Benching players

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are going in circles. Every February, this board discovers that their child is not the breakout star they imagined in November, and suddenly, it’s a consumer fraud case. It’s club volleyball. It is competitive at every level ... yes, even on teams that lose.

You absolutely can ask about playing time philosophy before you sign. Clinics, info sessions, offer calls ... that’s when grown-ups use their words.

And if a club truly markets itself as “developmental” but benches half the roster, name it. Say the club. My guess? The silence is because most of these teams aren’t actually “developmental,” they’re just competitive teams, or teams that want to be competitive, that your kid isn’t starting on.

If the fit is wrong, leave next year. But this annual outrage tour because your athlete isn’t playing enough rotations isn’t a conspiracy. It’s sports.

I started this thread in September. My DD was already playing club and she is still playing club on a semi-competitive team (and has her court time). Assumptions that I am complaining about my DD's court time are just a way for some of the people here to brush off reasonable criticism about club practices.

Most families who are beginners to club volleyball don't even know that court time is an issue. Expecting them to ask the right questions and know how to read the answers is unreasonable. Or maybe only reasonable to coaches who feel that everyone should know everything about volleyball and club practices. There are parents without personal experience with competitive sports who want to give their kids something they never had. They have no idea that they must ask questions or even what questions to ask. Not everyone reads these threads or similar forums. Their kids are unlikely to make it on top teams with clear "court time is earned" policies. It's a lot of money to ask a family to pay for the privilege of sitting on the bench during tournaments to watch your teammates lose their games anyway.

Thanks for the follow up, much appreciated. For first year families there is a learning curve that all of us have had to climb. No matter how good a club is at explaining how club volleyball works its no replacement for actually experiencing a club season. These forums are a great resource for getting educated on the questions a first-year player should be asking before they commit to a team. But whether or not someone reads the forums, there has to be some responsibility of the parent to educate themselves and make the best choice you can for your DD and for your $. Accountability is not a one-way street in competitive sports. Clubs, coaches, players and families all have a responsibility.

The club either includes their playing time policy in their contract or they don't. If they do, parents and players should both be accountable for knowing the policy. If the club doesn't adhere to their policy, absolutely talk to them about it and hold them accountable. If they bench your player without any explanation, absolutely have the player talk to the coach and if they don't get a good answer talk to the coach directly or to the club director and hold them accountable.

But the reverse also has to be true. If a player is benched on a developmental team for failure to progress and/or perform, then the player needs to understand why and commit to improving and then the coach needs to hold the player accountable for putting in the effort to improve. If a parent complains about playing time and doesn't understand the club policies, then the parent needs to be accountable for learning those policies before raising issues.

Even on teams where playing time isn't "earned" its still a privilege, not a right. The coach's responsibility is to meet the playing time commitments of the club or explain why the specific player is an exception. After that the responsibility really does shift back to the player and/or the family to address the issue.

Every club our DDs played for had a rules session before the season started. Parents and players had to attend. They handed them out to take home. They explicitly discussed playing time, 48 hour rules, escalation procedures, etc. While we don't know the specifics of the recent case we've been discussing, I'd be surprised if the club didn't have something similar before the season started. If the club did have it and is not adhering to what they said, discuss it with them and get it fixed. If the club did share its policies though, then its its hard to understand the indignation, complete club failure and cries of "we've been wronged" that several of the PP seem to focus on.

You could maybe argue that you should have known that information before you accepted the offer, but I'm not aware of any clubs that publish their rules prior to tryouts. Most don't do it until after contract signing. Should clubs be required to put a a click-through agreement in front of every offer acceptance?

I do understand most of the blow-back on this thread. Most people who are contributing here have at least some experience on the volleyball scene. Their kids were likely pretty successful at getting court time. They were likely wishing that those players who were not very skillful won't make it on the court to ruin the game for their own kid. They like the court time rules and want to keep them in place because they favor their kids. They cannot put themselves in the shoes of the players who are denied court time or their families. It's the kind of bias that can be explained away by club rules and "competitive environment."

In contrast, there are fewer families who were hurt by lack of court time. They saw the coaches giving up on their kids and not sending them on the court. They saw all the team families rooting against their kid getting court time. They might not even be interested in volleyball anymore. It is unlikely that many of them are still around visiting this thread to share their experience.

So think about your own biases and why you fight against the common-sense idea that kids need to play to get better. And I am not saying that competitive teams need to play everyone. But if you have a lousy team that cannot attract good players, you owe court time to all the players you accept on the roster. "My favorite players didn't accept my offer, so I had to lower my expectation to fill my roster" should not be an excuse. If you lower your expectations during tryouts, you cannot decide that the expectations are different during the season. Because it does look like a money grab.

I don't think this is a fair statement. My kid gets some playtime (more than some, less than others)- but we went into the season knowing that playtime was earned and based on practices, skills, club needs and the position she plays. I wish she got more playtime but she and I both recognize that another player is a better hitter than she is. The club was both upfront with all the parents about the playtime rule and even though this was our first season of club volleyball, I had played travel sports through high school and knew that playtime is not a guarantee. I think it's a hard balancing act between getting everyone enough playtime to improve and being competitive. I do think every player should get play time during tournaments but it can't be equal. Coaches above have explained why it can't be equal and I think their perspective is valuable.

Travel sports are a money grab. Playtime is not guaranteed. Coaches and players want to win balanced with players should get game time to improve. Certain positions (setters, outside hitters) get a lot of play time vs other positions (middle blockers, DS). Players should advocate for themselves with their coaches about their playtime. If any of this is unacceptable to you and you don't want to spend your money, you should do rec. Equal play time and it's much cheaper.

Stop hitting that strawman. We are all aware that there is no such thing as equal play time. Even if you aim for it, you can get stuck in a rotation that plays longer either because the players are really good or because they are really bad. But this thread was never meant to solve the problem of equal play for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP. I also really wish that there was something competitive between rec and club to accommodate this group of kids that I think is being discussed here- too good for rec and not good enough for club. These kids should have a place to compete and play. I know that I would have enrolled my DD in that last year.

It exists - see travel volleyball here (in between club and rec). https://syasports.org/category/sports/volleyball/

Some leagues call this “select” instead of travel.

If you click into the FAQ, there is a question about who they play against. All of those teams have similar travel/select teams.

I’m sure something similar must exist in Maryland, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP. I also really wish that there was something competitive between rec and club to accommodate this group of kids that I think is being discussed here- too good for rec and not good enough for club. These kids should have a place to compete and play. I know that I would have enrolled my DD in that last year.

It exists - see travel volleyball here (in between club and rec). https://syasports.org/category/sports/volleyball/

Some leagues call this “select” instead of travel.

If you click into the FAQ, there is a question about who they play against. All of those teams have similar travel/select teams.

I’m sure something similar must exist in Maryland, too.

Someone else brought up SYA on a different thread. I kept looking, but I could not find anything similar in Maryland.