Volleyball club- recap and thoughts

[Anonymous]

In general CHRVA isn't a strong district nationally for volleyball which is a shame b/c there are a lot of talented girls in this area that would benefit from solid development and coaching. We are struggling to figure out which club is best for DD.

I know there are pros and cons to each club and i'd like to hear about you and dd's experience- the good and the bad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In general CHRVA isn't a strong district nationally for volleyball which is a shame b/c there are a lot of talented girls in this area that would benefit from solid development and coaching. We are struggling to figure out which club is best for DD.

I know there are pros and cons to each club and i'd like to hear about you and dd's experience- the good and the bad

This is a super wide open question and can go anywhere. Do you have specifics on DD (age, experience level, what clubs you are considering, goals from club volleyball, location within CHRVA region, willingness to drive, distance to travel, etc)? Is your DD coming from a big vball region like North Texas, Florida, Heartlands, Ohio Valley, etc and therefore trying to figure out the closest to comparable level club from prior club or is your DD wanting to try club for the first time and homegrown in CHRVA area volleyball.

Otherwise, you could probably do a search on volleyball and find lots of prior responses on clubs in general. Hasn't changed much since the prior season's posts on the clubs and varies on success and focus depending on DDs age range and skill/goals.

[Anonymous]

I took at look at the full list of CHRVA participants (http://www.chrvajuniors.org/juniors/contacts_clubs/clubs_results.CFM) to see if I could identify which clubs consistently played in the Open or top in most competitions.

My DD completed her first club season this year (as a 15), and the Virginia-based CHRVA clubs that seemed to consistently play in the toughest divisions are:

Metro
Paramount
Blue Ridge (maybe?)
Virginia Juniors (maybe?)
The St. James
Virginia Elite

I don't know if I can come up with a similar list for non-VA teams.

I recognize that simply playing Open in every event doesn't mean that the team achieved a reasonable amount of success, but these teams are at least trying to compete at a high level. To be fair, a few of these VA teams played below Open at the Qualifiers later in the season, perhaps in an attempt to get other USAV bids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I took at look at the full list of CHRVA participants (http://www.chrvajuniors.org/juniors/contacts_clubs/clubs_results.CFM) to see if I could identify which clubs consistently played in the Open or top in most competitions.

My DD completed her first club season this year (as a 15), and the Virginia-based CHRVA clubs that seemed to consistently play in the toughest divisions are:

Metro
Paramount
Blue Ridge (maybe?)
Virginia Juniors (maybe?)
The St. James
Virginia Elite

I don't know if I can come up with a similar list for non-VA teams.

I recognize that simply playing Open in every event doesn't mean that the team achieved a reasonable amount of success, but these teams are at least trying to compete at a high level. To be fair, a few of these VA teams played below Open at the Qualifiers later in the season, perhaps in an attempt to get other USAV bids.

Nice job! Blue Ridge and Juniors definitely play tough schedules. TSJ does not seem to stress getting recruited as much as others on list but plays good schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I took at look at the full list of CHRVA participants (http://www.chrvajuniors.org/juniors/contacts_clubs/clubs_results.CFM) to see if I could identify which clubs consistently played in the Open or top in most competitions.

My DD completed her first club season this year (as a 15), and the Virginia-based CHRVA clubs that seemed to consistently play in the toughest divisions are:

Metro
Paramount
Blue Ridge (maybe?)
Virginia Juniors (maybe?)
The St. James
Virginia Elite

I don't know if I can come up with a similar list for non-VA teams.

I recognize that simply playing Open in every event doesn't mean that the team achieved a reasonable amount of success, but these teams are at least trying to compete at a high level. To be fair, a few of these VA teams played below Open at the Qualifiers later in the season, perhaps in an attempt to get other USAV bids.

If your DD played U15 last year (or did she play down as a U14 with a late birthday?) for her first year of club, how did it go and what specifically is your DD looking to do moving forward? If she is going into U16 next year, that is the year before college coaches can reach out (June 15th after the player's sophomore year of HS) recruiting if that is her intent. This next year of visibility of getting good video and highlights will be key (for most of CHRVA, college is not necessarily the end goal for everyone or it is behind academics but still many hold out the option to play somehow or at least in club - not necessarily D1 or bust). Again, if this was first year of club, what was her position and what is the goal? These next years are harder to 'move around' as teams and positions start to lock in depending on level of play. If she is super tall and athletic maybe some of those last teams you mentioned will still take a look and chance with one year of club experience, maybe others if she is knocking it out of the park from a vball perspective. She better be attending all the different college elite/advanced level camps and getting private lessons this summer to gear up for the fall clinics where all clubs will be looking to see how to fill rosters (either for gaps or to change out depending on club team and level). To get in those top clubs, assumption is that she is getting grouped on the top court at these elite camps... With Cassels closed until the fall, finding the club summer camps are harder to do. It will come down to those Sunday clinics in the fall and outreach if your DD is playing HS and getting seen more than once by the clubs you are interested in.

What level tournament a team plays in does not indicate everything to be a deciding factor. Just like AES ranking (national ranking or regional) does not serve as a sole indicator, especially after teams that went on to USAV Nationals or AAU nationals where their rankings may drop depending on what division of play they played at those year end tournaments.

This was the first year that a CHRVA team qualified for Open at USAV nationals (Metro via a trickle down at NEQ because the top qualifying teams had already won bids at another qualifier). Open in CHRVA is different than Open in CHRVA tournaments. You want to be on a team that plays Open level tournaments for sure in CHRVA if you are looking for more competition. Once you get into qualifiers, Open, USA, Liberty and sometimes even American division will provide some strong competition (American maybe not until later days depending on teams pool ranking going in).

We have friends on pretty much each of those clubs above or DD played on one of them. Each one has its own culture and it will depend on what fit you are looking for - not just which teams play in open. Virginia Elite will always play in Open - no one on the 15s team this past year expected to go to USAV Nationals Open but they knew they would be playing in open division each tournament. Pros and cons - Cons are the team is obliterated early and very few touches to improve and the last days of the tournament(s) they play the same team (St. James) that had the same philosophy to try to be in the Open leagues but dropped to flight in final day(s). Pros, overtime they can win some points off the top team and still grow.

Liberty Elite has been a strong club and recovered from the drama of 13s year where some of those players have moved to other clubs with a few landing at Blue Ridge. Some watching to see what is done for coaching next year as they go to 16s. They ended up with a lot of injuries this spring and went to Chicago with only 7 active players and fought strong with most matches going to 3 sets.
Blue Ridge is always strong in these age ranges and this is the first they chose to go to nationals with more girls choosing indoor over beach. Will be a question if they keep choosing indoor as they get older and if they can keep some of the old team dramas at bay with some different team members coming and going.
MVSA is always strong historically - this year maybe more off and on but still able to pull through. Many girls have played together for years but has had some more movement (or literally straight up moved away) in past couple years.

VA Jrs has been on a downward trajectory and ruled by the director and recruiting director. A friend on the 15s this past year was happy they even got playing time when the roster was 15 girls. Some lineup decisions were made based on what director was seeing on streaming at home - so seems questionable re: how much coach gets to say and do in decisionmaking at tournaments. Many area clubs went up to 15 girls on their rosters with such high demand. It leaves for a lot of bench time and standing around potentially during practice with such large rosters. For some it was a new experiment that didn't work out so well for team dynamics and for others, it was par for the course and didn't change how they operated or end results.

So many threads about Metro and Paramount, I don't need to say anymore outside of knowing many of the players and parents on these teams. They take the best of the best and still roster more so not all get playing time if they are on the roster. If you are lucky to make the team congrats, first battle down. Next is to then keep fighting to get playing time at a tournament. Many are willing to do it for the practice and possibility. Others have to keep deciding how many more years they can do it and/or stay on the team - if you rode the bench more, you are also fighting for next year for the next person that was waitlisted before or wants to put their name on the list after improving and/or dominating at their prior club. No opinion one way or another - just know what your DD is capable of as you start to seriously consider what club to go for.

At minimum, go to any clinics, camps and/or some privates if available to get good training etc. You won't know what other players and capabilities are out there until you attend more and recognize faces. In HS years, the mega players don't show up until the last weekends consistently until the end if they were busy with varsity and going through post-season play (eg Langley coach restricts her varsity players from going to any clinics until post-season is done). If you are in WV HS vball, you are not allowed to attend effectively until season is over based on rules of club coaches and HS club overlapping.

If your player is good and still developing, there are still many other clubs out there that play in CHRVA open and mixed (there are only a few CHRVA open tournaments with limited spots so all clubs try to get at least the minimum in to meet one of the regional bid tournament eligibility requirements). Take a look at the 16 teams that play in CHRVA regional (excluding VA Elite which refuses to do CHRVA bids) for each age group to get a sense of the top level playing teams trying to play as competitively as possible as another data point. Again, doesn't always line up if the team does not enter their nonAES scored tournament results (eg Capitol Hill Classic) manually into AES to better inform national rankings that go into CHRVA bid criteria.

Lots of other high performing teams and clubs (many that have been mentioned here in this forum in other threads) to consider as well. Your DDs experience will also be driven by the coaches themselves - some clubs it is all about the director and their philosophy, other clubs the experience may vary greatly based on the coach (St. James 15s last year is an example - outlier from all the other coaches at that club - my outsider looking in opinion was that it was awful for the vast majority of players on the team because of the coach personality and trying to make a name for himself to get a future job at one of the higher clubs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took at look at the full list of CHRVA participants (http://www.chrvajuniors.org/juniors/contacts_clubs/clubs_results.CFM) to see if I could identify which clubs consistently played in the Open or top in most competitions.

My DD completed her first club season this year (as a 15), and the Virginia-based CHRVA clubs that seemed to consistently play in the toughest divisions are:

Metro
Paramount
Blue Ridge (maybe?)
Virginia Juniors (maybe?)
The St. James
Virginia Elite

I don't know if I can come up with a similar list for non-VA teams.

I recognize that simply playing Open in every event doesn't mean that the team achieved a reasonable amount of success, but these teams are at least trying to compete at a high level. To be fair, a few of these VA teams played below Open at the Qualifiers later in the season, perhaps in an attempt to get other USAV bids.

If your DD played U15 last year (or did she play down as a U14 with a late birthday?) for her first year of club, how did it go and what specifically is your DD looking to do moving forward? If she is going into U16 next year, that is the year before college coaches can reach out (June 15th after the player's sophomore year of HS) recruiting if that is her intent. This next year of visibility of getting good video and highlights will be key (for most of CHRVA, college is not necessarily the end goal for everyone or it is behind academics but still many hold out the option to play somehow or at least in club - not necessarily D1 or bust). Again, if this was first year of club, what was her position and what is the goal? These next years are harder to 'move around' as teams and positions start to lock in depending on level of play. If she is super tall and athletic maybe some of those last teams you mentioned will still take a look and chance with one year of club experience, maybe others if she is knocking it out of the park from a vball perspective. She better be attending all the different college elite/advanced level camps and getting private lessons this summer to gear up for the fall clinics where all clubs will be looking to see how to fill rosters (either for gaps or to change out depending on club team and level). To get in those top clubs, assumption is that she is getting grouped on the top court at these elite camps... With Cassels closed until the fall, finding the club summer camps are harder to do. It will come down to those Sunday clinics in the fall and outreach if your DD is playing HS and getting seen more than once by the clubs you are interested in.

What level tournament a team plays in does not indicate everything to be a deciding factor. Just like AES ranking (national ranking or regional) does not serve as a sole indicator, especially after teams that went on to USAV Nationals or AAU nationals where their rankings may drop depending on what division of play they played at those year end tournaments.

This was the first year that a CHRVA team qualified for Open at USAV nationals (Metro via a trickle down at NEQ because the top qualifying teams had already won bids at another qualifier). Open in CHRVA is different than Open in CHRVA tournaments. You want to be on a team that plays Open level tournaments for sure in CHRVA if you are looking for more competition. Once you get into qualifiers, Open, USA, Liberty and sometimes even American division will provide some strong competition (American maybe not until later days depending on teams pool ranking going in).

We have friends on pretty much each of those clubs above or DD played on one of them. Each one has its own culture and it will depend on what fit you are looking for - not just which teams play in open. Virginia Elite will always play in Open - no one on the 15s team this past year expected to go to USAV Nationals Open but they knew they would be playing in open division each tournament. Pros and cons - Cons are the team is obliterated early and very few touches to improve and the last days of the tournament(s) they play the same team (St. James) that had the same philosophy to try to be in the Open leagues but dropped to flight in final day(s). Pros, overtime they can win some points off the top team and still grow.

Liberty Elite has been a strong club and recovered from the drama of 13s year where some of those players have moved to other clubs with a few landing at Blue Ridge. Some watching to see what is done for coaching next year as they go to 16s. They ended up with a lot of injuries this spring and went to Chicago with only 7 active players and fought strong with most matches going to 3 sets.
Blue Ridge is always strong in these age ranges and this is the first they chose to go to nationals with more girls choosing indoor over beach. Will be a question if they keep choosing indoor as they get older and if they can keep some of the old team dramas at bay with some different team members coming and going.
MVSA is always strong historically - this year maybe more off and on but still able to pull through. Many girls have played together for years but has had some more movement (or literally straight up moved away) in past couple years.

VA Jrs has been on a downward trajectory and ruled by the director and recruiting director. A friend on the 15s this past year was happy they even got playing time when the roster was 15 girls. Some lineup decisions were made based on what director was seeing on streaming at home - so seems questionable re: how much coach gets to say and do in decisionmaking at tournaments. Many area clubs went up to 15 girls on their rosters with such high demand. It leaves for a lot of bench time and standing around potentially during practice with such large rosters. For some it was a new experiment that didn't work out so well for team dynamics and for others, it was par for the course and didn't change how they operated or end results.

So many threads about Metro and Paramount, I don't need to say anymore outside of knowing many of the players and parents on these teams. They take the best of the best and still roster more so not all get playing time if they are on the roster. If you are lucky to make the team congrats, first battle down. Next is to then keep fighting to get playing time at a tournament. Many are willing to do it for the practice and possibility. Others have to keep deciding how many more years they can do it and/or stay on the team - if you rode the bench more, you are also fighting for next year for the next person that was waitlisted before or wants to put their name on the list after improving and/or dominating at their prior club. No opinion one way or another - just know what your DD is capable of as you start to seriously consider what club to go for.

At minimum, go to any clinics, camps and/or some privates if available to get good training etc. You won't know what other players and capabilities are out there until you attend more and recognize faces. In HS years, the mega players don't show up until the last weekends consistently until the end if they were busy with varsity and going through post-season play (eg Langley coach restricts her varsity players from going to any clinics until post-season is done). If you are in WV HS vball, you are not allowed to attend effectively until season is over based on rules of club coaches and HS club overlapping.

If your player is good and still developing, there are still many other clubs out there that play in CHRVA open and mixed (there are only a few CHRVA open tournaments with limited spots so all clubs try to get at least the minimum in to meet one of the regional bid tournament eligibility requirements). Take a look at the 16 teams that play in CHRVA regional (excluding VA Elite which refuses to do CHRVA bids) for each age group to get a sense of the top level playing teams trying to play as competitively as possible as another data point. Again, doesn't always line up if the team does not enter their nonAES scored tournament results (eg Capitol Hill Classic) manually into AES to better inform national rankings that go into CHRVA bid criteria.

Lots of other high performing teams and clubs (many that have been mentioned here in this forum in other threads) to consider as well. Your DDs experience will also be driven by the coaches themselves - some clubs it is all about the director and their philosophy, other clubs the experience may vary greatly based on the coach (St. James 15s last year is an example - outlier from all the other coaches at that club - my outsider looking in opinion was that it was awful for the vast majority of players on the team because of the coach personality and trying to make a name for himself to get a future job at one of the higher clubs).

PP here - before other parents start jumping down my throat about first year a CHRVA team qualified for Open at USAV, I meant for THIS age group - U15s in 2023 USAV nationals. This age group Metro team has come close but played national division prior years - with Paramount (2022) and Liberty Elite (2021) prior years with added reallocation bids to national division. St. James got a reallocation bid for Freedom Division last year. Paramount got the national bid outright this year and looks like CHRVA skipped or got skipped for the national reallocation bid that came from USAV but CHRVA got and sent teams with extra bids for Freedom and American divisions for the U15s in 2023.

[FPYCparent]

The St. James (TSJ) 15 Navy parent here ...

Without going down too many rabbit holes, I'll claim that my DD's experience with the team was a positive one overall.

I don't know if a better sports facility exists in the DC region. If there is, I'd want to know what/where it is. The club/team fees seem to be inline with all other area clubs.

I .. nor my DD ... had any issues with the 15 Navy coaches or other players/families. My kid didn't interact too much with other club coaches, but I certainly don't have anything negative to say.

This club will be one that we will consider for DD's U16 club season. I asked the 15 Navy coaches if they would be returning to TSJ, and they both stated that they want to come back. I had heard earlier in the season that the coaches may not be moving up to U16 next year, but ... at the time ... that was way too early to confirm.

I understand that some of the 15 Navy players (the ones that are in the Class of 2025) will be moving up to U17 to be in a better position to play U18 after their senior HS season. There were two or three 14yo players (Class of 2026 with "late" birthdays) on the team that I suspect will be pursuing spots on U16 teams ... again, with the intent of playing U18 as HS seniors. To my knowledge, no parent outwardly said that they weren't coming back to TSJ, but it wouldn't surprise me if players pursue other opportunities (within club volleyball or otherwise).

The challenge for my player is finding other clubs that are at least at the same "level" as TSJ and still work for us logistically (getting to practices, minimal scheduling conflicts with other household activities, etc.). Sure, it is easy to look up to Metro and Paramount as the standards. At this point, I'm not sure those clubs work well for us logistically. Mind you, I'd love for her to tryout at both clubs so she can see where she stands as an individual player. So, the question becomes "what are the 'next best' clubs that are based relatively close to the VA side of the Beltway?" I've chatted with a VA Elite 15 parent (acquaintance originally from another youth sport) and I understand that club uses the Madeira School. BRYC is a no-go based on a bad experience we had before pursuing club play. DD would have loved to have played for the DMV Elite 16s last season, but that was a bit of a stretch as DD was simply too new for club play. We don't want TSJ to be DD's only option ... and it seems were are running out of other options ... without having to drive well beyond Fairfax County.

[Anonymous]

FPYCparent wrote:The St. James (TSJ) 15 Navy parent here ...

Without going down too many rabbit holes, I'll claim that my DD's experience with the team was a positive one overall.

I don't know if a better sports facility exists in the DC region. If there is, I'd want to know what/where it is. The club/team fees seem to be inline with all other area clubs.

I .. nor my DD ... had any issues with the 15 Navy coaches or other players/families. My kid didn't interact too much with other club coaches, but I certainly don't have anything negative to say.

This club will be one that we will consider for DD's U16 club season. I asked the 15 Navy coaches if they would be returning to TSJ, and they both stated that they want to come back. I had heard earlier in the season that the coaches may not be moving up to U16 next year, but ... at the time ... that was way too early to confirm.

I understand that some of the 15 Navy players (the ones that are in the Class of 2025) will be moving up to U17 to be in a better position to play U18 after their senior HS season. There were two or three 14yo players (Class of 2026 with "late" birthdays) on the team that I suspect will be pursuing spots on U16 teams ... again, with the intent of playing U18 as HS seniors. To my knowledge, no parent outwardly said that they weren't coming back to TSJ, but it wouldn't surprise me if players pursue other opportunities (within club volleyball or otherwise).

The challenge for my player is finding other clubs that are at least at the same "level" as TSJ and still work for us logistically (getting to practices, minimal scheduling conflicts with other household activities, etc.). Sure, it is easy to look up to Metro and Paramount as the standards. At this point, I'm not sure those clubs work well for us logistically. Mind you, I'd love for her to tryout at both clubs so she can see where she stands as an individual player. So, the question becomes "what are the 'next best' clubs that are based relatively close to the VA side of the Beltway?" I've chatted with a VA Elite 15 parent (acquaintance originally from another youth sport) and I understand that club uses the Madeira School. BRYC is a no-go based on a bad experience we had before pursuing club play. DD would have loved to have played for the DMV Elite 16s last season, but that was a bit of a stretch as DD was simply too new for club play. We don't want TSJ to be DD's only option ... and it seems were are running out of other options ... without having to drive well beyond Fairfax County.

TSJ parent here for multiple kids, agree it’s so much easier to stay with TSJ then drive out to Chantilly or Madeira School. If really want to be recruited to low D1, then drive to Paramount worth it. If can make Metro of course do that! Remember as they get older will drive themselves and I prefer something closer to home. Not sure if many 15s can go to 17s as 16s was most successful team past season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

FPYCparent wrote:The St. James (TSJ) 15 Navy parent here ...

Without going down too many rabbit holes, I'll claim that my DD's experience with the team was a positive one overall.

I don't know if a better sports facility exists in the DC region. If there is, I'd want to know what/where it is. The club/team fees seem to be inline with all other area clubs.

I .. nor my DD ... had any issues with the 15 Navy coaches or other players/families. My kid didn't interact too much with other club coaches, but I certainly don't have anything negative to say.

This club will be one that we will consider for DD's U16 club season. I asked the 15 Navy coaches if they would be returning to TSJ, and they both stated that they want to come back. I had heard earlier in the season that the coaches may not be moving up to U16 next year, but ... at the time ... that was way too early to confirm.

I understand that some of the 15 Navy players (the ones that are in the Class of 2025) will be moving up to U17 to be in a better position to play U18 after their senior HS season. There were two or three 14yo players (Class of 2026 with "late" birthdays) on the team that I suspect will be pursuing spots on U16 teams ... again, with the intent of playing U18 as HS seniors. To my knowledge, no parent outwardly said that they weren't coming back to TSJ, but it wouldn't surprise me if players pursue other opportunities (within club volleyball or otherwise).

The challenge for my player is finding other clubs that are at least at the same "level" as TSJ and still work for us logistically (getting to practices, minimal scheduling conflicts with other household activities, etc.). Sure, it is easy to look up to Metro and Paramount as the standards. At this point, I'm not sure those clubs work well for us logistically. Mind you, I'd love for her to tryout at both clubs so she can see where she stands as an individual player. So, the question becomes "what are the 'next best' clubs that are based relatively close to the VA side of the Beltway?" I've chatted with a VA Elite 15 parent (acquaintance originally from another youth sport) and I understand that club uses the Madeira School. BRYC is a no-go based on a bad experience we had before pursuing club play. DD would have loved to have played for the DMV Elite 16s last season, but that was a bit of a stretch as DD was simply too new for club play. We don't want TSJ to be DD's only option ... and it seems were are running out of other options ... without having to drive well beyond Fairfax County.

TSJ parent here for multiple kids, agree it’s so much easier to stay with TSJ then drive out to Chantilly or Madeira School. If really want to be recruited to low D1, then drive to Paramount worth it. If can make Metro of course do that! Remember as they get older will drive themselves and I prefer something closer to home. Not sure if many 15s can go to 17s as 16s was most successful team past season.

Have you looked at EC Power? They are the other club inside the VA beltway. Half of the TSJ 2022 team left to go to ECP together and they had some pretty good results. They also had some add-on former metro hitter, paramount and other club players that were strong but not necessarily tall or wanted a change as they got older to balance other activities. Not a fan of their director and older age group management (as in basic comms and actual club mgmt) capabilities but the 15s did well this past year.

We live inside the beltway and have gotten used to the hike out on the toll road between club, clinics and lessons. COVID closing down so many schools and gyms forced many outside the beltway. However, the 'new' cassels will be on the west side of Dulles airport which is further out. For the 'level' you are looking for in fairfax county, you are looking at TSJ, VA Elite and ECP. BRYC National team is not bad (skill wise). The 15s are not as strong as the other clubs mentioned but they were competitive and gave a good fight. Not sure of what happened prior to club and don't know much about the club but they are at least another closer in option which work for some inside beltway families.

We had a friend (15s) play for DMV 16 Elite. They enjoyed it. She has been playing club for a while though and was transitioning from hitter to another position and able to do so at DMV 16 Elite. They are closer to MD to make the trip though.

You should definitely send your DD to the club clinics and invest in the drive to the higher club locations for those so that she can get good/different training and see how she does against other strong players. She can also start meeting and talking to other players from different clubs to get a sense of level relative to hers at the clinics. Every touch at these camps and clinics are an opportunity to improve - hopefully, she has been doing camps outside of TSJ in the off season to help with this. A lot of players go to the area college camps (especially not many club camp offerings with cassels closed) so another opportunity to meet and talk about their different clubs and assess 'level.'

[Anonymous]

Where does ECP practice in VA? Fine club, I agree, more than one team per age group as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where does ECP practice in VA? Fine club, I agree, more than one team per age group as well.

I think it depended on what age group but 15s this past year was at some combo of Spring Hill Rec Ctr and maybe Redeemer Lutheran in Mclean. There may have been a 3rd location but can't remember. Don't remember where the 16s practiced. I know they listed Georgetown Day school, Alexandria Country Day school and maybe tried to get Marymount University as well but don't know which age groups and team levels practiced at those different locations. Early in the season they had to go to a few temporary one off locations due to gym/scheduling conflicts.

[FPYCparent]

Thanks for the insights.

My kid has been attending college-hosted VB camps this month. She spent a week at the overnight JMU camps (brought home the camp-wide "MVP Award" for her position) and spent the weekend at GMU day camps supposedly holding her own against some incoming GMU signees. She's been at American thus far thus week, but will go back to GMU for two more days. We had signed her up for these camps much earlier in the year, before we really knew how the club season would progress ... and long before many clubs announced their summer offerings. If anything, she is getting some reps in front of some college coaches/staffers a year before anyone can really talk to her. HS tryouts start August 1, so she should be prepared for a solid showing (not like any of her school's teams fared well last year ... maybe 10 total wins across the varsity, JV, and freshman teams).

I do wish TSJ would build/leverage/enhance its relationship with GMU, given the proximity. As an alum, I'd love to see the school try to develop TSJ as a potential pipeline for talent (it's not like GMU is already a powerhouse in the sport). I get the sense that the connection with the men's VB program is in decent shape. Extending that relationship to the women's program should be a "win-win," if done properly.

As an example, five DC area women's programs (G'town, Howard, American, GW, and GMU) are again participating in the "DC Challenge" the weekend before Labor Day. I have yet to find a unified schedule, but it appears that there will be matches hosted at GMU and Howard. It seems like TSJ could be a great venue to host all matches in a single location. I don't know how well women's college VB matches are attended, but I'd think TSJ could easily handle it ... and many local club teams could make for a great audience.

[Anonymous]

FPYCparent wrote:Thanks for the insights.

My kid has been attending college-hosted VB camps this month. She spent a week at the overnight JMU camps (brought home the camp-wide "MVP Award" for her position) and spent the weekend at GMU day camps supposedly holding her own against some incoming GMU signees. She's been at American thus far thus week, but will go back to GMU for two more days. We had signed her up for these camps much earlier in the year, before we really knew how the club season would progress ... and long before many clubs announced their summer offerings. If anything, she is getting some reps in front of some college coaches/staffers a year before anyone can really talk to her. HS tryouts start August 1, so she should be prepared for a solid showing (not like any of her school's teams fared well last year ... maybe 10 total wins across the varsity, JV, and freshman teams).

I do wish TSJ would build/leverage/enhance its relationship with GMU, given the proximity. As an alum, I'd love to see the school try to develop TSJ as a potential pipeline for talent (it's not like GMU is already a powerhouse in the sport). I get the sense that the connection with the men's VB program is in decent shape. Extending that relationship to the women's program should be a "win-win," if done properly.

As an example, five DC area women's programs (G'town, Howard, American, GW, and GMU) are again participating in the "DC Challenge" the weekend before Labor Day. I have yet to find a unified schedule, but it appears that there will be matches hosted at GMU and Howard. It seems like TSJ could be a great venue to host all matches in a single location. I don't know how well women's college VB matches are attended, but I'd think TSJ could easily handle it ... and many local club teams could make for a great audience.

Good luck to your DD at the remaining camps and tryouts even if it is not a strong HS vball team. Better chance at playing varsity against strong teams in the region at least...

Just looked up DC Challenge - they all play each other at their home courts that weekend. DD was at AU camp too and has the flyer for one of the days being Bender Blue Out which we have been to in years past. These are big games to kick off the school year for the schools and getting the student body, families and area fans geared up for the season. At least at AU, the gym was packed standing room only. Harder to get their students and fans to come out and support if it is all offsite, IMO.

[FPYCparent]

I just saw the Bender Blue Out flyer as well. American hadn't posted their schedule online until some time yesterday.

So. here's my attempt to map out the DC Challenge ...

25 Aug 6PM: George Washington @ American
25 Aug 6PM: Georgetown @ Howard
26 Aug 1PM: George Washington @ Howard
26 Aug 2PM: American @ George Mason
26 Aug 7PM: Georgetown @ George Mason
27 Aug 2PM: Howard @ George Mason
27 Aug 2PM or 4PM: Georgetown @ American (GU lists 2PM; AU lists 4PM)

Posted schedules:

AU: https://aueagles.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule
GU: https://guhoyas.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule
GMU: https://gomason.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule
GWU: https://gwsports.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule
HU: https://hubison.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule
...
MSU: https://morganstatebears.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule
TU: https://towsontigers.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule
UMd: https://umterps.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule (only conference matches listed as of 20230720)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took at look at the full list of CHRVA participants (http://www.chrvajuniors.org/juniors/contacts_clubs/clubs_results.CFM) to see if I could identify which clubs consistently played in the Open or top in most competitions.

My DD completed her first club season this year (as a 15), and the Virginia-based CHRVA clubs that seemed to consistently play in the toughest divisions are:

Metro
Paramount
Blue Ridge (maybe?)
Virginia Juniors (maybe?)
The St. James
Virginia Elite

I don't know if I can come up with a similar list for non-VA teams.

I recognize that simply playing Open in every event doesn't mean that the team achieved a reasonable amount of success, but these teams are at least trying to compete at a high level. To be fair, a few of these VA teams played below Open at the Qualifiers later in the season, perhaps in an attempt to get other USAV bids.

If your DD played U15 last year (or did she play down as a U14 with a late birthday?) for her first year of club, how did it go and what specifically is your DD looking to do moving forward? If she is going into U16 next year, that is the year before college coaches can reach out (June 15th after the player's sophomore year of HS) recruiting if that is her intent. This next year of visibility of getting good video and highlights will be key (for most of CHRVA, college is not necessarily the end goal for everyone or it is behind academics but still many hold out the option to play somehow or at least in club - not necessarily D1 or bust). Again, if this was first year of club, what was her position and what is the goal? These next years are harder to 'move around' as teams and positions start to lock in depending on level of play. If she is super tall and athletic maybe some of those last teams you mentioned will still take a look and chance with one year of club experience, maybe others if she is knocking it out of the park from a vball perspective. She better be attending all the different college elite/advanced level camps and getting private lessons this summer to gear up for the fall clinics where all clubs will be looking to see how to fill rosters (either for gaps or to change out depending on club team and level). To get in those top clubs, assumption is that she is getting grouped on the top court at these elite camps... With Cassels closed until the fall, finding the club summer camps are harder to do. It will come down to those Sunday clinics in the fall and outreach if your DD is playing HS and getting seen more than once by the clubs you are interested in.

What level tournament a team plays in does not indicate everything to be a deciding factor. Just like AES ranking (national ranking or regional) does not serve as a sole indicator, especially after teams that went on to USAV Nationals or AAU nationals where their rankings may drop depending on what division of play they played at those year end tournaments.

This was the first year that a CHRVA team qualified for Open at USAV nationals (Metro via a trickle down at NEQ because the top qualifying teams had already won bids at another qualifier). Open in CHRVA is different than Open in CHRVA tournaments. You want to be on a team that plays Open level tournaments for sure in CHRVA if you are looking for more competition. Once you get into qualifiers, Open, USA, Liberty and sometimes even American division will provide some strong competition (American maybe not until later days depending on teams pool ranking going in).

We have friends on pretty much each of those clubs above or DD played on one of them. Each one has its own culture and it will depend on what fit you are looking for - not just which teams play in open. Virginia Elite will always play in Open - no one on the 15s team this past year expected to go to USAV Nationals Open but they knew they would be playing in open division each tournament. Pros and cons - Cons are the team is obliterated early and very few touches to improve and the last days of the tournament(s) they play the same team (St. James) that had the same philosophy to try to be in the Open leagues but dropped to flight in final day(s). Pros, overtime they can win some points off the top team and still grow.

Liberty Elite has been a strong club and recovered from the drama of 13s year where some of those players have moved to other clubs with a few landing at Blue Ridge. Some watching to see what is done for coaching next year as they go to 16s. They ended up with a lot of injuries this spring and went to Chicago with only 7 active players and fought strong with most matches going to 3 sets.
Blue Ridge is always strong in these age ranges and this is the first they chose to go to nationals with more girls choosing indoor over beach. Will be a question if they keep choosing indoor as they get older and if they can keep some of the old team dramas at bay with some different team members coming and going.
MVSA is always strong historically - this year maybe more off and on but still able to pull through. Many girls have played together for years but has had some more movement (or literally straight up moved away) in past couple years.

VA Jrs has been on a downward trajectory and ruled by the director and recruiting director. A friend on the 15s this past year was happy they even got playing time when the roster was 15 girls. Some lineup decisions were made based on what director was seeing on streaming at home - so seems questionable re: how much coach gets to say and do in decisionmaking at tournaments. Many area clubs went up to 15 girls on their rosters with such high demand. It leaves for a lot of bench time and standing around potentially during practice with such large rosters. For some it was a new experiment that didn't work out so well for team dynamics and for others, it was par for the course and didn't change how they operated or end results.

So many threads about Metro and Paramount, I don't need to say anymore outside of knowing many of the players and parents on these teams. They take the best of the best and still roster more so not all get playing time if they are on the roster. If you are lucky to make the team congrats, first battle down. Next is to then keep fighting to get playing time at a tournament. Many are willing to do it for the practice and possibility. Others have to keep deciding how many more years they can do it and/or stay on the team - if you rode the bench more, you are also fighting for next year for the next person that was waitlisted before or wants to put their name on the list after improving and/or dominating at their prior club. No opinion one way or another - just know what your DD is capable of as you start to seriously consider what club to go for.

At minimum, go to any clinics, camps and/or some privates if available to get good training etc. You won't know what other players and capabilities are out there until you attend more and recognize faces. In HS years, the mega players don't show up until the last weekends consistently until the end if they were busy with varsity and going through post-season play (eg Langley coach restricts her varsity players from going to any clinics until post-season is done). If you are in WV HS vball, you are not allowed to attend effectively until season is over based on rules of club coaches and HS club overlapping.

If your player is good and still developing, there are still many other clubs out there that play in CHRVA open and mixed (there are only a few CHRVA open tournaments with limited spots so all clubs try to get at least the minimum in to meet one of the regional bid tournament eligibility requirements). Take a look at the 16 teams that play in CHRVA regional (excluding VA Elite which refuses to do CHRVA bids) for each age group to get a sense of the top level playing teams trying to play as competitively as possible as another data point. Again, doesn't always line up if the team does not enter their nonAES scored tournament results (eg Capitol Hill Classic) manually into AES to better inform national rankings that go into CHRVA bid criteria.

Lots of other high performing teams and clubs (many that have been mentioned here in this forum in other threads) to consider as well. Your DDs experience will also be driven by the coaches themselves - some clubs it is all about the director and their philosophy, other clubs the experience may vary greatly based on the coach (St. James 15s last year is an example - outlier from all the other coaches at that club - my outsider looking in opinion was that it was awful for the vast majority of players on the team because of the coach personality and trying to make a name for himself to get a future job at one of the higher clubs).

PP here - before other parents start jumping down my throat about first year a CHRVA team qualified for Open at USAV, I meant for THIS age group - U15s in 2023 USAV nationals. This age group Metro team has come close but played national division prior years - with Paramount (2022) and Liberty Elite (2021) prior years with added reallocation bids to national division. St. James got a reallocation bid for Freedom Division last year. Paramount got the national bid outright this year and looks like CHRVA skipped or got skipped for the national reallocation bid that came from USAV but CHRVA got and sent teams with extra bids for Freedom and American divisions for the U15s in 2023.

PP thank you for taking the time to write out such a toughtful response.