Volleyball club- recap and thoughts

[Anonymous]

The VAE brand has been 100% college commitment for a very long time. That’s not a strawman — it’s quite literally been their brand,
Current as of today:

VAE instagram bio: “ Excellence Leadership Initiative Teamwork Enjoyment (ELITE)
• 100% athlete commitment rate 💯
#WeAreElite 🏐💙”

With roster limits and the portal, 100% college commitment is likely not a reasonable goal for any club in this region except Metro. But it would be dishonest to pretend that VAE wasn’t marketing 100% commitment (no caveats) as recently as last year.

[Anonymous]

I think this discussion should go on a thread dedicated to Vienna Elite. Everything discussed on this thread will soon be buried and difficult to find.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Va Elite does not graduate with 100% recruitment. Check the number of players against the final list of recruits. Class of 2023 should not include one player that was rostered with a different club that year. There were 12 players and only 8 recruits including the player who was not on their 18s team. Math counts.

Has anyone claimed 100% recruitment, or you just enjoy punching straw men?

Not the PP, but here is the exact marketing from VA Elite's website:

"Why Virginia Elite?....The Recruiting. Virginia Elite is committed to developing the best volleyball athletes in the DMV area and preparing them to play at the collegiate level. As your athlete prepares for the recruiting process, we become each athlete’s advocate and will support her decision to play at the next level. At Virginia Elite we have a dedicated recruiting staff whose primary objective is to help athletes and families navigate through this difficult and often times stressful process. Over the 17 years of our club's existence, we maintain a 100% placement rate, for all those that choose to play at the next level."

Yes, there is a caveat--"choose to play", but they definitely claim 100%, it is not a straw man. It’s a big part of their marketing and their direct conversations with players they are trying to recruit from other clubs. Its also not unheard of for them not to take players on the 18s team because they know they don't want to play in college or aren't being recruited by the types of schools they prefer.

100% of VA Elite players who go on to play in college were recruited to play in college!

I have also heard tales of VA Elite not taking girls for their 18s season because they decide they don’t want to play in college. On the flip side, I heard of a player that was recruited to a D1 program while a VA Elite 17 and their future college coach encouraged them to play at a more competitive club for their 18s year so they’d be better prepared when they got to college (and she ended up making and playing for Metro 18 Travel).

On the topic of VA Elite recruiting, there is always a lot of talk about high academic D3. Folks need to understand that these are still highly qualified students who had a legit shot of getting into that school anyway. In D3, they aren’t admitting students not capable of succeeding at the school because they want them for sports. Obviously, at a school with a 5% or 10% acceptance rate, they turn away many highly qualified applicants and being a recruited athlete can help a qualified student get into the “yes” pile, but don’t think that volleyball is going to get a player with a 3.3 GPA and 1050 SAT score into Hopkins, MIT, or Carnegie Mellon.

[b]

Spot on. There is little to no relief in Academic standards for kids looking to play D3 on UAA and NESCAC teams. But if you have the academics a 99% chance for Williams or WashU is a pretty nice prize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Va Elite does not graduate with 100% recruitment. Check the number of players against the final list of recruits. Class of 2023 should not include one player that was rostered with a different club that year. There were 12 players and only 8 recruits including the player who was not on their 18s team. Math counts.

Has anyone claimed 100% recruitment, or you just enjoy punching straw men?

Not the PP, but here is the exact marketing from VA Elite's website:

"Why Virginia Elite?....The Recruiting. Virginia Elite is committed to developing the best volleyball athletes in the DMV area and preparing them to play at the collegiate level. As your athlete prepares for the recruiting process, we become each athlete’s advocate and will support her decision to play at the next level. At Virginia Elite we have a dedicated recruiting staff whose primary objective is to help athletes and families navigate through this difficult and often times stressful process. Over the 17 years of our club's existence, we maintain a 100% placement rate, for all those that choose to play at the next level."

Yes, there is a caveat--"choose to play", but they definitely claim 100%, it is not a straw man. It’s a big part of their marketing and their direct conversations with players they are trying to recruit from other clubs. Its also not unheard of for them not to take players on the 18s team because they know they don't want to play in college or aren't being recruited by the types of schools they prefer.

100% of VA Elite players who go on to play in college were recruited to play in college!

I have also heard tales of VA Elite not taking girls for their 18s season because they decide they don’t want to play in college. On the flip side, I heard of a player that was recruited to a D1 program while a VA Elite 17 and their future college coach encouraged them to play at a more competitive club for their 18s year so they’d be better prepared when they got to college (and she ended up making and playing for Metro 18 Travel).

On the topic of VA Elite recruiting, there is always a lot of talk about high academic D3. Folks need to understand that these are still highly qualified students who had a legit shot of getting into that school anyway. In D3, they aren’t admitting students not capable of succeeding at the school because they want them for sports. Obviously, at a school with a 5% or 10% acceptance rate, they turn away many highly qualified applicants and being a recruited athlete can help a qualified student get into the “yes” pile, but don’t think that volleyball is going to get a player with a 3.3 GPA and 1050 SAT score into Hopkins, MIT, or Carnegie Mellon.

[b]

Spot on. There is little to no relief in Academic standards for kids looking to play D3 on UAA and NESCAC teams. But if you have the academics a 99% chance for Williams or WashU is a pretty nice prize.

.

Completely agree, these places have sub 10% admission percentages - Volleyball can help jump the queue, as long as you have the minimum academic qualifications. The more the coach wants your kid, the more flexible they are about academics (as long as the bare minimum is there)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

DD wants to try out there but it will be a tough team to make. I’m sure parents still attend and watch, so you will still be paying more for travel! Yes, we paid around 10k last year with travel. I purposely don’t want to add it all up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

DD wants to try out there but it will be a tough team to make. I’m sure parents still attend and watch, so you will still be paying more for travel! Yes, we paid around 10k last year with travel. I purposely don’t want to add it all up.

VA Elite is easier to make than some of the other travel teams. Tell your DD to go for it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

DD wants to try out there but it will be a tough team to make. I’m sure parents still attend and watch, so you will still be paying more for travel! Yes, we paid around 10k last year with travel. I purposely don’t want to add it all up.

VA Elite is easier to make than some of the other travel teams. Tell your DD to go for it!

Easier than Metro and Paramount and that’s probably it. The cost is eye watering though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

DD wants to try out there but it will be a tough team to make. I’m sure parents still attend and watch, so you will still be paying more for travel! Yes, we paid around 10k last year with travel. I purposely don’t want to add it all up.

VA Elite is easier to make than some of the other travel teams. Tell your DD to go for it!

Easier than Metro and Paramount and that’s probably it. The cost is eye watering though.

Generally, their performance doesn't match their price. They had one team in U12-U17 in the top 10 in the region per AES, which is based on their direct results against other CHRVA teams. The only other team in the top 10 was their U18 team.

Age: Regional Rank - National Rank
U12: 10, 751
U13: 38, 1963
U14: 38, 1089
U15: 15, 742
U16: 31, 1061
U17: 22, 527
U18: 5, 226

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

DD wants to try out there but it will be a tough team to make. I’m sure parents still attend and watch, so you will still be paying more for travel! Yes, we paid around 10k last year with travel. I purposely don’t want to add it all up.

VA Elite is easier to make than some of the other travel teams. Tell your DD to go for it!

Easier than Metro and Paramount and that’s probably it. The cost is eye watering though.

Generally, their performance doesn't match their price. They had one team in U12-U17 in the top 10 in the region per AES, which is based on their direct results against other CHRVA teams. The only other team in the top 10 was their U18 team.

Age: Regional Rank - National Rank
U12: 10, 751
U13: 38, 1963
U14: 38, 1089
U15: 15, 742
U16: 31, 1061
U17: 22, 527
U18: 5, 226

In terms of competitiveness, the performance definitely doesn’t match the price. If you look back a few posts in this thread, it was a discussion about CHRVA teams at USAV Nationals that sparked this VAE conversation. Even though their teams don’t tend to be particularly competitive, they tend to have pretty good recruiting results. If you’re someone who isn’t bothered by the cost whose DD wants to play in college, then VAE might be a good option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

DD wants to try out there but it will be a tough team to make. I’m sure parents still attend and watch, so you will still be paying more for travel! Yes, we paid around 10k last year with travel. I purposely don’t want to add it all up.

VA Elite is easier to make than some of the other travel teams. Tell your DD to go for it!

Easier than Metro and Paramount and that’s probably it. The cost is eye watering though.

Generally, their performance doesn't match their price. They had one team in U12-U17 in the top 10 in the region per AES, which is based on their direct results against other CHRVA teams. The only other team in the top 10 was their U18 team.

Age: Regional Rank - National Rank
U12: 10, 751
U13: 38, 1963
U14: 38, 1089
U15: 15, 742
U16: 31, 1061
U17: 22, 527
U18: 5, 226

In terms of competitiveness, the performance definitely doesn’t match the price. If you look back a few posts in this thread, it was a discussion about CHRVA teams at USAV Nationals that sparked this VAE conversation. Even though their teams don’t tend to be particularly competitive, they tend to have pretty good recruiting results. If you’re someone who isn’t bothered by the cost whose DD wants to play in college, then VAE might be a good option.

No, we aren’t concerned with college. The most attractive thing about VAE is their practice location at Madeira. DD went to Mojo last year and the teams seemed preselected. All of the other clubs are so far. She ended up on a low level club with a long commute. She’s looking at VAE because it’s decent and close. Nothing else is in the immediate area. But it is so expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

DD wants to try out there but it will be a tough team to make. I’m sure parents still attend and watch, so you will still be paying more for travel! Yes, we paid around 10k last year with travel. I purposely don’t want to add it all up.

VA Elite is easier to make than some of the other travel teams. Tell your DD to go for it!

Easier than Metro and Paramount and that’s probably it. The cost is eye watering though.

Generally, their performance doesn't match their price. They had one team in U12-U17 in the top 10 in the region per AES, which is based on their direct results against other CHRVA teams. The only other team in the top 10 was their U18 team.

Age: Regional Rank - National Rank
U12: 10, 751
U13: 38, 1963
U14: 38, 1089
U15: 15, 742
U16: 31, 1061
U17: 22, 527
U18: 5, 226

In terms of competitiveness, the performance definitely doesn’t match the price. If you look back a few posts in this thread, it was a discussion about CHRVA teams at USAV Nationals that sparked this VAE conversation. Even though their teams don’t tend to be particularly competitive, they tend to have pretty good recruiting results. If you’re someone who isn’t bothered by the cost whose DD wants to play in college, then VAE might be a good option.

No, we aren’t concerned with college. The most attractive thing about VAE is their practice location at Madeira. DD went to Mojo last year and the teams seemed preselected. All of the other clubs are so far. She ended up on a low level club with a long commute. She’s looking at VAE because it’s decent and close. Nothing else is in the immediate area. But it is so expensive.

It is only slightly more expensive if you have to do your own travel, and assume parents have to travel as there is no team travel. We did a few years there, the facility is nice, the coaching is decent and there were times we didn’t travel, watched it on stream and went about our business at home. I genuinely think it was a wash all things considered (especially if parents don’t go to every tournament).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I recall - some of that team didn’t want to play at college. I think their claim is “100% recruiting for those that want to play in college”.

Unrelated but I can’t get over their costs. They are so expensive. With their mandatory travel package, they are by far the most expensive at over 13k.

At least I am not the only one complaining about the cost of club volleyball. VA Elite is in a class of their own in terms of pricing, but the rest of the VA clubs are not far behind. If you add up all the travel, hotels, and food, you easily get above 10k for clubs that don't travel as much as VA Elite. At least VA Elite has something to show for all that investment - look at the other clubs who charge almost the same and show nothing in terms of college recruitment.

DD wants to try out there but it will be a tough team to make. I’m sure parents still attend and watch, so you will still be paying more for travel! Yes, we paid around 10k last year with travel. I purposely don’t want to add it all up.

VA Elite is easier to make than some of the other travel teams. Tell your DD to go for it!

Easier than Metro and Paramount and that’s probably it. The cost is eye watering though.

Generally, their performance doesn't match their price. They had one team in U12-U17 in the top 10 in the region per AES, which is based on their direct results against other CHRVA teams. The only other team in the top 10 was their U18 team.

Age: Regional Rank - National Rank
U12: 10, 751
U13: 38, 1963
U14: 38, 1089
U15: 15, 742
U16: 31, 1061
U17: 22, 527
U18: 5, 226

In terms of competitiveness, the performance definitely doesn’t match the price. If you look back a few posts in this thread, it was a discussion about CHRVA teams at USAV Nationals that sparked this VAE conversation. Even though their teams don’t tend to be particularly competitive, they tend to have pretty good recruiting results. If you’re someone who isn’t bothered by the cost whose DD wants to play in college, then VAE might be a good option.

No, we aren’t concerned with college. The most attractive thing about VAE is their practice location at Madeira. DD went to Mojo last year and the teams seemed preselected. All of the other clubs are so far. She ended up on a low level club with a long commute. She’s looking at VAE because it’s decent and close. Nothing else is in the immediate area. But it is so expensive.

What age group?

In general, if you aren't concerned with college then VAE is likely not the right fit. If your DD is in HS (or even U14 in some cases) and they know that she isn't interested in college, they aren't likely to be interested in her. As a result, VAE has some of the highest turnover of all clubs between U15-U17, typically having only 3-4 players who stay with them across those three years.