Whistles blow and shoes squeak at a bustling volleyball tournament. Abbie Simpson trudges off the court with an expression of defeat. She returns to her bag, discovering a colorful clothespin—and a smile.
“Oh my goodness! I got clipped! I got clipped!”
These words have echoed in every corner of convention centers throughout the 2024-25 season. The trend of “clipping” has taken the girls’ club volleyball world by storm.
“Clipping” describes the act of placing decorated clothespins on an athlete’s gear or in their hair. The clips feature uplifting messages like “You got this!” or “You’re on fire!” or “You have cute hair!”
Ellie Fisher, a setter and sophomore at Del Val, loves receiving clips for more than just the morale boost.
“When people make clips, they not only write something positive, but they also write their team name and possibly their jersey number,” Fisher said. “So, it’s kind of cool because when you get the clip, you feel good, but then you can also look up their team and watch them play to see who actually clipped you and cheer them on.”
With this opportunity for a full circle of encouragement, it seems as though the clipping trend was designed for volleyball. However, it was actually adopted from competitive cheerleading.
Many volleyball players are unaware of this history and first encounter the trend on TikTok or when they are clipped themselves. Simpson discovered the trend last club season at the Northeast Qualifier in Philadelphia, where she received her first clip.
“The tradition has just gotten so much more prominent since then,” Simpson said. “When I was in Boston two weeks ago, almost everyone was running around clipping each other—it’s just a really cool experience.”
The general consensus among volleyball players is that the clipping trend has brought an element of positivity and connection to the sport that wasn’t there before.
Allison Chittenden, a sophomore at Hunterdon Central Regional High School and three-year volleyball player, feels that this trend dramatically changes the tournament atmosphere.
“I think it’s a really good thing for the volleyball community because they’re notorious for being kind of negative and judgy,” Chittenden said. “I think this [trend] is a really good thing for spreading positivity, light and connecting people from so many different backgrounds and different levels of volleyball.”
Many large tournaments have girls ages 11 to 18 years old in the same building. Clipping allows players of all ages and skill sets to bond in a way they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Simpson has experienced this firsthand.
“One time, I got a clip from JVA 12’s team, which I thought was really cool,” Simpson said. “These girls were like 12 years old, which shows that this trend is just a really cute thing that brings us all together.”
Clipping can also unite players of the same age, sometimes even in the same bracket. Molly Cokeley, a student at North Hunterdon High School and an opposite hitter, has found that clipping sparks new opportunities to connect with her competition.
“Before, without clipping, you would normally feel opposed to the other team since they’re your ‘opponent,’ but now it feels like more of a nice friendship connection,” Cokeley said. “For example, yesterday we bonded with the team we were going to play. One of the girls gave us clips and we complimented each other. I think the clips definitely make us feel more connected.”
This sense of camaraderie among players, gained from the clipping trend, not only shapes the present, but also the future of volleyball.
“This trend shows younger athletes that at competitions, even though we’re from different teams and competing for gold, we can still be friends in a way,” Simpson said. “Winning is only 50 percent, being a good sport is the other 50.”
With this gracious message at the forefront of the sport, it is only natural to anticipate a dramatic shift in how upcoming athletes will view their opponents and competition itself.
Considering its tremendous impact, volleyball players are hopeful that the trend will continue to “clip” on, paving the way for more sportsmanship initiatives that are yet to be discovered.
“This trend is just a really good thing that has happened in the volleyball community,” Simpson said. “A lot of sports have their own traditions, whether they be bad or good, but this one should stick around.”
