Gaithersburg rec volleyball worth it from Silver Spring?

[Anonymous]

We’re in Silver Spring and I keep seeing Gaithersburg rec volleyball recommended on here. Is it really that good?

It would be about a 35 min drive for us so I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it vs MoCo rec or one of the club rec options. Is Gaithersburg better organized or better for beginners or is it just kind of the same as any rec league?

[Anonymous]

Have you tried any of the other options, OP? Montgomery County rec league is pretty much beginner level and can be frustrating for those who have been doing rec clinics for one year or more. I don’t have personal experience with Gaithersburg or club rec. DD went from Montgomery County rec league in 8th grade, JV school team in 9th and then coed rec league. Coed tends to have higher level of play bc the boys play pretty hard. After that, DD had exceeded the skill level of rec league and started club.

[Anonymous]

You’ll need to define “good” and “worth it”. At 10, your player is very young. Are you trying to build skill? Love for the game? Fun? And how much will make you happy?

Here are the similarities and differences:

Instruction:

MVSA: the beginner levels play newcomb. It’s not volleyball, but a precursor to volleyball. It helps with throwing mechanics and eye/ hand coordination. Instruction is on a set curriculum and it is mainly carried out by parent volunteers. There is a coach who knows about volleyball but that coach is working between 2-3 teams each practice. The parent volunteer may not know anything about volleyball…

Gaithersburg rec: the instruction by team is going to vary wildly. This is because it’s mainly staffed by volunteers. You’ll have some good folks like Coach Juan who typically coaches there in the fall (look up bears vc- he’s also varsity coach at CEDJDS) but most are parent volunteers. You can request a specific coach and team when you sign up. Some teams have been together for a bit and others are placed by the staff office. If you are going this route, your kid will have more fun if they are placed with someone they know, eg entire teams are made up of people from certain schools.

Learnings:

Neither one of these experiences will prepare you for club play even at the u10 or u11 level. It’s really meant for exposure, interest, etc.

If that is what you want, you would be much better off going to a more technical fall season / clinic. I’ve spoken to folks who had a good experience at RVA, Bethesda Volleyball Academy and Metro for this age group. A few clubs are opening up new experiences for this fall so you can try that out too.

[Anonymous]

Replied on the wrong thread…I’m going to repost it in the other one.