Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
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Anonymous
| Why is Metro Travel so expensive? It's better quality volleyball training for almost double the price! |
Anonymous
Take a look at the tournament list it’s more travel, like getting on airplanes travel. The fees include the coaches’ travel expenses. Metro’s regional teams go to regional tournaments, so less travel, less cost. |
Anonymous
Metro fees don't include any travel costs. The coach travel fees are billed separately each month during the season and player travel is paid for by parents too. Another thing to note is Metro's posted fees don't include uniforms and other required gear (this year's package including only required gear was around $700). They require players to buy new uniforms/gear on a 3-year cycle separate from club fees. If your DD plays for Metro for multiple seasons this can be a cost savings, but depending on when they start within a cycle it's possible you could have to pay for uniforms sooner. The current Metro uniforms were new this year so if they continue the same practice, they will get 2 more seasons in these jerseys. All that said, the fees are more expensive for several reasons. First, the Metro Travel teams go to more tournaments meaning there are more entry fees to pay. And they go to more qualifiers and multiday tournaments which tend to have higher entry fees. They practice more often than regional teams meaning there are increased costs for gym time. Metro Travel coaches get paid more than the regional coaches - both because they have more to do (with more tournaments and practices) and because they are more experienced and more qualified. Metro Travel fees also include practice space and coaching time through USAV nationals which are generally end of June into early July. Most other clubs collect additional fees for coach and gym time if a team gets a bid for Nationals (or decides to go to AAU Nationals). Metro Travel fees are definitely more expensive than the Metro Regional teams, but they can look less expensive than other clubs that play a similar schedule and practice a similar amount but you need to dig into what's included and what isn't to do a meaningful comparison. For example, Paramount shows their 2025 fees for their top 15s at $6,850 (https://www.paramountvbc.com/fees). That includes uniforms/gear and coach travel but not fees through Nationals. Meanwhile, Metro 15 Travel's base fee is $4,155 (https://www.metrovbc.com/teaminfo-travel) but does not include uniforms or coach travel, but does include practice and coach time through Nationals. I think by the time you total everything up Metro Travel and Paramount end up pretty similar in total cost, with Metro maybe being a bit less expensive. Where you really need to think hard about cost is at clubs that aren't among the best performing in the region that are still charging similar prices (for example MOJO's fees for 15s are $6,175 and the St James are $5,550). If you search back through this thread and many other DCUM volleyball threads you will see a consistent theme that Virginia clubs seem to be able to charge more than Maryland clubs and that does seem somewhat accurate. It's also pretty clear that MVSA tends to be the best bang for your buck amongst larger CHRVA clubs - their fees are much lower and they still offer good training and have competitive teams. Because of that MVSA teams can be difficult to make. Speaking of making teams, if you're new to club volleyball, it's really important to know that fees aren't usually the primary factor in deciding between a Metro Travel and a Metro Regional team. Metro Travel teams are generally considered the best in the region (there are of course exceptions) and therefore the demand for these teams is high and the number of rosters spots is limited. The maximum number of players a team can take is 15, but know that 15 players is really too many and something around 12 or less is better. But there is intense competition for these 15 or fewer spots. Many really great volleyball players don't make these teams every year. If your DD is not really tall, super athletic, or already exceptionally skilled, then the chances of making a Metro Travel team is low. Don't get fixated on Metro Travel or Paramount as the only options. While these clubs get a disproportionate share of the discussion on these forums, there are many other good local clubs for players at all levels. Do your best to find the best fit for your DD. It's also important to understand that costs for club volleyball tend to be higher than seems reasonable. IMHO, it's simply supply and demand. The demand for club volleyball is really high right now and clubs have no trouble finding families willing and able to pay high fees, so the fees keep going up. Not a great situation for families hoping to get their DD onto a team. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Agreed. And the club fees are not the end of the story. Consider family travel expenses (transportation, hotel, meals, miscellaneous). I wish more clubs would focus on local tournaments rather than take their families to other cities and waste weekends in hotel rooms and convention centers just to see that their players can barely compete. They can do the same locally with similar results. |
Anonymous
| If you want a club that doesn’t travel (and cost) as much, choose a regional club or regional level team of a larger club. No one is forcing anyone to travel. When choosing which clubs to try out for, check then list of tournaments they plan to register for and factor that into your decision. |
Anonymous
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Only a few teams in the DMV region played at the Open level (the highest level) at national qualifiers this year:
Metro Travel teams Paramount first teams Viriginia Juniors 16 Maryland Juniors 14 Blue Ridge 13 ... (Maybe some I don't know) Paying $6-7 a year to play at the Open level is worthwhile because it prepares you for D1 college volleyball. If you don't care about playing at the Open level, there are many clubs playing at the USA/American/Liberty levels, and some of them charge far less. |
Anonymous
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Hi, I'm the person who asked the "Why is Metro so expensive?" question. Thanks for all the feedback!
I want my DD to continue playing club volleyball, and If Metro is not an option, then does anybody know any other clubs near Virginia that have good coaching/staff and do well in tournaments like Metro? I've heard great things about MVSA, but it's super far from where I live. I've also heard that VolleyViet's coaching isn't that great either. Clubs like Paramount/VAJ are way too expensive. I can't seem to find any well preforming clubs that are reasonably priced! Does anybody else have this problem? |
Anonymous
I wanted the best for my DD, so I also thought she should play for Metro Travel. I was pretty clueless and I didn't accept that my DD didn't have the talent and the experience required to play at that level. It took one clinic to realize that my DD would have no chance of making the team. I was still hoping that she would make it into MVSA, which turned out to be another silly thought. She eventually made it into an average club and we all became more realistic about her options. It's not about what you want for your DD, it is about whether she can make a team. You should first figure out whether your DD can make any of these teams that you are trying to compare. Regarding prices, VA clubs charge almost double compared to MD clubs (probably triple compared to MVSA). I could not find any reason why the prices in VA are so much higher. My best guess is that they run pretty good profit margins and they are shamelessly milking the parents. It feels like they compete against each other in tournaments, but they have this agreement behind the scenes to keep the prices artificially high, with no relationship with how much it actually costs to run the clubs. Too bad if you cannot afford it, there are enough other families who are willing to throw money at them. |
Anonymous
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OP here. My DD started last year, but has already improved a lot. She is going into the 14s age group this year, and is willing to work super hard for a chance to play in high competition clubs, but we just haven't found any that are a good choice for us. The three most important things my DD considers when choosing a club is the
1. Cost - Paying thousands of dollars per season is extremely expensive. 2. Practice Location - If the practice location is very far away, then we obviously cannot drive there 2-3x per week. (I live near DC so traffic is crazy) 3. Coaching - My DD says this is the most important one because even if her teamates aren't good at the sport, with proper coaching she can develop into a very strong player, and so can the rest of the girls. Let me know if there are any clubs out there that you would recommend! |
Anonymous
What club has she played for this past season? |
Anonymous
| She has played for VolleyViet and started on their 13s team. She's specifically looking for clubs with great coaches. |
Anonymous
Financially speaking, your best bet is to continue playing for VolleyViet. It is not a top club, but it is very decent and a unicorn in the VA club scene. Based on how the discussion went so far, I feel like your major issue is coaching. I don't know much about their coaches, but they seemed ok from the sidelines when we played against VV. Looking for the perfect coach can be very elusive because the way I perceive perfect coaching may be very different from how you imagine it, and probably different from how your DD imagines it. In a previous post, you said that your DD has already improved a lot, which may be a sign of good coaching, despite of what you (or your DD) may consider otherwise. People may tell you that coaching at another club is better, but nobody can guarantee that you will get what you (or your DD) imagines as "better coaching". My DD had good coaches so far, but they were never perfect (and I doubt that you will ever find a coach that you would consider perfect). Try to define what went wrong and what you thing will change by moving to a different club. You may think about leaving the club for what you (or your DD) perceive as poor coaching and nobody can blame you (you will make another U14 very happy for the spot that opens up in VV). If your DD is one of the top VV players and feels like the rest of the team holds back her development, you should definitely do it. This would be a good time to move to a more competitive club if your DD wants to play in college (and you feel like she has the chance). Was there a language barrier? Does the team dynamics play any role in the decision? Moving to another club can be a coin toss: the team dynamics may be better or worse. If you decide to move, get ready to pay at least 4-5x the club fees compared to how much you paid at VV. If I were in your shoes, I would try to stay with VV (my DD is at that general level and she won't play in college). Good luck with your decision! |
Anonymous
Maybe MOCO? They practice generally in close in Montgomery County, MD which can be manageable from close to DC, depending on where you live. Their fees are on the lower side although not as cheap as VV or MVSA https://www.mocovc.org/clubfees. While they’re not generally considered among the top tier of CHRVA clubs, their 1s teams seem to be decent and get pretty good results. In terms of coaching, I think it’s a bit mixed, but whether coaching is good or not tends to be rather subjective anyway. As others have suggested, try to get some exposure to clubs/coaches through summer/fall clinics and camps. The unfortunate reality is the top tier of CHRVA clubs tend to be on the more expensive end of the price spectrum. Some of the reasons for that make sense - having more practices, higher caliber coaches, and going to qualifiers where teams can play high level competition from across the country, all drive the price up. MVSA is a bit of a unicorn with a decades long history of prioritizing keeping fees low. The model of being non-profit, with volunteer coaches, no frills practice space at public schools, and low cost jerseys/not much other swag allows them to really keep things inexpensive. While someone could potentially replicate their approach, it would be a lot of work to take on without an expectation of getting any return on that investment. |
Anonymous
Here is the honest truth about VV. They are a bargain and a fraction of what you will, as the other poster already said. Other clubs will be 5-7k or more in the area. They are also extremely loyal towards returning players. Your daughter will have priority at tryouts next year, especially if she plays their fall league as an 8th grader. She will be offered a spot. This is good and bad. You will see players offered spots year after year because of loyalty. It will hold some teams back. Top players won’t be offered a spot at tryouts. So weigh your options and decide what is important. It is a decent club and you will save tens of thousands of dollars if they have a team every year. They don’t announce teams until later and have ones for every age. My daughter tried out and was not offered a spot at an older age group last year. She was an experienced club player and there were so many girls at the tryouts. Most on the team were returning players. The cost was our motivation and the coaching is good. |