Volleyball non-profit

[Anonymous]

I'm exploring the possibility of starting a volleyball non-profit to fill a gap: affordable, quality programming between rec and club volleyball. Ideally through teams that offer solid coaching and competitive play through local tournaments, without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball. To keep fees manageable, the practices would be led by qualified coaches with assistance from parent volunteers.

Before anything could happen, there are significant roadblocks: registering as a non-profit, then with CHRVA, and navigating all the legal requirements (including insurance). Most critically, success would depend on finding qualified coaches (including parents) willing to volunteer their time. I am being realistic that this could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, but anything in between is also possible.

This might be a really good option for families who are realistic about their kids chances of pursuing college volleyball, but want them to be part of a team, develop skills beyond rec level, and are fine with local competition rather than spending weekends in hotels. For families looking for the full club experience with extensive travel, traditional clubs remain a better fit. The best start would be at the 13, 14, 15, and 16 level, when we see most of the demand.

Does this concept resonate with anyone else? Am I identifying a real gap, or am I missing something that's already available? I am genuinely interested in hearing perspectives (both supportive and skeptical) before deciding whether to pursue the legal groundwork.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm exploring the possibility of starting a volleyball non-profit to fill a gap: affordable, quality programming between rec and club volleyball. Ideally through teams that offer solid coaching and competitive play through local tournaments, without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball. To keep fees manageable, the practices would be led by qualified coaches with assistance from parent volunteers.

Before anything could happen, there are significant roadblocks: registering as a non-profit, then with CHRVA, and navigating all the legal requirements (including insurance). Most critically, success would depend on finding qualified coaches (including parents) willing to volunteer their time. I am being realistic that this could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, but anything in between is also possible.

This might be a really good option for families who are realistic about their kids chances of pursuing college volleyball, but want them to be part of a team, develop skills beyond rec level, and are fine with local competition rather than spending weekends in hotels. For families looking for the full club experience with extensive travel, traditional clubs remain a better fit. The best start would be at the 13, 14, 15, and 16 level, when we see most of the demand.

Does this concept resonate with anyone else? Am I identifying a real gap, or am I missing something that's already available? I am genuinely interested in hearing perspectives (both supportive and skeptical) before deciding whether to pursue the legal groundwork.

Sounds a lot like Starlings https://www.starlings.org/

Perhaps you could start a local Starlings club taking advantage of their infrastructure. I think there used to be a Starlings club in Baltimore, but I don’t see it listed so perhaps it’s no longer active.

Also, while it’s not always widely advertised, many clubs offer scholarships or reduced/waived fees in cases of demonstrated financial need.

[Anonymous]

Also sounds a bit like VolleyViet: https://www.volleyviet.com/ although their teams do travel a bit.

[Anonymous]

I think there is a need. My daughter is 16 and decided not to play club this year. She played on a travel team last year but didn’t want the schedule this year. She still loves volleyball and wants to play competitively and was going to look into adult open gyms or leagues, if that’s even possible. Rec wouldn’t be fun for her anymore.

There are plenty in HS who don’t want the commitment of club who love the sport and want to continue playing and parents that would help. We are in VA.

[Anonymous]

I really love this idea, and this is exactly what we're looking for, for our 14u DD. We can't commit to club, but she's way beyond rec level. What area are you thinking? I'll sign up now haha!

[Anonymous]

Also, just because you are a non-profit does not mean that you can't have paid coaches. Please do not plan to have parent coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm exploring the possibility of starting a volleyball non-profit to fill a gap: affordable, quality programming between rec and club volleyball. Ideally through teams that offer solid coaching and competitive play through local tournaments, without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball. To keep fees manageable, the practices would be led by qualified coaches with assistance from parent volunteers.

Before anything could happen, there are significant roadblocks: registering as a non-profit, then with CHRVA, and navigating all the legal requirements (including insurance). Most critically, success would depend on finding qualified coaches (including parents) willing to volunteer their time. I am being realistic that this could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, but anything in between is also possible.

This might be a really good option for families who are realistic about their kids chances of pursuing college volleyball, but want them to be part of a team, develop skills beyond rec level, and are fine with local competition rather than spending weekends in hotels. For families looking for the full club experience with extensive travel, traditional clubs remain a better fit. The best start would be at the 13, 14, 15, and 16 level, when we see most of the demand.

Does this concept resonate with anyone else? Am I identifying a real gap, or am I missing something that's already available? I am genuinely interested in hearing perspectives (both supportive and skeptical) before deciding whether to pursue the legal groundwork.

Sounds a lot like Starlings https://www.starlings.org/

Perhaps you could start a local Starlings club taking advantage of their infrastructure. I think there used to be a Starlings club in Baltimore, but I don’t see it listed so perhaps it’s no longer active.

Also, while it’s not always widely advertised, many clubs offer scholarships or reduced/waived fees in cases of demonstrated financial need.

Starlings' mission is linked to impacting the lives of at-risk girls. I don't think the risk they are talking about is related to girls who cannot or don't want to commit to the existing volleyball infrastructure.

[Anonymous]

I would like this too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm exploring the possibility of starting a volleyball non-profit to fill a gap: affordable, quality programming between rec and club volleyball. Ideally through teams that offer solid coaching and competitive play through local tournaments, without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball. To keep fees manageable, the practices would be led by qualified coaches with assistance from parent volunteers.

Before anything could happen, there are significant roadblocks: registering as a non-profit, then with CHRVA, and navigating all the legal requirements (including insurance). Most critically, success would depend on finding qualified coaches (including parents) willing to volunteer their time. I am being realistic that this could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, but anything in between is also possible.

This might be a really good option for families who are realistic about their kids chances of pursuing college volleyball, but want them to be part of a team, develop skills beyond rec level, and are fine with local competition rather than spending weekends in hotels. For families looking for the full club experience with extensive travel, traditional clubs remain a better fit. The best start would be at the 13, 14, 15, and 16 level, when we see most of the demand.

Does this concept resonate with anyone else? Am I identifying a real gap, or am I missing something that's already available? I am genuinely interested in hearing perspectives (both supportive and skeptical) before deciding whether to pursue the legal groundwork.

Sounds a lot like Starlings https://www.starlings.org/

Perhaps you could start a local Starlings club taking advantage of their infrastructure. I think there used to be a Starlings club in Baltimore, but I don’t see it listed so perhaps it’s no longer active.

Also, while it’s not always widely advertised, many clubs offer scholarships or reduced/waived fees in cases of demonstrated financial need.

Starlings' mission is linked to impacting the lives of at-risk girls. I don't think the risk they are talking about is related to girls who cannot or don't want to commit to the existing volleyball infrastructure.

That’s fair, although the OP described the idea as a non-profit which at least suggests there would some public-serving purpose that could justify being tax-exempt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a need. My daughter is 16 and decided not to play club this year. She played on a travel team last year but didn’t want the schedule this year. She still loves volleyball and wants to play competitively and was going to look into adult open gyms or leagues, if that’s even possible. Rec wouldn’t be fun for her anymore.

There are plenty in HS who don’t want the commitment of club who love the sport and want to continue playing and parents that would help. We are in VA.

The trend of dropping off from club volleyball after 16 is obvious: just look how many clubs struggle to field their 17s and 18s teams. Most of it comes with the disappointment of players not making their varsity teams. They don't see a good reason to continue spending so much time and money if this is a dead end. And it doesn't help that most clubs are all about travelling and making as much money as possible. This is what likely turns off a lot of families as they finally pull the plug on club volleyball. If there was a more reasonable option, I am sure a lot of girls would decide to keep playing volleyball.

[Anonymous]

The idea is nice in concept, but I think it may be harder to execute than you would think.

Who would the team play against?
In CHRVA tournaments —only local?
That exists today in the form of regional teams that do minimal to no travel. Or, it exists today in things like NVVA's Galaxy program, which sits between rec leagues and clubs in my opinion: https://www.nvva.com/galaxy or XPerformance? https://www.xp-volleyball.com/
XPerformance has no travel from what I can see.

Where would you practice? A significant cost for teams is the cost of practice facilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm exploring the possibility of starting a volleyball non-profit to fill a gap: affordable, quality programming between rec and club volleyball. Ideally through teams that offer solid coaching and competitive play through local tournaments, without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball. To keep fees manageable, the practices would be led by qualified coaches with assistance from parent volunteers.

Before anything could happen, there are significant roadblocks: registering as a non-profit, then with CHRVA, and navigating all the legal requirements (including insurance). Most critically, success would depend on finding qualified coaches (including parents) willing to volunteer their time. I am being realistic that this could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, but anything in between is also possible.

This might be a really good option for families who are realistic about their kids chances of pursuing college volleyball, but want them to be part of a team, develop skills beyond rec level, and are fine with local competition rather than spending weekends in hotels. For families looking for the full club experience with extensive travel, traditional clubs remain a better fit. The best start would be at the 13, 14, 15, and 16 level, when we see most of the demand.

Does this concept resonate with anyone else? Am I identifying a real gap, or am I missing something that's already available? I am genuinely interested in hearing perspectives (both supportive and skeptical) before deciding whether to pursue the legal groundwork.

The idea and concept is good ! I would say the first thing you should consider is facility and location. Gym space is hard to find, especially in premium locations that can attract interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm exploring the possibility of starting a volleyball non-profit to fill a gap: affordable, quality programming between rec and club volleyball. Ideally through teams that offer solid coaching and competitive play through local tournaments, without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball. To keep fees manageable, the practices would be led by qualified coaches with assistance from parent volunteers.

Before anything could happen, there are significant roadblocks: registering as a non-profit, then with CHRVA, and navigating all the legal requirements (including insurance). Most critically, success would depend on finding qualified coaches (including parents) willing to volunteer their time. I am being realistic that this could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, but anything in between is also possible.

This might be a really good option for families who are realistic about their kids chances of pursuing college volleyball, but want them to be part of a team, develop skills beyond rec level, and are fine with local competition rather than spending weekends in hotels. For families looking for the full club experience with extensive travel, traditional clubs remain a better fit. The best start would be at the 13, 14, 15, and 16 level, when we see most of the demand.

Does this concept resonate with anyone else? Am I identifying a real gap, or am I missing something that's already available? I am genuinely interested in hearing perspectives (both supportive and skeptical) before deciding whether to pursue the legal groundwork.

Sounds a lot like Starlings https://www.starlings.org/

Perhaps you could start a local Starlings club taking advantage of their infrastructure. I think there used to be a Starlings club in Baltimore, but I don’t see it listed so perhaps it’s no longer active.

Also, while it’s not always widely advertised, many clubs offer scholarships or reduced/waived fees in cases of demonstrated financial need.

Starlings' mission is linked to impacting the lives of at-risk girls. I don't think the risk they are talking about is related to girls who cannot or don't want to commit to the existing volleyball infrastructure.

That’s fair, although the OP described the idea as a non-profit which at least suggests there would some public-serving purpose that could justify being tax-exempt.

It is true that such a mission would make it easy to get the tax-exempt status. However, MVSA got its tax exempt status for providing an affordable option for girls to play sports. That's just an example of a non-profit that doesn't target the at-risk girl population. Unfortunately, MVSA is not an option for the vast majority of volleyball players because they can afford to be very selective. Those who cannot make MVSA are picked up by for-profit clubs. Based on their skill level, most of those girls don't really need to travel to find competition at their level. This travel is a way for some clubs to demonstrate that they are competitive (when - in fact - most of their teams are not).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm exploring the possibility of starting a volleyball non-profit to fill a gap: affordable, quality programming between rec and club volleyball. Ideally through teams that offer solid coaching and competitive play through local tournaments, without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball. To keep fees manageable, the practices would be led by qualified coaches with assistance from parent volunteers.

Before anything could happen, there are significant roadblocks: registering as a non-profit, then with CHRVA, and navigating all the legal requirements (including insurance). Most critically, success would depend on finding qualified coaches (including parents) willing to volunteer their time. I am being realistic that this could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, but anything in between is also possible.

This might be a really good option for families who are realistic about their kids chances of pursuing college volleyball, but want them to be part of a team, develop skills beyond rec level, and are fine with local competition rather than spending weekends in hotels. For families looking for the full club experience with extensive travel, traditional clubs remain a better fit. The best start would be at the 13, 14, 15, and 16 level, when we see most of the demand.

Does this concept resonate with anyone else? Am I identifying a real gap, or am I missing something that's already available? I am genuinely interested in hearing perspectives (both supportive and skeptical) before deciding whether to pursue the legal groundwork.

Sounds a lot like Starlings https://www.starlings.org/

Perhaps you could start a local Starlings club taking advantage of their infrastructure. I think there used to be a Starlings club in Baltimore, but I don’t see it listed so perhaps it’s no longer active.

Also, while it’s not always widely advertised, many clubs offer scholarships or reduced/waived fees in cases of demonstrated financial need.

Why do you think financial need is the point here? How about a family who wants to focus on academics (hint-hint - their player is unlikely to play in college) and they don't want to spend long weekends in hotels, especially if a major test is coming on Monday? They may well afford playing club, but the schedule is too crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Why do you think financial need is the point here? How about a family who wants to focus on academics (hint-hint - their player is unlikely to play in college) and they don't want to spend long weekends in hotels, especially if a major test is coming on Monday? They may well afford playing club, but the schedule is too crazy.

I am not the person you are responding to, but OP started the thread with a paragraph that talks about finances... 1) non-profit; 2) "to fill a gap [in] affordable..."; 3) "without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball"; 4) "To keep fees manageable".

If you are OP and this wasn't about the finances of club volleyball, it is very easy to see why someone else would have reasonably believed it was!