Volleyball Action
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Anonymous
My DD went to Metro camp last year and her feed back was the coach just toss the ball like parents, no skill taught. Completely waste of money. (Metro Travel coach there) |
Anonymous
My DD went to a few Middle School camps organized by Metro. The clinics were very intense with lots of drills (including game-like drills) and some play at the end. My DD ended up on the second court along with players of the same skill level (weaker than those on the main court). The action on the main court was amazing: they had a system to award points to every player depending on how well they touched the ball - these points were used as currency within the game they played. Very engaging for the players (they all seem to know how the system worked), but difficult for an outsider to keep track of. It is likely that those on the second court also improved their skills, but not enough to justify the price. I also felt like it was a waste of money, but the players on the main court definitely benefited. |
Anonymous
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So are we just listing the opportunities that are publicly posted somewhere? Or should we also list when we hear about the not-posted invite-only clinic emails being sent out?
(Yes that’s snarky, but parents new to vball may not be aware that there are volleyball clinics and then there are “we think you may have what it takes to get recruited by our club, so come to our super special invitational clinics so the coaches can get a better feel for how you play with other top players we’re considering” clinics.) |
Anonymous
+1 But if you are new to the game, go early and often to a couple of posted clinics offered by different clubs and then you’ll kind of know within a couple of weeks whether they are seriously interested in recruiting your kid by whether or not a special invitation-only clinic email comes your way. |
Anonymous
The clubs will probably not appreciate you sharing the link publicly. I wonder how they would handle a situation in which a player shows up to such a clinic without invitation. |
Anonymous
| But the clinics aren't free, so the likelihood of someone showing up unannounced and *unpaid* should be almost zero. |
Anonymous
I would assume that you can pay if you have the link and you can show up uninvited. |
Anonymous
I think they would notice if you registered but weren’t invited and probably let you know ahead of time that it was invite only. I also doubt if you showed up the day of a clinic and tried to register on site that they would be receptive to that. I totally understand that invite clinics seem shady, but they are allowed under the recruiting rules and many (if not most) clubs have them. |
Anonymous
If it was one of Metro’s fall clinics that are advertised for Travel, those are listed for intermediate to advanced players. While even advanced players can benefit from skills work, it’s not reasonable to expect a ton of instruction in fundamentals. Also, their position clinics tend to be more skill training and the grade level ones tend to be more game play oriented. If you’ve ever been to one of these clinics with lots of Metro Travel players, it is generally pretty obvious who has a legitimate chance of making a team and who doesn’t. Be honest with yourself as to whether your DD is ready (or capable) of playing at that level. If not, your money and time are better spent with clubs that might be a better fit. |
Anonymous
Do not expect to learn anything skill wise from metro camps because their coaches are not there to developing your kids. They are looking for your money as well as recruiting 6ft+ tall players or any already developed players. Skill wise did you ever see any good setters/liberos from Metro? They all rely on their tall front rows to win games. Blocking or hammer down, no good techniques. These talents just got under achieved. If looking for skill improvement, try vajrs/vaelite/paramount/mdjrs/cva/moco etc. |
Anonymous
Totally agree but I think you should add blue ridge to the list with good skill training |
Anonymous
They advertise that their travel coaches would be at the clinic, but they take your money no matter what level your kid is. Once you are in the gym, they don't tell you "look, your kid would not benefit from this experience, here is your money back if you don't want to waste it." They just throw your kid on the second court and focus their resources on the first court. |
Anonymous
Imagine telling a DMV parent their princess isn’t good enough to participate in a clinic. Sure that would go over well. |
Anonymous
I am one of the DMV parents who would not mind hearing that my princess is not ready for the level of their MS clinic. However, I agree with a PP that they focus the clinic on their players or the players they want to recruit - your kid is there because you can afford to waste your money. Knowing what I know now, I would spend my money on a different club. |
Anonymous
I think you are the exception that could be objective enough to hear that message and not take it in the wrong way. Great thing about living in a big metropolitan area is that we have lots of choices. For better or worse, most clubs' fall clinics are about recruiting for club season. But it isn't one sided - you should be evaluating the club as much as they are evaluating players. If you don't get a good vibe from Metro, then as you said try another club. |