Looking for a mid-level regional VB club for 15s/16s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

There are different divisions to accommodate the different skill level teams. While certainly there are teams that sandbag into lower divisions than they should and others playing in the open divisions that shouldn't, if the club registers a team in the appropriate division they should be evenly matched in some (if not most) of their matches. One of my DDs was on more regional-level teams that weren't particularly skilled and they would go to Capitol Hill and go under 0.500 and still have a great time. She enjoyed seeing her HS teammates who played for other clubs, liked the merch, and just getting to participate in that kind of event made her feel more a part of the volleyball community than the usual Maryland Juniors tournaments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

Rigged? That seems like a pretty serious allegation- what’s your evidence? Are they paying the other teams to throw the matches? Paying the refs extra to make calls in Metro’s favor? Isn’t the more likely explanation that almost all the other high level teams in the country go to Triple Crown and therefore the level of competition at Cap Hill isn’t high? I mean if them games were actually rigged wouldn’t the Metro regional teams do better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

Rigged? That seems like a pretty serious allegation- what’s your evidence? Are they paying the other teams to throw the matches? Paying the refs extra to make calls in Metro’s favor? Isn’t the more likely explanation that almost all the other high level teams in the country go to Triple Crown and therefore the level of competition at Cap Hill isn’t high? I mean if them games were actually rigged wouldn’t the Metro regional teams do better?

Seems new pp here, there is a dedicated discussion in this forum talked about capitol hill classic, go there reading and you will know

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

Rigged? That seems like a pretty serious allegation- what’s your evidence? Are they paying the other teams to throw the matches? Paying the refs extra to make calls in Metro’s favor? Isn’t the more likely explanation that almost all the other high level teams in the country go to Triple Crown and therefore the level of competition at Cap Hill isn’t high? I mean if them games were actually rigged wouldn’t the Metro regional teams do better?

Seems new pp here, there is a dedicated discussion in this forum talked about capitol hill classic, go there reading and you will know

Oh I’m familiar with all the Metro hate on DCUM. They steal and poach players from other clubs, they hoard good players on Travel teams so they don’t go to other clubs, they don’t have good coaches, CHC is rigged, they should do better in the open divisions at nationals, their players get recruited to play in college but don’t succeed when they get there, and on and on and on. Always comes off as sour grapes to me. They’ve been top of the CHRVA heap for a while so there has to be something inappropriate going on. Couldn’t possibly be that it’s a good club that trains athletes well and therefore the best local players want to play for them and college coaches want to recruit their athletes.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

Rigged? That seems like a pretty serious allegation- what’s your evidence? Are they paying the other teams to throw the matches? Paying the refs extra to make calls in Metro’s favor? Isn’t the more likely explanation that almost all the other high level teams in the country go to Triple Crown and therefore the level of competition at Cap Hill isn’t high? I mean if them games were actually rigged wouldn’t the Metro regional teams do better?

Seems new pp here, there is a dedicated discussion in this forum talked about capitol hill classic, go there reading and you will know

Oh I’m familiar with all the Metro hate on DCUM. They steal and poach players from other clubs, they hoard good players on Travel teams so they don’t go to other clubs, they don’t have good coaches, CHC is rigged, they should do better in the open divisions at nationals, their players get recruited to play in college but don’t succeed when they get there, and on and on and on. Always comes off as sour grapes to me. They’ve been top of the CHRVA heap for a while so there has to be something inappropriate going on. Couldn’t possibly be that it’s a good club that trains athletes well and therefore the best local players want to play for them and college coaches want to recruit their athletes.

I agree there is some Metro hate around here, but there are also unapologetic cheerleaders who find excuses for everything they do. I wrote that Metro focuses on their players and potential recruits at Metro clinics and pretty much ignores the others who show up. They happily take anyone's money and dumps the kids they are not interested in on the second court. Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. Now I know and I stay away from Metro clinics, but I did waste a lot of money when I was not aware. Now the advice to join a club that goes to Capitol Hill Classic: why would you suggest that CHC is an experience that everyone should have? This is the CHC experience we had: fighting DC traffic, paying a ton of money for parking and to see our kids play, seeing them crushed by teams with a lot more experience. If someone is looking for a regional, mid-level club, I would not suggest that they select a club based on whether they participate at CHC. I feel like this advice is coming from the Metro family (either the club or a family affiliated with the club).

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Regarding the comment " Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. "

FWIW - our DD is in her second year of ever playing vb and is on her HS JV team. We have no experience with Metro's clinics, but we did spend the summer bouncing from club clinic to club clinic to get her skills up for tryouts. At least in our experience the clubs we worked with (American, Loudoun Elite, X-Factor, Evolution) generally gave equal looks and coaching. Well worth her time for touches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Regarding the comment " Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. "

FWIW - our DD is in her second year of ever playing vb and is on her HS JV team. We have no experience with Metro's clinics, but we did spend the summer bouncing from club clinic to club clinic to get her skills up for tryouts. At least in our experience the clubs we worked with (American, Loudoun Elite, X-Factor, Evolution) generally gave equal looks and coaching. Well worth her time for touches.

It's good to hear she got something out of her summer training. At the end of the day, it's about getting touches and maybe some little tip or feedback that helps them get better.

What happens at Metro clinics (and many other clubs) is that about a half hour into the clinic they divide the players onto different courts by skill level and then most of the attention is given to the court with the most skilled players. It makes sense to group players together by skill, but I think where this model starts to fall apart is when they have all the courts do the same drills in parallel at the same time. Players with lot of experience need a different kind of skill work (minor tweaks and adjustments) versus those more on a more beginner level who might need instruction on basic footwork and mechanics. When it comes to gameplay type instruction, again the needs are very different. The more experienced players might be working on offensive pace or refining defensive positioning in particular scenarios, while the more beginner group should be focused on simpler concepts. These clinics would be more valuable to everyone if they provided the training and instruction that was a good match for the skill level of the attendees. Since many clinics aren't run this way, the burden falls to the parents to try and find the club or clinic that is the best match for our player, but this is really challenging because you have to spend time and money to find out what a club is like. Perhaps the best cheat code is to lean on parents who have been involved with club volleyball for longer and get advice on what club or training might be a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Regarding the comment " Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. "

FWIW - our DD is in her second year of ever playing vb and is on her HS JV team. We have no experience with Metro's clinics, but we did spend the summer bouncing from club clinic to club clinic to get her skills up for tryouts. At least in our experience the clubs we worked with (American, Loudoun Elite, X-Factor, Evolution) generally gave equal looks and coaching. Well worth her time for touches.

I believe most clubs (including Metro) want the players to have a good time and learn / practice skills at their clinics. It all comes down to how much they really care. If only a few players show up at a clinic (which is how things turn out at lower tier clubs), the coaches can dedicate more time to each player. If you have players of all skill levels in a crowded clinic (this was the case at Metro and MOCO clinics), inevitably the best players end up on the top court and the weaker players end up on the other court. Mixing players would result in a frustrating experience for the top players, so the move makes sense. The players on the top court definitely have a great time and practice good skills. If you know that your player ends up on the top court, a Metro / MOCO clinic is a really good choice, but you are wasting your money if your player ends up on the second court. I was pleasantly surprised by the MVSA clinics: even though they were at capacity, they gave everyone equal opportunities. They all participated in the same drills and the coaches offered advice to all the players who struggled with specific skills. The downside was that playing consisted in queens only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Regarding the comment " Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. "

FWIW - our DD is in her second year of ever playing vb and is on her HS JV team. We have no experience with Metro's clinics, but we did spend the summer bouncing from club clinic to club clinic to get her skills up for tryouts. At least in our experience the clubs we worked with (American, Loudoun Elite, X-Factor, Evolution) generally gave equal looks and coaching. Well worth her time for touches.

I believe most clubs (including Metro) want the players to have a good time and learn / practice skills at their clinics. It all comes down to how much they really care. If only a few players show up at a clinic (which is how things turn out at lower tier clubs), the coaches can dedicate more time to each player. If you have players of all skill levels in a crowded clinic (this was the case at Metro and MOCO clinics), inevitably the best players end up on the top court and the weaker players end up on the other court. Mixing players would result in a frustrating experience for the top players, so the move makes sense. The players on the top court definitely have a great time and practice good skills. If you know that your player ends up on the top court, a Metro / MOCO clinic is a really good choice, but you are wasting your money if your player ends up on the second court. I was pleasantly surprised by the MVSA clinics: even though they were at capacity, they gave everyone equal opportunities. They all participated in the same drills and the coaches offered advice to all the players who struggled with specific skills. The downside was that playing consisted in queens only.

The different experiences because of the number of players at a clinic is a good observation. If a club's clinics are sold out in a few days, it's probably a good sign that demand is high and the clinic will be crowded and that individualized attention will be limited, although it sounds like MVSA has figured it out. Also, to the extent that clinics are where a lot of the evaluation for players happens ahead of club tryouts, expect more gameplay and less drills in fall clinics than you might in a summer clinic/camp or clinics others times of the year.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

Rigged? That seems like a pretty serious allegation- what’s your evidence? Are they paying the other teams to throw the matches? Paying the refs extra to make calls in Metro’s favor? Isn’t the more likely explanation that almost all the other high level teams in the country go to Triple Crown and therefore the level of competition at Cap Hill isn’t high? I mean if them games were actually rigged wouldn’t the Metro regional teams do better?

Seems new pp here, there is a dedicated discussion in this forum talked about capitol hill classic, go there reading and you will know

Oh I’m familiar with all the Metro hate on DCUM. They steal and poach players from other clubs, they hoard good players on Travel teams so they don’t go to other clubs, they don’t have good coaches, CHC is rigged, they should do better in the open divisions at nationals, their players get recruited to play in college but don’t succeed when they get there, and on and on and on. Always comes off as sour grapes to me. They’ve been top of the CHRVA heap for a while so there has to be something inappropriate going on. Couldn’t possibly be that it’s a good club that trains athletes well and therefore the best local players want to play for them and college coaches want to recruit their athletes.

I agree there is some Metro hate around here, but there are also unapologetic cheerleaders who find excuses for everything they do. I wrote that Metro focuses on their players and potential recruits at Metro clinics and pretty much ignores the others who show up. They happily take anyone's money and dumps the kids they are not interested in on the second court. Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. Now I know and I stay away from Metro clinics, but I did waste a lot of money when I was not aware. Now the advice to join a club that goes to Capitol Hill Classic: why would you suggest that CHC is an experience that everyone should have? This is the CHC experience we had: fighting DC traffic, paying a ton of money for parking and to see our kids play, seeing them crushed by teams with a lot more experience. If someone is looking for a regional, mid-level club, I would not suggest that they select a club based on whether they participate at CHC. I feel like this advice is coming from the Metro family (either the club or a family affiliated with the club).

Do folks believe that the Capitol Hill Classic is run by Metro? There is some common history in that both the club that is now called Metro (was Metro American until 2014) and the Capitol Hill Classic were founded by the late American University volleyball coach, Barry Goldberg, but Metro as it exists today started in 2015. Barry's family (and others) continue to put on the CHC, but there hasn't been a direct tie to Metro in a long time. That said, the Metro club director played for and is very good friends with the Goldbergs and has said Metro will always go to the CHC out of respect for his legacy, but I don't think there is any direct financial benefit to Metro. Sure, all 30+ of their teams get into the tournament every year, while some other CHRVA clubs don't always get all their teams in, so there is some level of favoritism for Metro, but no one from Metro is directly involved in managing the tournament.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Regarding the comment " Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. "

FWIW - our DD is in her second year of ever playing vb and is on her HS JV team. We have no experience with Metro's clinics, but we did spend the summer bouncing from club clinic to club clinic to get her skills up for tryouts. At least in our experience the clubs we worked with (American, Loudoun Elite, X-Factor, Evolution) generally gave equal looks and coaching. Well worth her time for touches.

I believe most clubs (including Metro) want the players to have a good time and learn / practice skills at their clinics. It all comes down to how much they really care. If only a few players show up at a clinic (which is how things turn out at lower tier clubs), the coaches can dedicate more time to each player. If you have players of all skill levels in a crowded clinic (this was the case at Metro and MOCO clinics), inevitably the best players end up on the top court and the weaker players end up on the other court. Mixing players would result in a frustrating experience for the top players, so the move makes sense. The players on the top court definitely have a great time and practice good skills. If you know that your player ends up on the top court, a Metro / MOCO clinic is a really good choice, but you are wasting your money if your player ends up on the second court. I was pleasantly surprised by the MVSA clinics: even though they were at capacity, they gave everyone equal opportunities. They all participated in the same drills and the coaches offered advice to all the players who struggled with specific skills. The downside was that playing consisted in queens only.

The different experiences because of the number of players at a clinic is a good observation. If a club's clinics are sold out in a few days, it's probably a good sign that demand is high and the clinic will be crowded and that individualized attention will be limited, although it sounds like MVSA has figured it out. Also, to the extent that clinics are where a lot of the evaluation for players happens ahead of club tryouts, expect more gameplay and less drills in fall clinics than you might in a summer clinic/camp or clinics others times of the year.

The clubs that are known to be good talent developers are also usually pretty good a limiting clinic sizes. They also tend to emphasize fundamental skill development much more, rather than using beginner/intermediate clinics solely for identifying potential future club players and/or maximizing revenue. You can have more players in the gym at these levels because there are a lot of partner/small group drills that can be done off-net.

These clubs do tend to be very hard to get into for clinics, and will sell out quickly. Make sure you are on their email list, they usually announce the details of when the registration opens in advance, so you have a chance to get in.

If a clinic registration stays open a long time, either it doesn’t have much demand or the club is allowing a large number of players into the clinic.

How to tell the difference? Depends on the club/geography, but where we are the best clinics tend to fill up within 24-48 hours.


This only applies to skill clinics, not to the pre-tryout club clinics most of the top clubs run. Those are almost always gameplay focused. There are some clubs that have 2-3 courts available during these clinics that will separate the courts into play and skill development, especially if they are running more than 1 team at an age group. If the club is only running 1 team, it’s highly unlikely you’re less experienced player will get much attention at a pre-tryout clinic—-might be better to look for something different.

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Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

Rigged? That seems like a pretty serious allegation- what’s your evidence? Are they paying the other teams to throw the matches? Paying the refs extra to make calls in Metro’s favor? Isn’t the more likely explanation that almost all the other high level teams in the country go to Triple Crown and therefore the level of competition at Cap Hill isn’t high? I mean if them games were actually rigged wouldn’t the Metro regional teams do better?

Seems new pp here, there is a dedicated discussion in this forum talked about capitol hill classic, go there reading and you will know

Oh I’m familiar with all the Metro hate on DCUM. They steal and poach players from other clubs, they hoard good players on Travel teams so they don’t go to other clubs, they don’t have good coaches, CHC is rigged, they should do better in the open divisions at nationals, their players get recruited to play in college but don’t succeed when they get there, and on and on and on. Always comes off as sour grapes to me. They’ve been top of the CHRVA heap for a while so there has to be something inappropriate going on. Couldn’t possibly be that it’s a good club that trains athletes well and therefore the best local players want to play for them and college coaches want to recruit their athletes.

I agree there is some Metro hate around here, but there are also unapologetic cheerleaders who find excuses for everything they do. I wrote that Metro focuses on their players and potential recruits at Metro clinics and pretty much ignores the others who show up. They happily take anyone's money and dumps the kids they are not interested in on the second court. Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. Now I know and I stay away from Metro clinics, but I did waste a lot of money when I was not aware. Now the advice to join a club that goes to Capitol Hill Classic: why would you suggest that CHC is an experience that everyone should have? This is the CHC experience we had: fighting DC traffic, paying a ton of money for parking and to see our kids play, seeing them crushed by teams with a lot more experience. If someone is looking for a regional, mid-level club, I would not suggest that they select a club based on whether they participate at CHC. I feel like this advice is coming from the Metro family (either the club or a family affiliated with the club).

Do folks believe that the Capitol Hill Classic is run by Metro? There is some common history in that both the club that is now called Metro (was Metro American until 2014) and the Capitol Hill Classic were founded by the late American University volleyball coach, Barry Goldberg, but Metro as it exists today started in 2015. Barry's family (and others) continue to put on the CHC, but there hasn't been a direct tie to Metro in a long time. That said, the Metro club director played for and is very good friends with the Goldbergs and has said Metro will always go to the CHC out of respect for his legacy, but I don't think there is any direct financial benefit to Metro. Sure, all 30+ of their teams get into the tournament every year, while some other CHRVA clubs don't always get all their teams in, so there is some level of favoritism for Metro, but no one from Metro is directly involved in managing the tournament.

The advice to pick a mid-level regional club based on whether it participates in CHC smells fishy. Even if we assume no connection to Metro. If local clubs want to hear from a parent: please don't put your regional teams through CHC. I believe most parents would be grateful. If you put your top teams through CHC, select the division keeping in mind that out of state clubs are likely bringing only their travel teams.

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Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

Rigged? That seems like a pretty serious allegation- what’s your evidence? Are they paying the other teams to throw the matches? Paying the refs extra to make calls in Metro’s favor? Isn’t the more likely explanation that almost all the other high level teams in the country go to Triple Crown and therefore the level of competition at Cap Hill isn’t high? I mean if them games were actually rigged wouldn’t the Metro regional teams do better?

Seems new pp here, there is a dedicated discussion in this forum talked about capitol hill classic, go there reading and you will know

Oh I’m familiar with all the Metro hate on DCUM. They steal and poach players from other clubs, they hoard good players on Travel teams so they don’t go to other clubs, they don’t have good coaches, CHC is rigged, they should do better in the open divisions at nationals, their players get recruited to play in college but don’t succeed when they get there, and on and on and on. Always comes off as sour grapes to me. They’ve been top of the CHRVA heap for a while so there has to be something inappropriate going on. Couldn’t possibly be that it’s a good club that trains athletes well and therefore the best local players want to play for them and college coaches want to recruit their athletes.

I agree there is some Metro hate around here, but there are also unapologetic cheerleaders who find excuses for everything they do. I wrote that Metro focuses on their players and potential recruits at Metro clinics and pretty much ignores the others who show up. They happily take anyone's money and dumps the kids they are not interested in on the second court. Somebody immediately said that people should be aware of their kids' skills and place them in clinics at their level. As if everyone knows how Metro runs their clinics. Now I know and I stay away from Metro clinics, but I did waste a lot of money when I was not aware. Now the advice to join a club that goes to Capitol Hill Classic: why would you suggest that CHC is an experience that everyone should have? This is the CHC experience we had: fighting DC traffic, paying a ton of money for parking and to see our kids play, seeing them crushed by teams with a lot more experience. If someone is looking for a regional, mid-level club, I would not suggest that they select a club based on whether they participate at CHC. I feel like this advice is coming from the Metro family (either the club or a family affiliated with the club).

Do folks believe that the Capitol Hill Classic is run by Metro? There is some common history in that both the club that is now called Metro (was Metro American until 2014) and the Capitol Hill Classic were founded by the late American University volleyball coach, Barry Goldberg, but Metro as it exists today started in 2015. Barry's family (and others) continue to put on the CHC, but there hasn't been a direct tie to Metro in a long time. That said, the Metro club director played for and is very good friends with the Goldbergs and has said Metro will always go to the CHC out of respect for his legacy, but I don't think there is any direct financial benefit to Metro. Sure, all 30+ of their teams get into the tournament every year, while some other CHRVA clubs don't always get all their teams in, so there is some level of favoritism for Metro, but no one from Metro is directly involved in managing the tournament.

I love how disingenuous Metro is with all their social media posts, emphasizing "established in 2015" just because they made a slight name change to the club that had long already established itself as the dominant club in the Region (Metro had been around since 1999, when the legendary Barry Goldberg founded it). This is due to their Club Director's ego, not wanting others to know that she purchased and inherited what was already a top 45 club in the country. When she purchased the club in 2015, Metro was already getting the best players in the area and had already established itself as the top club in the area and a top 45 club in the country. She quickly silences anybody who refers to Metro by the old name ("Metro American"). When she purchased the club in 2015, Metro was already the 42nd ranked club in the country (Metro is "MAVBC")(https://drjvkwj92oep1.cloudfront.net/vb/2015/2015%20Final%20Club%20Rankings.pdf). Since taking over, they have only improved their ranking by 21 spots. This is akin to a person from a wealthy family inheriting their parent's company and then making it slightly more wealthy.

With all the hype surrounding Metro in the CHRVA Region, I wanted to provide a reality check. In contrast with Metro, Paramount was started from scratch in 2015, with only one team (a U16 team) that was comprised of players that other local clubs (VAJrs, VAE, etc.) had cut. Paramount was started in a market that was already dominated by Metro, and a market in which they were starting far behind other local clubs too (VAJRS, VAE, MDJRS, etc.). Paramount didn't even have teams in all age groups (U13-U18) until the 2021-22 season (you can't even be included in the national club rankings until you field at least three total teams from U14-U18). In six short years, Paramount climbed into the top 100 (85th) in 2022, and as of the 2024 rankings is now the 73rd ranked club in the country. In the last three years, they went from not being ranked to now being #73 (despite Metro still having the most raw talent).

Now, for those who think Cap. Classic is somehow rigged to make Metro win, that just isn't true/possible. While for all intents and purposes the Capitol Hill Classic is a Metro tournament (you'll see Metro jerseys and materials throughout the convention center), it is not technically theirs, and they don't have any say in the scheduling and don't receive any money from the tournament. Metro Travel teams by and large win Capitol Hill Classic because they are an open-level club with strong teams in a weak tournament, not because it is rigged. All of the top 100 clubs in the country (except Metro and Circle City) go to the Triple Crown NIT the same weekend as Capitol Hill Classic, so of course Metro is going to win Capitol Hill. As someone else mentioned, Metro doesn't go to NIT because of a contractual agreement that was made when the club was sold to the current owner, that Metro's teams would always play at Capitol Hill. Despite this, it is a clear advantage to Paramount to have their teams attending Triple Crown while Metro's teams play in a weak tournament.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last fall, somebody suggested the following for a good mid-level regional girls vb club:

Monument
X factor
NVVA (many levels and leagues)
St James (white team)
Alexandria titans
BRYC (American team, as opposed to National)

With another season down, any different thoughts? Looking for a club for my HS JV sophomore.

I could contribute to that list if you are looking for a club in MD, but - based on the list you provided - I assume that you are looking for a club in Northern Virginia.

I would love your suggestions for Maryland, PP! I have a 14 yo who started playing rec about a year ago and just made her HS team and wants to keep playing and learning this winter. Do kids mostly try out for club teams? Or should we just have her do a bunch of clinics? TIA

The top club in MD is MVSA, but it is very unlikely that a player with rec experience only would make any of their 14 teams. The next would be MOCO, where you may get on their lower tier teams with the JV experience. You have a better chance to make a higher level team in MEVC and Platform. The lower level clubs would be RVA and Experience. I recently learned about ECE, but I am not sure how competitive they are.

Thank you. This is helpful- I’ll look at these clubs. The director of the rec program also recommended MD Juniors. Do you know much about them? Do you think there’s value to playing for a team? It would one-off club clinics/teaching serve a newish player just as well? My DD LOVES it so much- just trying to help her keep learning.

I think a lot will depend on what's logistically possible depending on where you are in Maryland. In many age groups, Maryland Juniors is arguably the top club in MD over MVSA and is certainly stronger than MOCO. Liberty Elite has good reputation if Hagerstown is workable. Metro North and Metro East also practice in Maryland and are club level teams. DMV Elite, Platform, CEVA, and Columbia are other MD clubs that might be worth considering.

Thank you! There are so many clubs!! The drive from close-in Silver Spring to Jessup for summer workouts was pretty terrible. But a good carpool can make a long drive less terrible. Hagerstown, no.

Thanks for all the club suggestions- so, so many! I am going to see where they all practice to help figure out where to have her tryout.

Is playing on a club team (regional- it sounds like the high levels aren’t going to be an option- and that’s okay for us!) better than just doing clinics here and there? I think more time = more improvement , but I read some other stuff on here where people say that the lower level teams are just money grabs with just so-so coaching.

It’s all new to me- thanks for sharing, PPs!

Playing on a regional club team can be a great experience and will result in a lot more improvement than than just clinics or rec leagues. The number of touches a players gets practicing several times per week plus playing in many more tournaments on a club team is tough to compare to what you can get from clinics. I think narrowing by what is logistically practical is a good starting point, especially if your goals are fun and improvement and not trying to be recruited to play Division I. For close in Silver Spring, I'd probably prioritize MVSA, MOCO, Metro Central, possibly Metro North (although they practice in Frederick county which might be pretty far for you), and MEVC. MVSA is one of the better values in all of local club volleyball. Even their 2nd and 3rd teams are usually pretty solid, club fees are low, and they only take 10 players per team so everyone gets to play in tournaments. With that being the case, making even an MVSA 3rd team can be challenging, but it's worth trying out for sure. MOCO and Metro Central are probably the closest for you in terms of practice locations and they are usually pretty solid with experienced coaches. I've heard pretty good things about MEVC as well. DMV Elite is probably convenient for you, but I've heard they are on the expensive side and I don't know much about their program. They are the MD expansion of Vienna Elite, which is a club in NoVa that's been around for a long time.

On the issue of whether a particular club or team is a "money grab", perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I'd like to think that most clubs are formed with the intention of providing a good experience for its players and their families. My perception that there are some clubs probably charging too much for what they can offer, but with the demand for club volleyball increasing every year, they are still able to attract many players to their tryouts and fill up all their teams. So while it might not always be a great value, your DD can hopefully get a decent level of instruction and have some fun at most clubs. As has been discussed in numerous DCUM threads about volleyball, go to clinics in September and October at clubs you are considering and get a sense of what the club and people are like.

You have some pretty solid advice above. For your first year of volleyball your motto should be "a lower tier club is better than no club." You can try out for very good clubs (like MVSA), but have a safe option in the likely case that your kid won't make any of their teams. In terms of location (Silver Spring), RVA may also be close to you. The club is overly ambitious in terms of travel though. I heard that the quality of instruction is good, but they are not able to attract top players, so they don't win a lot. Coaches and many players are very comfortable speaking Spanish. Platform may also be a good option, but they are a bit further than MOCO and MEVC.

If you are looking for a regional team (less travel to tournaments), you should not aim for the top team in a club (they typically travel more and further away). The disadvantage may be the coaching quality. The best coaches in a club typically try to coach the top team in a specific age group. In some clubs (for example MVSA) you will get great coaching in most teams. However, other clubs struggle to attract and retain coaches for their bottom teams. Try to stay away from teams that don't have coaches listed on the club websites: that's a sign that they have not secured a coach - you may be surprised (either pleasantly or not quite pleasantly) when you eventually meet the coach.

One additional thought is that if you're looking for a regional team that doesn't travel too much that's great, but in my opinion a DMV based club team should at least attend the Capitol Hill Classic. If the team doesn't travel much, there won't be a lot of exposure to the big 3-day convention center tournaments which is perfectly fine, but going to Capitol Hill is a fun experience for the players and a highlight of many teams' seasons.

I feel differently about the Capitol Hill Classic. With a few exceptions (the elite teams in the area), all you learn is that your team needs a lot of work to compete against other teams that travel here for this tournament (this will be especially true if you find that mid-level regional team you are looking for). This lesson will come with a lot of disappointment and money wasted by the club to get the team in the tournament (on top of DC traffic, parking, and the price of admission). Most clubs could save the money and offer lower club fees (which most parents will likely appreciate).

Not quite worth it for regional level teams considering spectators ticket of $54, which is even higher than NIT. That tournament has turned into a Metro rigged games from every aspect. Agree with you to save the entrance fee and attend other tournaments.

Rigged? That seems like a pretty serious allegation- what’s your evidence? Are they paying the other teams to throw the matches? Paying the refs extra to make calls in Metro’s favor? Isn’t the more likely explanation that almost all the other high level teams in the country go to Triple Crown and therefore the level of competition at Cap Hill isn’t high? I mean if them games were actually rigged wouldn’t the Metro regional teams do better?

Seems new pp here, there is a dedicated discussion in this forum talked about capitol hill classic, go there reading and you will know

Oh I’m familiar with all the Metro hate on DCUM. They steal and poach players from other clubs, they hoard good players on Travel teams so they don’t go to other clubs, they don’t have good coaches, CHC is rigged, they should do better in the open divisions at nationals, their players get recruited to play in college but don’t succeed when they get there, and on and on and on. Always comes off as sour grapes to me. They’ve been top of the CHRVA heap for a while so there has to be something inappropriate going on. Couldn’t possibly be that it’s a good club that trains athletes well and therefore the best local players want to play for them and college coaches want to recruit their athletes.

We agree that Metro has best local players and we all wish metro can coach these talents to their full potential instead of wasting these talents. Metro’s problem is their coaches comparing with others . 2024 gjnc result:national and open

12 N 38th (48)Renaissance 12 BLKDE (CH) (38)
13 N 3rd (48) MDJRS 13 Elite (CH) (4)
13 N 29th (48)Metro 13 Travel (CH) (29)
14 N 23rd (48)Paramount 14 Maureen(CH) (23)
14 N 43rd (48)MVSA 14 Force (CH) (43)
14 O 22nd (36)Metro 14 Travel (CH) (22)
15 N 45th (48)MVSA 15 Charge (CH) (45)
15 N 11th (48)Metro 15 Travel (CH) (11)
15 O 29th (36)Paramount 15 Nick (CH) (30)
16 N 5th (48) Paramount 16 Danny (CH) (7)
16 O 33rd (36)Metro 16 Travel (CH) (34)
17 N 13th (48)VA Elite 17's (CH) (16)
17 N 33rd (48)Metro 17 Travel (CH) (33)

3 players selected as all tournament players and none from Metro.(2 pvc, 1 levbc)