Fun ... and not-so-fun things about HS volleyball

[FPYCparent]

As much as we might rave about club volleyball, public high school volleyball ain't that. In most cases, you get what you get.

Here are some notes/resources that I've come across during my DD's HS volleyball journey in FCPS. I'll try to incorporate other tidbits (in and beyond FCPS) in this first post as the comments roll in.

I think all Fairfax/Arlington/Alexandria public high schools are designated as Class 6 in the Virginia High School League (VHSL). There are some Class 6 schools in Prince William and Stafford. All other Class 6 schools are probably in the Tidewater area. I don't know were the lines are drawn now, but Class 6 schools could easily have 2000 - 3000+ students. LCPS and PWPCS may have schools that fall in Class 5 or Class 4. Meridian in Falls Church City is sometimes the odd one out at Class 3.

Class 6 is then broken down into four regions: 6A (Tidewater, I think), 6B (Prince William/Stafford), and then 6C and 6D (Ffx/Arl/Alex). 6C may also be known as the Occoquan Region, while 6D might be called the Northern Region. Just don't quote me on that.

Regions are then broken down into (typically) two districts. 6C has the National (8 teams) and Patriot (8) districts. 6D has the Liberty (7) and Concorde (6) districts. 6B has Cedar Run (7), Commonwealth (5 + 2 Class 5), and Cardinal (7) districts.

I haven't seen a unified website that comprehensively covers HS athletics in this area (on the Virginia side, at least), but here are a few that come close. Feel free to suggest others.

https://www.vhsl.org/ (covers the entire state)
https://novahsathletics.com/ (Regions 6C and 6D)
I just found https://novahoops.com/, which seems like it could be good, but it only covers basketball.

There is also maxpreps.com, but that's its own seemingly crowd-sourced monster.

For freshman and JV matches, teams have to win two out of three sets. Varsity matches are a max of five sets. Last set goes to 15 when teams are otherwise tied.

Some schools only have one gym, which means freshman play first (maybe a 5:30PM or earlier start), followed by JV (6:30), and wraps up with varsity (7:30). Some schools have space that would allow freshman and JV matches to start at the same time (5:30), allowing varsity matches to start at 6:30.

I'll have to build up the list, but schools with a smaller gym (only one match at a time):

?Madison?
?McLean?
West Potomac
C. G. Woodson

Schools with larger gyms (freshman and JV can play simultaneously):

Alexandria City
Fairfax
Lake Braddock
Robinson
Mount Vernon
South County
West Springfield (very low ceiling)

(More to come ...)

[FPYCparent]

Borrowing heavily from novahoops.com, here are region/district alignments for many NoVA high schools:

VHSL 6B Cardinal: Colgan, Forest Park, Freedom-Woodbridge, Gar-Field, Hylton, Potomac, Woodbridge
6B Cedar Run: Battlefield, Freedom-South Riding, Gainesville, Osbourn, Osbourn Park, Patriot, Unity Reed
6B Commonwealth: Brooke Point, Colonial Forge, Massaponax (5D), Mountain View, North Stafford, Riverbend (5D), Stafford

6C National: Alexandria City, Fairfax, Lake Braddock, Robinson, South County, West Potomac, West Springfield, Woodson
6C Patriot: Annandale, Edison, Falls Church, Hayfield, Lewis, Jefferson, Justice, Mount Vernon

6D Concorde: Centreville, Chantilly, Madison, Oakton, South Lakes, Westfield
6D Liberty: Herndon, Langley, Marshall, McLean, Wakefield, Washington-Liberty, Yorktown

5D: Briar Woods, Independence, Lightridge, Potomac Falls, Riverside, Stone Bridge

4C Dulles: Dominion, Heritage, Loudoun, Rock Ridge, Tuscarora
4C Catoctin: Broad Run, John Champe, Loudoun County, Park View, Woodgrove

4D Northwestern: Brentsville (3B), Fauquier (3B), James Wood, John Handley, Kettle Run (3B), Liberty, Manassas Park (3B), Meridian (3B), Millbrook, Sherando, Skyline (3B), Warren County (3B)

2B Bull Run: Clarke County

WCAC: Bishop Ireton, Paul VI, Bishop O'Connell
ISL AA: Potomac School
ISL A: Flint Hill, Episcopal, Madeira, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes

Others (VA): Christ Chapel, John Paul The Great, Seton, Trinity Christian, Trinity Meadow View, Virginia Academy

[Anonymous]

Fundraising- $20 Otis Spunkmeyer cookies. Delicious, but it quickly adds up when you feel obligated to have to buy a few boxes.

And having to buy Pink Out t shirts too every year (can't they just re-use?).

And the misc stuff (big sister gifts, senior night, etc).

And my other HS athletes have similar unspoken financial commitments.

[FPYCparent]

Good call on the "unmentioned" expenses. Fortunately, DD has only had to deal with Bigs-Littles gifts throughout the seasons, where varsity players may put together a little gift box for JV/freshman players a few times throughout the season. Thankfully, no fundraising has been necessary for her!

I understand that Madison HS (and possibly others) do a coordinated process for getting meals for teams on gameday. That's not my DD's school, so I don't have any more details. I just know that the players/families will deposit some money on the player's behalf and they'll pick a certain restaurant for each gameday. once the bulk order is placed, a parent will volunteer to pick up and deliver everything. Doesn't seem like a bad system, but I haven't been smart enough to try to replicate it for DD's teams over the years.

[FPYCparent]

There are also some in-season weekend tournaments for varsity teams. Here's a sampling:

29-30 Aug: Virginia Volleyball Showcase (hosted by Richmond Volleyball Club ... https://www.rvc.net/page/show/7664570-virginia-volleyball-showcase)
13 Sep: Endless Summer Tournament (Virginia Beach ... https://endlesssummervolleyball.org/)
27 Sep: Flint Hill Invitational
04 Oct: Hayfield (Invitational?)

Sep: ISL Playday
Sep: Heritage (Invitational?)
Sep: Alexandria City Titan Clash
Sep: Crossroads Classic (Justice HS)
Sep: Battle of Bethesda
Oct: Tiger Paws Invitational

[Anonymous]

what will you do when your kids are done playing volleyball?

[Anonymous]

Be prepared to work the snackbar - both at vb games, but also at the football games.

Freshman vb also had limited spectator seating (bleachers for the JV and V games) when the games are at schools with simultaneous games.

Theres also an admission fee so consider getting the PTA Booster membership for free home games (at least at our HS).

[Anonymous]

I've heard they tend to be mean girls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard they tend to be mean girls

It's like that in every all-girls' sports - bball, field hockey, cheer, dance, lacrosse, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what will you do when your kids are done playing volleyball?

Different poster. That's an interesting question, even though it was clearly not well-meaning. The poster who asked the question is likely a busy parent who doesn't have enough time or interest to get involved in their kids' sports. I could return the question as: "What are you doing while your kid is playing sports?" but I won't. I am trying not to judge because everyone's circumstances are different. I am one of the parents who got involved in my DD's volleyball (watching practices, going to tournaments, etc.). I used to know everything about her next tournament, the court they were going to play on and the standing of the teams she was going to play against. After the first year, I took it easier with the courts and standings, but I am staying involved. Even though I never played volleyball before my DD declared her love for volleyball, I am now practicing and I started playing along in an amateur league. I consider myself lucky that I can play the sport my DD likes and I celebrate every time I dig one of her serves. Once I become an empty nester, I will continue playing in the amateur league. I may volunteer to ref some rec leagues or even coach a beginner team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard they tend to be mean girls

What you heard might be true or false: it really depends on many factors, especially the club culture. The key question is whether meanness is tolerated or acknowledged and addressed. Even in clubs that value team spirit and sportsmanship, cliques can still form, and girls can be unkind to each other. I've seen players at the bottom of the skill ladder targeted because they are seen as contributing less or responsible for losses. But I’ve also seen top players excluded or resented for getting more court time. These dynamics can be worse in high-level clubs where the gap between starters and bench players is not as wide. Coaches can influence this a lot. Some insist on kindness and pick up on subtle social cues. Others don’t notice; or worse, come from environments where a toxic culture is normal. This forum has stories of coaches encouraging cliques. Parents play a role too: imagine how a girl might feel hearing her own parents speak badly about her teammates. My daughter had a rough first club year: the team was divided, and some girls wouldn’t even link arms during huddles. Her second year was completely different mostly because those players moved to another club.

[Anonymous]

Mean girls. Extreme cliques. Political BS when the HS coaches repeatedly select girls from their club teams to play on their HS teams. With 100s of girls trying out for 12 spots this happens year after year. Girls have to sit and watch all the teams play instead of doing homework or all sit with their laptops and do homework in the stands.

Pass!

[Anonymous]

DD plays HS volleyball and basketball, and yes, the drama is much higher with the volleyball team. On both teams, she says there is one girl who stirs things up the most, but with basketball, the drama and trash talk is on the court yet non-existent off the court. Volleyball is the opposite.

[FPYCparent]

Some high schools are using (or starting to use) HUDL just as some clubs are also using HUDL. If your player already has a HUDL profile from prior club season, have them tell their HS coach to not create a new profile ... and use the existing profile instead. This way, you'll have one place where all of your player's "history" versus having to wrangle multiple profiles. Same thinking should apply if your player changes clubs over their career. Keep it all in one profile, if you can.

Visit fan.hudl.com and search for your player's school or club. The search results may provide a clue as to whether the school uses the platform.

Even if your player doesn't have college aspirations today, building up a catalog of highlights and matches now can't hurt! (Better to have it and not need it than needing it and not having it.)

...

I do not know if any high schools are using Balltime. It may be moot if Balltime is really merging with HUDL, but I haven't heard a peep about the merger since the initial announcement.

[Anonymous]

None of this is "fun" or even not so "fun"

It's just a dumped Google search.