comes from the acronym of Method, Opportunity and Drive. The program now has 80 full-season teams, over 1,000 participants in its camp program and operates out of four facilities in the Chicago area.
“Karen Sonders and Derek Jensen’s philosophy and approach mirror 3STEP’s,” says David Geaslen, 3Step founder. “Go fast and seize opportunities while creating better experiences for athletes of all ages. That’s what it’s all about. They have had remarkable success in just two years and we are excited to help them accelerate their growth.”