How KY girls volleyball clubs teach kindness with clothespins. ‘We clip to show love’

I was at the snack bar at a girls club volleyball tournament Sunday in Lexington when I felt a slightly odd sensation in the back of my head. I reached up and found a small, brightly painted clothespin in my hair.

The lettering on the clothespin indicated that a player from Morehead had secretly placed it there.

Unbeknownst to me, I had just been drawn into a national trend to spread positive affirmations among girls club volleyball players and spectators called “clipping.”

Volleyball players from clubs all over Kentucky and the U.S. are decorating clothes pins and secretly, gingerly, clipping them to spectators, family members and other players. The goal is to teach teen girls the joy of being kind and learning to find kindness in others.

Jordan Silvanik, who oversees social media for the Lexington United Volleyball club and is also the coach of the 14 Elite team, said the best way to describe clipping is a “way for the players to spread positive affirmations in a fun and creative way to other players. “

The girls love trying to clip “other people very secretively. ... That makes it more fun. Girls love seeing the reaction others have to realizing they’ve been clipped. They make their pins really creative,” Silvanik said. “They’ve got cute sayings, or they’ve bedazzled the clips, or they’ve added little rubber duckies or animals to theirs. I’ve even seen dads who decide to dress up at the tournaments get clipped for having great outfits.”

The bigger the tournaments, the more opportunities to surprise people, Silvanik said.

Kacee James, head coach of Wainwright Renegades 17U team, based out of Wainwright Alberta in Canada said players on her team have pins on every open space on their backpacks and have clipped referees, moms, coaches, other competitors, and janitors.

“ It’s so rewarding to see young women learn how random acts of kindness can impact someone else, and feel that kindness towards themselves as well,” James told the Herald-Leader Monday.

Five days ago, a team named Texas Image Volleyball posted on Facebook: “Many of you have asked what is volleyball clipping. It’s when a team comes together to decorate clothes pins and a team can write words of affirmation, positive vibes, or funny puns! “

Four1NineXTreme Volleyball Club in Ohio posted, “Are your girls in on the clothespin trend (at) tournaments? This has been a great way for the teams to interact with one another.”

Hobcab Volleyball Club in Central Kentucky posted in March, “We clip to show love to our competitors.”

“Lots of clipping going on these last couple of weekends,” Rising Heights Volleyball Team in Shepherdsville posted in February. “Wow, even got the ref.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 8:15 AM.