Feedback on Libero Volleyball Club -U14s

[Anonymous]

If you have experience with Libero Volleyball Club, would love to hear your feedback, bonus if it’s U14. My daughter recently tried a clinic there and was not impressed, so wondering if it’s a club worth considering this fall. The club seems to have a good reputation. Are the travel team coaches good? How many girls do they recruit per team? Any other experience - good or bad - would love for hear. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Did they even have a u14 team this year? Heard they didn’t get enough takers and only had a regional team.

[Anonymous]

If you’re going into U14, have nothing but good things to say about the U13 team and coaches.

They don't have a u14 team this year. I don’t know why…

Turnover rate:
First, most of the U13 team has been together for two years. It’s something like 90% retention over the last two years. The parents and players are low drama - everyone just wants to play volleyball and are committed to making volleyball happen for the girls. Most are likely to come back again next year (there are a couple of 8th graders who MAY want to try another sport, some other schedule, different experience etc)

Player development:
The head coach (and club overall) believes in overall player development. What this means is that everyone knows how to do the fundamentals very well: serve, pass, serve receive, defense, hit, block. The girls are not specializing in a particular role at this age - they run rotations but you won’t see the girls as a designated OH, MB, RS, DS and ONLY getting reps in their positions (this may change in 14s). As a result the players learn all positions. The caveat is that there is an emphasis given to liberos and setters for specialized skill work.

For instance, my player was a MB and came with a lot of training in that role. Through her time at Libero, has learned how to hit pipe, hit the “4s” as a OH instead of the “1s” as a MB (inclusive of timing and transitions), gained confidence on serve receive and defense (was not even a thing since she was subbed out in the back row) and has even begun work on setting and back setting - just because it was taught to her. And the entire team knows how to do a slide (which in my experience was only taught to MBs).

The idea is that you have no idea how your child will develop once they reach high school. To give the girls the best opportunity to play hs ball, they need to be versatile (eg they may be the tallest in club ball so will be put in the middle but on the shorter side in high school ball and may be the libero. Or, they may need a RS and you only know how to set).

Coaching style:
This isn’t the place where you’ll hear the coach calling the players “girlie” or doing tik toks with them. But it also isn’t the place where they’ll be yelled at, belittled or have their confidence shot with no playing time.

They’re coaching for technique and development. They’re not necessarily chasing wins but the wins are a good byproduct of all of the effort put in. You sign up and know practice is 4 days a week, three hours each practice with conditioning and film included. It is a lot but it is what it is. Everyone knows what they signed up for and are committed to it.

The head and assistant coaches are both direct, no-nonsense but also hold space for this age group. They’re also moms of which helps them understand this phase of life to hold space for the silly but expectations for effort and accountability to the team. Both coaches were high level college players who also know how to coach at a variety of levels. If a player is doing something incorrectly, they have many ways to help a player improve technique.

Culture:
This is a place where they want the players to love the game and work hard to develop your craft.

You’re not going to hear parents or players talking about team rankings vis a vis other teams in the region, there isn’t an issue with playing time due to the light roster and everyone being able to play most positions. You’re not going to hear parents complaining about the coaching because these folks know how to coach.

The club director and coaches are direct and communicative. Standards are enforced, everyone is treated fairly, and no is a complete sentence. What is most important to me is that an explanation is given - not “trust the process” or something vague that ends up being a non-answer.

Happy to answer any specific questions.

[Anonymous]

My DD hasn’t gone to the spring clinics but loves the fall and invite clinics and will likely go again this year. I don’t know if they are different. Libero has some of her favorite training because of the coaches and she gets a good workout.

But, she won’t be trying out for the team. Their schedule is very intense. It’s the most intense in the area and the hours are just too much. That’s her reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re going into U14, have nothing but good things to say about the U13 team and coaches.

They don't have a u14 team this year. I don’t know why…

Turnover rate:
First, most of the U13 team has been together for two years. It’s something like 90% retention over the last two years. The parents and players are low drama - everyone just wants to play volleyball and are committed to making volleyball happen for the girls. Most are likely to come back again next year (there are a couple of 8th graders who MAY want to try another sport, some other schedule, different experience etc)

Player development:
The head coach (and club overall) believes in overall player development. What this means is that everyone knows how to do the fundamentals very well: serve, pass, serve receive, defense, hit, block. The girls are not specializing in a particular role at this age - they run rotations but you won’t see the girls as a designated OH, MB, RS, DS and ONLY getting reps in their positions (this may change in 14s). As a result the players learn all positions. The caveat is that there is an emphasis given to liberos and setters for specialized skill work.

For instance, my player was a MB and came with a lot of training in that role. Through her time at Libero, has learned how to hit pipe, hit the “4s” as a OH instead of the “1s” as a MB (inclusive of timing and transitions), gained confidence on serve receive and defense (was not even a thing since she was subbed out in the back row) and has even begun work on setting and back setting - just because it was taught to her. And the entire team knows how to do a slide (which in my experience was only taught to MBs).

The idea is that you have no idea how your child will develop once they reach high school. To give the girls the best opportunity to play hs ball, they need to be versatile (eg they may be the tallest in club ball so will be put in the middle but on the shorter side in high school ball and may be the libero. Or, they may need a RS and you only know how to set).

Coaching style:
This isn’t the place where you’ll hear the coach calling the players “girlie” or doing tik toks with them. But it also isn’t the place where they’ll be yelled at, belittled or have their confidence shot with no playing time.

They’re coaching for technique and development. They’re not necessarily chasing wins but the wins are a good byproduct of all of the effort put in. You sign up and know practice is 4 days a week, three hours each practice with conditioning and film included. It is a lot but it is what it is. Everyone knows what they signed up for and are committed to it.

The head and assistant coaches are both direct, no-nonsense but also hold space for this age group. They’re also moms of which helps them understand this phase of life to hold space for the silly but expectations for effort and accountability to the team. Both coaches were high level college players who also know how to coach at a variety of levels. If a player is doing something incorrectly, they have many ways to help a player improve technique.

Culture:
This is a place where they want the players to love the game and work hard to develop your craft.

You’re not going to hear parents or players talking about team rankings vis a vis other teams in the region, there isn’t an issue with playing time due to the light roster and everyone being able to play most positions. You’re not going to hear parents complaining about the coaching because these folks know how to coach.

The club director and coaches are direct and communicative. Standards are enforced, everyone is treated fairly, and no is a complete sentence. What is most important to me is that an explanation is given - not “trust the process” or something vague that ends up being a non-answer.

Happy to answer any specific questions.

This is a really terrific summary - Libero sounds terrific!

[Anonymous]

Their club has always done a good job at young player development. Really strong players then look elsewhere after they get basics. There is a reason they have not often had older teams. The last time they tried nobody showed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re going into U14, have nothing but good things to say about the U13 team and coaches.

They don't have a u14 team this year. I don’t know why…

Turnover rate:
First, most of the U13 team has been together for two years. It’s something like 90% retention over the last two years. The parents and players are low drama - everyone just wants to play volleyball and are committed to making volleyball happen for the girls. Most are likely to come back again next year (there are a couple of 8th graders who MAY want to try another sport, some other schedule, different experience etc)

Player development:
The head coach (and club overall) believes in overall player development. What this means is that everyone knows how to do the fundamentals very well: serve, pass, serve receive, defense, hit, block. The girls are not specializing in a particular role at this age - they run rotations but you won’t see the girls as a designated OH, MB, RS, DS and ONLY getting reps in their positions (this may change in 14s). As a result the players learn all positions. The caveat is that there is an emphasis given to liberos and setters for specialized skill work.

For instance, my player was a MB and came with a lot of training in that role. Through her time at Libero, has learned how to hit pipe, hit the “4s” as a OH instead of the “1s” as a MB (inclusive of timing and transitions), gained confidence on serve receive and defense (was not even a thing since she was subbed out in the back row) and has even begun work on setting and back setting - just because it was taught to her. And the entire team knows how to do a slide (which in my experience was only taught to MBs).

The idea is that you have no idea how your child will develop once they reach high school. To give the girls the best opportunity to play hs ball, they need to be versatile (eg they may be the tallest in club ball so will be put in the middle but on the shorter side in high school ball and may be the libero. Or, they may need a RS and you only know how to set).

Coaching style:
This isn’t the place where you’ll hear the coach calling the players “girlie” or doing tik toks with them. But it also isn’t the place where they’ll be yelled at, belittled or have their confidence shot with no playing time.

They’re coaching for technique and development. They’re not necessarily chasing wins but the wins are a good byproduct of all of the effort put in. You sign up and know practice is 4 days a week, three hours each practice with conditioning and film included. It is a lot but it is what it is. Everyone knows what they signed up for and are committed to it.

The head and assistant coaches are both direct, no-nonsense but also hold space for this age group. They’re also moms of which helps them understand this phase of life to hold space for the silly but expectations for effort and accountability to the team. Both coaches were high level college players who also know how to coach at a variety of levels. If a player is doing something incorrectly, they have many ways to help a player improve technique.

Culture:
This is a place where they want the players to love the game and work hard to develop your craft.

You’re not going to hear parents or players talking about team rankings vis a vis other teams in the region, there isn’t an issue with playing time due to the light roster and everyone being able to play most positions. You’re not going to hear parents complaining about the coaching because these folks know how to coach.

The club director and coaches are direct and communicative. Standards are enforced, everyone is treated fairly, and no is a complete sentence. What is most important to me is that an explanation is given - not “trust the process” or something vague that ends up being a non-answer.

Happy to answer any specific questions.

Sounds like your DD had a great experience this year. Seems like they’re trying to develop this year’s U13 into a U14 team - is that right? Would you stay if they fielded a U14 National team this year? Or is 14 the age when players move on to other clubs? And what other clubs do they typically move on to?

[Anonymous]

I believe that many of the U13 players will return to become part of the U14 team. The head coach for U13 is also moving up with the team, so there is continuity.

It seems like the exit point for folks is U14 / U15. What I’ve heard (not from the club but other coaches) is that U15 is the 2nd influx of people into volleyball since it’s the freshman year for most. The thought could be that people exit to “better” clubs at 14 to try and have an easier time getting a spot before the 15s influx. I don’t know how true any of this is, really. Paramount and VA Juniors are popular places for people to land.

Libero has a full U15s team that is good. Their U16 team is very good, having earned a bid this year and competed at a few qualifiers around the country.

Will I come back? If it was up to me, the answer is yes provided tryouts go well (everyone tries out).This place surpasses anything I could ask for in my criteria: player development, coaching, quality reps and culture. But it’s not about me. 😬

We are going to use the summer as a collection of data points. The data will tell the story of where to tryout and what the criteria and questions are. **feel free to stop reading here…the rest is not anything you asked about**

Here is what we are discussing / thinking about:

1) Where do you stand in relation to others in your desired role(s) at your desired team(s)?

One of the trusted coaches we talked to said that if the top teams wanted you, they would find you. Poaching is a thing - the Liberos of the world develop players and then the players get poached. There’s some truth to that.

And, you have to be good enough to beat someone out for a spot. Starting or not. The camps and clinics will show if not being 6’ with a 10’ approach jump can even get her considered.

2) Will she play?
We’ve spoken to quite a few coaches and families who made these “top” teams and were promised a lot of things. Instead, $20K later and a whole lot of frustration, their player spent the season on the bench or carrying a clip board never having seen the court during tournament play. I think this is related to question 1 - will DD be a true consideration as a player or a roster filler?

3) Will they develop you?
We have been on teams where the coaching was extractive. You can block. Great. You can hit. Great. Keep doing the same things. Nothing was taught to up the game/ iq/ skill. Libero told me that whatever we do this summer, my DD has to focus on passing because if you pass well, you’re more likely to play. Not a surprise since she was a middle whi very rarely passed who now plays a variety of positions. But appreciated because they’re looking at her specifically and can see where the biggest ROI can happen with investment.

More than that, I’d love a coach that knows how to translate the skills needed to each player; has the patience to work through skill growth but also get the best out of them…kind of like what we expect of our teachers in school. Libero already does this.

4) Culture
The grass isn’t always greener. We came from a place that almost killed her love for the game through lackluster coaching & leadership, toxicity in parents and players and ultimately her feeling like she had to shrink herself to “fit in” in order to play her best.

She would love to find a place with good competition. Side note these rankings don’t compare apples to apples because many of the 1s/ national/ travel teams were playing club while others were playing open. Good competition looks like not playing teams where tournaments are blowouts of other teams and similarly where the team isn’t getting blown out. Perhaps looking for challenging teams with opportunities for success.

She would also love to play with “Joy”. Play free. Play because she loves it.

This is the harder one- can competition and joy exist in a club team?

The final piece is the systems. Going from 2x / week to 4x / week practice was a huge shift. Right now, I’m the manager of all the things and she just shows up. I’d like to be the coordinator and have her drive more of it: meal prep (nutrition/ hydration), sleeping, scheduling, help with housework etc. This shows me that she really wants this lifestyle for the next few years. Thankfully, grades are good, so I’m more worried about raising a good human than one who feels entitled to have everything worked out for her and not understand the effort that goes into it.