Club Volleyball - rate your club pros/cons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U14 mom here again and I will say the pricing at the clubs DD looked at were at least $4k and up in VA. I just checked again on some of the others in this area. Virginia Elite is about $6k, NVVA regional starts around $4k and their most advanced travel team is $1000 a month! and X Factor is above $3400. ECP also around $3k and Up. Maybe the MD programs are less?

Hi U14 mom, I'm the 2nd year U14 mom (well, U13 last year ) who said maybe look further across the DMV if prices are that high. Yes, we only looked in MD and DC so I can tell you Metro Club, if you add up ALL the prices, should still fall around $3,000 max and that is probably the most sought-after club team in the area. The team we chose is likely to be under $3,000 even with our hotels & travel.

For now for you, I don't know anything about McLean but I'm guessing the more official/sought-after teams DO follow regulations & rules for their Rec Teams. It's the least they could do since most won't compete in tournaments but they still cost quite a bit of money (though less than Club & Travel).

Honestly, and I'm still looking to the more experienced volleyball parents here to correct me if I'm wrong, but I still think you should reach back out to your DD's top 2 teams and call them and ask them which club teams they'd recommend that might still have spaces. And also ask if they have spaces on their rec teams. I'd still try for Club, even if a Tier 4 or 5 club (as long as they follow competition rules and DO focus on skill building!). We were in a lower than Tier 4 Club (Tier 7 according to this list!) last year, but going to tournaments and seeing how everything works, and me talking to coaches of other teams and asking basic questions, really helped us navigate the summer and be ready for tryouts this time.

[Anonymous]

Me again ^^ And whatever you end up doing for this season, ask here and ask clubs you think sound good what clinics they do and when. Definitely lots of summer clinics, and I think fall clinics too, don't know if there are clinics during Spring/tournament season. But check for which clinics people say are the best clinics. Your DD can work on specific skills, just get more playing time, and also hear from hopefully decent coaches what she needs to work on and get some of that coaching.

[Anonymous]

Our girl also tried out in this last round of tryouts, and the general email we just got from a team we really liked was "Our tryout season has concluded, but if you didn't get an offer, don't give up. We do winter & spring clinics, so do other clubs, check those out" (not the exact words but that was the message). I didn't know winter clinics were a thing, so that's good to know.

[Anonymous]

3-year V'ball dad here:

From what I know and hear, Metro is an organization that has been around for some time. In addition to their travel teams, they have numerous regional teams as well. (I think previous posts mentioned this.) Info (including fees) for Metro are here: https://metrovbc.sportngin.com/teaminfo

Unless I'm reading it wrong, one can see that fees for 14U teams are $2150 and $3895 for regional and travel teams, respectively. Quite a difference!

For reference, I looked at other fees for 14U teams at MVSA, MEVC, MoCo, MDJRs, SRVC, CVA, Xperience, and BAVA, and that middle range is about $2000 to low $3000.

While surfing on Metro's site, it's nice to see that there is a winter rec league:
https://metrovbc.sportngin.com/recleague

I know that the City of Gaitherburg (Maryland) has rec league too and registration deadlines are today (11/9)!
https://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/sports/youth-teen-sports

[Anonymous]

U14 mom, is your daughter in 8th grade?

[Anonymous]

I would mention that, if your DD manages to get a 14s offer as late as this, the chances are high she is a roster filler and may spend a lot of time on the bench. IMHO, better to find a lower tier team where she would play. She has plenty of vball time ahead of her, but technical coaching and playing are the most important things at this age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would mention that, if your DD manages to get a 14s offer as late as this, the chances are high she is a roster filler and may spend a lot of time on the bench. IMHO, better to find a lower tier team where she would play. She has plenty of vball time ahead of her, but technical coaching and playing are the most important things at this age.

Would you recommend that when U14 mom starts calling teams to make inquiries, she ask about play time (i.e. can the clubs that are reputable but full recommend other clubs where her daughter would get both good coaching and actual playtime, and not ride the bench the whole season? A few parents are reaching out to me by text (parents I knew and ran into during tryouts) and I hadn't been advising that but thinking maybe I should if they ask me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would mention that, if your DD manages to get a 14s offer as late as this, the chances are high she is a roster filler and may spend a lot of time on the bench. IMHO, better to find a lower tier team where she would play. She has plenty of vball time ahead of her, but technical coaching and playing are the most important things at this age.

Would you recommend that when U14 mom starts calling teams to make inquiries, she ask about play time (i.e. can the clubs that are reputable but full recommend other clubs where her daughter would get both good coaching and actual playtime, and not ride the bench the whole season? A few parents are reaching out to me by text (parents I knew and ran into during tryouts) and I hadn't been advising that but thinking maybe I should if they ask me?

VAVA and STJ are still looking for U14 players. I've heard decent things about STJ, but most people I talk to say the guys who run VAVA are good guys (which can't be said for some of these other clubs). If your daughter is still looking for a team, I recommend reaching out to VAVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would mention that, if your DD manages to get a 14s offer as late as this, the chances are high she is a roster filler and may spend a lot of time on the bench. IMHO, better to find a lower tier team where she would play. She has plenty of vball time ahead of her, but technical coaching and playing are the most important things at this age.

Would you recommend that when U14 mom starts calling teams to make inquiries, she ask about play time (i.e. can the clubs that are reputable but full recommend other clubs where her daughter would get both good coaching and actual playtime, and not ride the bench the whole season? A few parents are reaching out to me by text (parents I knew and ran into during tryouts) and I hadn't been advising that but thinking maybe I should if they ask me?

VAVA and STJ are still looking for U14 players. I've heard decent things about STJ, but most people I talk to say the guys who run VAVA are good guys (which can't be said for some of these other clubs). If your daughter is still looking for a team, I recommend reaching out to VAVA.

I would agree with this. My DD spent one year at St J (in lower age groups) and I could never tell how they worked out who played and who didn’t, other than promises made during tryouts and sheer favoritism. It seemed completely random to me, and they never won much at all. That said, those coaches are no longer there, so maybe things have changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would mention that, if your DD manages to get a 14s offer as late as this, the chances are high she is a roster filler and may spend a lot of time on the bench. IMHO, better to find a lower tier team where she would play. She has plenty of vball time ahead of her, but technical coaching and playing are the most important things at this age.

Would you recommend that when U14 mom starts calling teams to make inquiries, she ask about play time (i.e. can the clubs that are reputable but full recommend other clubs where her daughter would get both good coaching and actual playtime, and not ride the bench the whole season? A few parents are reaching out to me by text (parents I knew and ran into during tryouts) and I hadn't been advising that but thinking maybe I should if they ask me?

VAVA and STJ are still looking for U14 players. I've heard decent things about STJ, but most people I talk to say the guys who run VAVA are good guys (which can't be said for some of these other clubs). If your daughter is still looking for a team, I recommend reaching out to VAVA.

VAVA coaches are ex Juniors and, for the most part, the nice ones.

[Anonymous]

Re: playing time. I would certainly suggest asking if there's a principle of percentage playing time, say 25% or 50%, during matches. One can get a sense of how big the roster is. If a roster is about 10 girls, I think it's safe to say there should be at least 25%. If it is a roster of 12 or more (not counting practice players who do not play during tournaments), then that may be a sign of a different story.

I could be wrong but I thought earlier posts, perhaps here or in other places, suggested that Metro may have 12 girls per team and that there may be some girls who primarily sit on the bench. If there are any Metro parents, can you confirm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would mention that, if your DD manages to get a 14s offer as late as this, the chances are high she is a roster filler and may spend a lot of time on the bench. IMHO, better to find a lower tier team where she would play. She has plenty of vball time ahead of her, but technical coaching and playing are the most important things at this age.

Would you recommend that when U14 mom starts calling teams to make inquiries, she ask about play time (i.e. can the clubs that are reputable but full recommend other clubs where her daughter would get both good coaching and actual playtime, and not ride the bench the whole season? A few parents are reaching out to me by text (parents I knew and ran into during tryouts) and I hadn't been advising that but thinking maybe I should if they ask me?

VAVA and STJ are still looking for U14 players. I've heard decent things about STJ, but most people I talk to say the guys who run VAVA are good guys (which can't be said for some of these other clubs). If your daughter is still looking for a team, I recommend reaching out to VAVA.

I think the main reason a lot of these clubs are still looking for players in the U14 age group (including even VAE) is because Paramount is having two 14s teams this season. I've heard a good chunk of players turned down offers from VAE, Jrs., VAVA and EC Power to accept spots on Paramount's 14-2 team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: playing time. I would certainly suggest asking if there's a principle of percentage playing time, say 25% or 50%, during matches. One can get a sense of how big the roster is. If a roster is about 10 girls, I think it's safe to say there should be at least 25%. If it is a roster of 12 or more (not counting practice players who do not play during tournaments), then that may be a sign of a different story.

I could be wrong but I thought earlier posts, perhaps here or in other places, suggested that Metro may have 12 girls per team and that there may be some girls who primarily sit on the bench. If there are any Metro parents, can you confirm?

Metro Travel teams will basically all have 15 players on each team (15 is the max amount of players that USAV allows on a roster). I haven't seen a Metro travel team the last few years that had less than 14 players on it. So, yes, Metro's travel teams each tend to have about 4-5 players who rarely see play time (and some literally get zero playing time). Metro's Regional teams do not tend to have more than 10-12 players per team, and as other posters have mentioned, these are low-budget teams that are intended to pad Silvia's pockets and to subsidize her travel program. VAE never really ever puts more than 13 kids on a team, VAJrs will do what Metro does and stick 15 kids on a team, Paramount has some variability as their 17s team last season had 15 players, but none of their other teams had more than 13 players last season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For PP looking for U14 spot— all the advice so far has been awesome and solid.

Additionally:
1. St James director posted on FB today that their U14 is still
Looking for front row players (Oh, middle, Rs) so if DD did not try out there and she’s
Potential front row may be worth reaching out to those coaches


2. VAE usually maintains a spreadsheet on their website of unmatched players looking for spots. I have personally known players that actually works out for
In matching up with a club.

Best of luck!

U14 players mom here. Thx so much, but I didn’t see anything on the St James FB page and don’t know who to contact? And how do I find the VAE list? Sorry I’m such a newbie here. I just feel sad for my girl bc she’s all in for volleyball and is actually a pretty good player with a lot of potential.

I appreciate all these posts offering advice and am taking it to heart. It’s such a learning curve and can be so discouraging. She was not happy playing rec At McLean youth last year bc the McLean league didn’t follow official regulation league rules or even use the standard balls. For example, girls were serving from anywhere even mid court, refs were all over the place missing calls, and many girls didn’t take it seriously. She really wants to up her game. She has enjoyed playing NVVA Galaxy bc they at least follow regulation protocols and have decent refs and make the girls serve from the back line.

If you Google "CHRVA free agents 2022" the link to VAE comes up, but right now it's only names from last year (suggesting that there aren't that many free agents, I guess?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would mention that, if your DD manages to get a 14s offer as late as this, the chances are high she is a roster filler and may spend a lot of time on the bench. IMHO, better to find a lower tier team where she would play. She has plenty of vball time ahead of her, but technical coaching and playing are the most important things at this age.

Would you recommend that when U14 mom starts calling teams to make inquiries, she ask about play time (i.e. can the clubs that are reputable but full recommend other clubs where her daughter would get both good coaching and actual playtime, and not ride the bench the whole season? A few parents are reaching out to me by text (parents I knew and ran into during tryouts) and I hadn't been advising that but thinking maybe I should if they ask me?

VAVA and STJ are still looking for U14 players. I've heard decent things about STJ, but most people I talk to say the guys who run VAVA are good guys (which can't be said for some of these other clubs). If your daughter is still looking for a team, I recommend reaching out to VAVA.

Metro South, too.