new (confused!) volleyball parent - looking for Montgomery County (Bethesda-area+) feedback
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
By 8/8, Walter Johnson has 72 people registered for girls volleyball. https://x.com/WJWildcats/status/1953864299887087962 The registration ends on 8/11. Do you think the Walter Johnson JV team will "need a few bench warmers after they ran out of club players"? |
Anonymous
It's pretty much too late to prepare for HS tryouts. At this point, hopefully she makes some level of her HS program so that she can get lots of touches between now and club tryouts. I agree it's important to have realistic expectations. If your DD is "tall" in regular life, it's certainly an advantage for volleyball but the bar for what's tall is a little different. A 5'9" 9th grader might be one of the tallest girls in her class, but for a high level volleyball team that's not considered tall at all. In terms of skills and athleticism, one way to get a sense for what high level volleyball looks like is to attend a clinic intended for the top team at one of the local clubs. For Metro Travel teams, these are typically on Saturdays or Sundays at Ritchie Park Elementary in Rockville - Metro hasn't published the dates/times or opened registration for fall clinics yet. These clinics are generally really intense and competitive and can you give you a sense of the type of volleyball being played at a particular age group. If you're new to this, the level of play for the top 14 and 15 year olds can be pretty shocking. I've talked to many parents who thought their DD was pretty good from a HS JV team or a rec league but who then realized they were not even close to the same level when on the court at one of these clinics. On the plus side for your DD, there is often a big influx of girls at U15 which results from HS coaches (whether varsity, JV, or 9th grade) encouraging players to play club meaning there are lots of girls new to club volleyball at 15s. As has been discussed, 9th graders are typically U15 but if your DD has a late birthday (after July 1) they could potentially play U14. That said, absent some compelling special circumstances, I don't see an advantage to playing the age group younger than their grade level. In most cases, the level of volleyball at U14 is going to be lower than U15. Obviously, Metro 14 Travel, Paramount 14-1s, or MVSA 14-1s are probably going to be better than a 15-2s teams at the clubs being discussed, but in general you'd expect more from a U15 team than a U14 team. Seems like you've been getting somewhat educated on the whole process for how club volleyball works, but since you say you're new perhaps a good place to start is knowing that CHRVA (our local USA Volleyball Region) sets the dates when clubs can hold tryouts. For this year, for girls 15 and older they are from October 31, 2025 - November 4, 2025. So every club in the area will be having tryouts during that same time. Since you're looking for your DD's first club, expect to tryout at several different clubs - it's absolutely possible but can be challenging to schedule since most clubs will be having tryouts on Saturday, November 1 and Sunday, November 2 so be prepared to attend multiple tryouts in a single day. With that in mind, try and get to clinics of the clubs on your list between now and then. That could mean going to multiple clinics on the same day or weekend. Better if you can get to multiple clinics over multiple weeks for the clubs that seem like the best fit. For many clubs, tryouts are more of a technicality as they have been evaluating players throughout the fall and already have a sense of who they are going to make offers to. That said, don't assume that every roster is already filled with players returning to the same club from last year. Players move clubs for a variety of reasons and clubs don't always get every player they are hoping to recruit. |
Anonymous
Good advice in the rest of your post, but wanted to update one note. Completely agree that talking to the coaches at the club you are interested in is the best course of action, after they have a chance to see you play either in a fall clinic or in a HS game if you are that age. Separately, MVSA 15s didn't have that number of new players from what I've seen. 15-1: 3 new players (From VA Elite, Columbia, unsure about last one) 15-2: 3 new players (From MD JRS, Metro Travel, ECE) 15-3: 6 new players (From St. James, Platform, MD Jrs, MOCO, 2 unknown) Said another way, you are unlikely to make a 15s team at MVSA unless you already played on a competitive club team the year before. On average, between U13-U16, MVSA takes: 1s teams: 2 players, from very competitive clubs/teams 2s teams: 2.5 players, from competitive clubs/teams 3s teams: 6 players, a mix of experienced club players, HS players that the coach wants in MVSA U15-16 and/or athletic high potential players. FYI, they do also take more than 10 players and when they do they usually add the additional players as practice only players. Although there have been some teams in the past with more than 10 players playing in tournaments. Last year the average roster size for MVSA was actually above 11. |
Anonymous
Of the clubs you listed, MOCO and MEVC both have a history of taking new players on their 2s and/or 3s teams, especially if they've had a chance to see them at clinics over the summer. If your daughter is tall and athletic and showing quick improvement both those clubs will probably pay attention to her. Find one of the 15s coaches or a club director that has seen her at the next clinic and ask if you can have talk to them sometime outside of clinics. If they say yes they are either interested in her or they are just good coaches who are willing to help players even if they aren't interested in them for a club team. Whatever the reason, you'll get some good feedback from a call with them. If you don't get any response there is little reason to try out for that club. Other advice so far has been very good. For a relative ranking of the clubs check out the Recap thread where a PP did a comparison of the 1s, 2s & 3s at MOCO, MEVC, Platform, DMV Academy, etc. They didn't include Metro Central or Academy in their comparison but generally teams from those clubs are below the level of the other clubs listed above. If you've never played club before at don't gett interest from MOCO/MEVC/Platform, then I'd look at Metro Central and Academy as potential next choices. |
Anonymous
I am not familiar with Walter Johnson volleyball scene, but I am willing to make some predictions. About one third (or less) of the 72 girls will try out for Varsity. Most of the incoming juniors already know they have no chance of making the varsity team, so they won't even bother. 25-50% of the rest never touched a real volleyball. They figured out that the high school offer some sports and they noticed volleyball on the list of sports available for fall. They believe they can get a ball over the net if they have to, so they signed up for the tryouts. Pretty early during the first day of tryouts (I give them about 15-30 minutes) they will start questioning whether they are in the wrong place and whether they should even show up the second and the third days of tryouts. There will be about 10-15 club players (this is where I don't know the specifics for Walter Johnson) most of whom will get on the JV roster. The coach will select a few other players with little or no volleyball experience (mostly tall and / or athletic) to fill out the rest of the JV roster (if there is any space left). Most of these and some of the club players will warm the bench during most games (they will get some court time in games against weak opponents). |
Anonymous
The comparison between different teams was on a different thread: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1279029.page To summarize, the comparison (which now includes Metro Central and Academy) led to the following order: PVC1 > MOCO2 > Metro Central > MEVC1 > MOCO3 > MEVC2 > DMV > PVC2 > Academy > PVC3. This is for the 14 age group (the players who will be playing 15 this incoming season). The order is different for other age groups. |
and am still quite confused so figured I'd try a direct ask.
Anonymous
| How do girls have time to go to all these club clinics if they are playing 6 days a week for their HS team starting next week? |
Anonymous
Its a balancing act and you have to plan well ahead. Make a list of target clubs, make sure you get to at least 1 session for each of them. If you are interested in a club after getting to a clinic, make sure to reach out to the coach or the club directly via email and let them know you are interested. Any good club coach at the HS age understands that you will have conflicts and that you have to rest at some point. Most of the upper level clubs run some kind of clinic/open gym on the weekends. Its very possible if you are practicing 6 days a week (private school?) that your DD will have double practices on some days. As soon as a club releases their schedule, if a sign up is required do it ASAP. If you are playing JV, the season usually ends a couple of weeks before tryouts. Make sure to attend as many clinics as you can during the weeks in between season end and tryouts. If you are playing varsity, the season end depends on the league/conference you are in and how deep you go into it. As soon as your season ends get to as many clinics as you can for your target clubs. If you can't its OK to email the club and let them know you'd really like to come to a clinic but can't because of your successful varsity season. Keep in mind that school JV & varsity programs level of play can differ a lot. If your school has a lot of club players you can look up their club teams and see the level of play (both in AES and if they are Open, National, etc.). And if you don't have many club players on your team and you haven't played club before, don't set your club expectations too high. A great club coach my DD played for gave us some great advice: If you want to play for a club and they are your first choice, there's no harm in letting them know. Most of them will work with you to get you in a gym somehow. The worst they can do is say no. But don't lie and tell everyone you want to play for them - if they give you an offer and you turn it down, you probably won't get a second chance. |
Anonymous
The next few months are going to be difficult for the volleyball players. Freshmen will have a bit of a culture shock due to transition to high school: the school work is more rigorous and demanding. They will have to balance that with HS volleyball. It won't be easy, but others have done it, so it is doable. Things are easier for 10th-12th graders because they've been through this before. Those who make varsity are likely to already know how to balance sports and academics and they likely already understand the club scene. Regarding tryouts: make sure you understand the difference between dream club, target club and safe club. The worst mistake you can make is having too many dream clubs on your tryout list and no safe club. Be realistic with what your player can achieve. You may think that your player was the best in their rec league, but understand that's equivalent to beginner when it comes to club volleyball. The tryout period will be stressful, but most players survive and some of them even get club offers. Try to plan for one tryout per day and add a second one only if there is no alternative. Treat the tryouts for the target and safe clubs as priorities, not as second thoughts: make sure the coaches see your DD at clinics / fall programs. You may get on a better team if you show up at an early tryout rather than at a late tryout. |
Anonymous
|
OP here - thank you all so much! This has been so helpful and I very much appreciate the various thoughts on clubs and the approaches. For those who asked, she is U15 based on her birthday, so it would be U15 for sure.
One of the biggest takeaways for me was that I could talk to the coaches at the clinics - I wasn't sure of norms and didn't want to be "that parent" so hadn't engaged previously. Again - appreciate the kindness in giving me feedback and helpful information. Took notes and will make a plan for the next few months (with fingers crossed so somehow makes JV!). |
Anonymous
When talking to coaches at clinics, your DD should be part of the conversation, and even better if she does most of the talking from your side. It definitely will make a better impression for her to engage with the coach rather than you doing most of the talking. |
Anonymous
I second this advice. You should be there to listen (she will probably forget some of the answers or at least some details) or to ask a question in case she forgets to ask. |
Anonymous
I am not surprised by your DD being a freshmen and being in the U15 age group. But the last year's age definition charts are still featured prominently during web searches, so make sure you are looking at a current age definition chart: https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/document/0880-3385604/2025-2026_Age_Definition_Chart_-_Sheet1__1_.pdf |
Anonymous
Hi neighbor! Is your daughter a returning player or an incoming 9th grader? I’m only aware of about a half dozen or so incoming 9th graders that play club. |
Anonymous
Are you saying that 08/10/2025 16:14 was correct? |