Metro tryout and club fees

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget that there is a new level of teams at Meteo this year, called National. Regional teams are now called Select. So now you have Travel, National, and Select. Maybe this will result in more movement from the mid/higher level teams, which will free up spots for players looking to move up.

What’s the difference between travel and national?

Travel teams play at the Open level (highest) at national qualifiers. Nationals teams play at the USA level (second highest).

Metro is foolish to think they will actually be able to form a 2nd team that is competitive enough to play in the USA Division. There isn't enough talent in this area for them to do that. The only way that works is if they get the 3-4 weakest players from their Travel teams to say yes to the National team, or if they take the strongest players away from JRS, MVSA, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Metro has season dues with this disclaimer:

Optional tournament registration, gym rental, coaches' stipend, coaches' hotel & travel accommodations are not included in season dues.

Does anyone know much these optional things add up to?

A Metro parent gave the exact numbers here:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/25/1227461.page

About $7k total including uniforms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro has season dues with this disclaimer:

Optional tournament registration, gym rental, coaches' stipend, coaches' hotel & travel accommodations are not included in season dues.

Does anyone know much these optional things add up to?

A Metro parent gave the exact numbers here:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/25/1227461.page

About $7k total including uniforms.

Likely to be more than that now. Gym rental is a new item that wasn’t previously included in the fees.

Gym costs average around 60/hr for a court at private schools where Travel practices. 3 practices x 2 hours each x 60 = 360/week for the team, divided by the number of players (avg of 15) = 24/week for gym fees. Around 30 weeks in the season, so gym fees can be an additional 700/year for a player. Could be a bit less if they have a good price from the school or they practice at public schools.

So $7,700, assuming the coach stipend and hotel costs haven’t increased in the last 12 months (hotel costs definitely have).

And as the referenced post highlights, that doesn’t include HUDL, clinics or any strength training like some other clubs include in their prices. Plus practices focus on team drills generally and not as much on individual skills so a number of players supplement with private coaching which averages around 100-150/hr for 1:1 or slightly less for 2-3:1.

Then add on family travel including flights, etc. and you can top $10K.

As the referenced post highlights, the base fee is just there to make their prices look competitive to other clubs on the MD side.

Those calculations apply to the select/regional teams too, although with 1 less practice per week, fewer tournaments and less travel.

Their travel program is great and often produces great players, but it’s very expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget that there is a new level of teams at Meteo this year, called National. Regional teams are now called Select. So now you have Travel, National, and Select. Maybe this will result in more movement from the mid/higher level teams, which will free up spots for players looking to move up.

What’s the difference between travel and national?

Travel teams play at the Open level (highest) at national qualifiers. Nationals teams play at the USA level (second highest).

Metro is foolish to think they will actually be able to form a 2nd team that is competitive enough to play in the USA Division. There isn't enough talent in this area for them to do that. The only way that works is if they get the 3-4 weakest players from their Travel teams to say yes to the National team, or if they take the strongest players away from JRS, MVSA, etc.

I think Metro will attract a lot of top players from other local clubs if they decide to get a second travel team going. Many of them already try out for Metro, are not accepted on the travel team, so they decide to stick with their home club (they would not consider a Metro regional team). If Metro offers them a position on Metro Travel II, that might affect the decision-making process. Depending on how Metro Travel II does in the first season, this could be another competitive team, or become yet another Metro regional. It all depends on the quality of the players who decide to accept the offer for their second team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro has season dues with this disclaimer:

Optional tournament registration, gym rental, coaches' stipend, coaches' hotel & travel accommodations are not included in season dues.

Does anyone know much these optional things add up to?

A Metro parent gave the exact numbers here:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/25/1227461.page

About $7k total including uniforms.

Likely to be more than that now. Gym rental is a new item that wasn’t previously included in the fees.

Gym costs average around 60/hr for a court at private schools where Travel practices. 3 practices x 2 hours each x 60 = 360/week for the team, divided by the number of players (avg of 15) = 24/week for gym fees. Around 30 weeks in the season, so gym fees can be an additional 700/year for a player. Could be a bit less if they have a good price from the school or they practice at public schools.

So $7,700, assuming the coach stipend and hotel costs haven’t increased in the last 12 months (hotel costs definitely have).

And as the referenced post highlights, that doesn’t include HUDL, clinics or any strength training like some other clubs include in their prices. Plus practices focus on team drills generally and not as much on individual skills so a number of players supplement with private coaching which averages around 100-150/hr for 1:1 or slightly less for 2-3:1.

Then add on family travel including flights, etc. and you can top $10K.

As the referenced post highlights, the base fee is just there to make their prices look competitive to other clubs on the MD side.

Those calculations apply to the select/regional teams too, although with 1 less practice per week, fewer tournaments and less travel.

Their travel program is great and often produces great players, but it’s very expensive.

I think someone misread the Metro website https://www.metrovbc.com/teaminfo-travel
Gym rental, coaches stipend, tournament registration, etc. are still in the “Included” column.

Not arguing that Metro isn’t expensive, but they haven’t changed their pricing structure from prior seasons. There is no question that if you add in your own player/family’s travel cost it’s over $10k for the season. As discussed on other threads over the past few seasons, despite Metro’s club fees looking lower, when you add back what’s included at other clubs the cost of Metro Travel is pretty close to Paramount and VA Jrs, although not as much as VA Elite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget that there is a new level of teams at Meteo this year, called National. Regional teams are now called Select. So now you have Travel, National, and Select. Maybe this will result in more movement from the mid/higher level teams, which will free up spots for players looking to move up.

What’s the difference between travel and national?

Travel teams play at the Open level (highest) at national qualifiers. Nationals teams play at the USA level (second highest).

Metro is foolish to think they will actually be able to form a 2nd team that is competitive enough to play in the USA Division. There isn't enough talent in this area for them to do that. The only way that works is if they get the 3-4 weakest players from their Travel teams to say yes to the National team, or if they take the strongest players away from JRS, MVSA, etc.

If you have a good libero, a good setter, a good middle blocker, and two good hitters, you will have a good team. Many teams are weak in one or two key positions.

If they can move 2–3 players from Metro Travel to Metro National and then add the 3 best players from Metro North, they will already have a solid foundation. I’m sure they can also attract 2–3 or more strong players from other clubs, so Metro National teams should be competitive.

It’s not clear whether Metro Travel or National will still carry 14–15 players per team. Hopefully, they will reduce that to give the players more playing time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro has season dues with this disclaimer:

Optional tournament registration, gym rental, coaches' stipend, coaches' hotel & travel accommodations are not included in season dues.

Does anyone know much these optional things add up to?

If you have to ask then it's not affordable for you.

It's like a fancy restaurant w/o prices on the menu. If you have to ask...

If you have to give an answer like this, you're clearly an insecure wannabe yourself. Even if you've got money, you're clearly a pain to be around.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to the PPs who posted: the link to Metro tryouts; the info about the new Nationals level of play; and the person who corrected the misinformation about all those fees not being included in the overall price (in fact, they are included in the overall price).

Sometimes there's so much noise on these discussions, just basic useful info can be hard to find. Thanks to everyone posting useful info in all the Volleyball discussions, it's really helpful and appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I read


Optional tournament registration, gym rental, coaches' stipend, coaches' hotel & travel accommodations are not included in season dues.

to mean that for the optional tournament, none of the above are included in conjunction with that tournament. This is often the case for Nationals with a lot of clubs because the optional tournaments happen after the regular season ends. Some teams decide later whether to go or not, thus the optional part, and why it costs extra once it’s decided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read


Optional tournament registration, gym rental, coaches' stipend, coaches' hotel & travel accommodations are not included in season dues.

to mean that for the optional tournament, none of the above are included in conjunction with that tournament. This is often the case for Nationals with a lot of clubs because the optional tournaments happen after the regular season ends. Some teams decide later whether to go or not, thus the optional part, and why it costs extra once it’s decided.

I believe Metro charges coaches hotel and travel fees for EVERY travel tournament. Has that changed?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know why there are no fees listed for Metro 14U Central?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read


Optional tournament registration, gym rental, coaches' stipend, coaches' hotel & travel accommodations are not included in season dues.

to mean that for the optional tournament, none of the above are included in conjunction with that tournament. This is often the case for Nationals with a lot of clubs because the optional tournaments happen after the regular season ends. Some teams decide later whether to go or not, thus the optional part, and why it costs extra once it’s decided.

I believe Metro charges coaches hotel and travel fees for EVERY travel tournament. Has that changed?

I think that remains the same - they typically send out a bill for coach travel for each month. So if a team goes to 2 qualifiers in a given month, the club sends out a bill for the costs for those 2 tournaments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read


Optional tournament registration, gym rental, coaches' stipend, coaches' hotel & travel accommodations are not included in season dues.

to mean that for the optional tournament, none of the above are included in conjunction with that tournament. This is often the case for Nationals with a lot of clubs because the optional tournaments happen after the regular season ends. Some teams decide later whether to go or not, thus the optional part, and why it costs extra once it’s decided.

USAV nationals appears to be a scheduled tournament for the Travel and National teams. I think maybe the Select teams (fka Regional) can choose to got to AAU Nationals or the new USAV club championships and if they do, those expenses would be extra. https://usavolleyball.org/story/usa-volleyball-announces-inaugural-girls-junior-club-championship-in-2026/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget that there is a new level of teams at Meteo this year, called National. Regional teams are now called Select. So now you have Travel, National, and Select. Maybe this will result in more movement from the mid/higher level teams, which will free up spots for players looking to move up.

What’s the difference between travel and national?

Travel teams play at the Open level (highest) at national qualifiers. Nationals teams play at the USA level (second highest).

Metro is foolish to think they will actually be able to form a 2nd team that is competitive enough to play in the USA Division. There isn't enough talent in this area for them to do that. The only way that works is if they get the 3-4 weakest players from their Travel teams to say yes to the National team, or if they take the strongest players away from JRS, MVSA, etc.

If you have a good libero, a good setter, a good middle blocker, and two good hitters, you will have a good team. Many teams are weak in one or two key positions.

If they can move 2–3 players from Metro Travel to Metro National and then add the 3 best players from Metro North, they will already have a solid foundation. I’m sure they can also attract 2–3 or more strong players from other clubs, so Metro National teams should be competitive.

It’s not clear whether Metro Travel or National will still carry 14–15 players per team. Hopefully, they will reduce that to give the players more playing time.

Metro Travel players aren't going to say yes to being placed on the 2nd team. Everybody will know what the top team is and what the second team is. Metro is not trying to create two equal teams. The best players will be on Travel, and the next best will be put on National. The National team won't be playing in Open at qualifiers, which is where the best recruiting is. Players leave VAJRS, MVSA, etc. to play for Metro Travel or Paramount because they play in Open and are the only two teams in the area that can compete for Open Bids. Metro Travel players won't accept going from an Open level team to a USA team. Plus, Metro is way overestimating the pull they'll have with these National teams, as they are going to have to shake a decade-long stigma of forming dozens of regional teams and only really caring about their Travel teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget that there is a new level of teams at Meteo this year, called National. Regional teams are now called Select. So now you have Travel, National, and Select. Maybe this will result in more movement from the mid/higher level teams, which will free up spots for players looking to move up.

What’s the difference between travel and national?

Travel teams play at the Open level (highest) at national qualifiers. Nationals teams play at the USA level (second highest).

Metro is foolish to think they will actually be able to form a 2nd team that is competitive enough to play in the USA Division. There isn't enough talent in this area for them to do that. The only way that works is if they get the 3-4 weakest players from their Travel teams to say yes to the National team, or if they take the strongest players away from JRS, MVSA, etc.

If you have a good libero, a good setter, a good middle blocker, and two good hitters, you will have a good team. Many teams are weak in one or two key positions.

If they can move 2–3 players from Metro Travel to Metro National and then add the 3 best players from Metro North, they will already have a solid foundation. I’m sure they can also attract 2–3 or more strong players from other clubs, so Metro National teams should be competitive.

It’s not clear whether Metro Travel or National will still carry 14–15 players per team. Hopefully, they will reduce that to give the players more playing time.

Metro Travel players aren't going to say yes to being placed on the 2nd team. Everybody will know what the top team is and what the second team is. Metro is not trying to create two equal teams. The best players will be on Travel, and the next best will be put on National. The National team won't be playing in Open at qualifiers, which is where the best recruiting is. Players leave VAJRS, MVSA, etc. to play for Metro Travel or Paramount because they play in Open and are the only two teams in the area that can compete for Open Bids. Metro Travel players won't accept going from an Open level team to a USA team. Plus, Metro is way overestimating the pull they'll have with these National teams, as they are going to have to shake a decade-long stigma of forming dozens of regional teams and only really caring about their Travel teams.

I agree that players who have been on a Metro Travel team in a prior season will not likely accept a spot on a Metro National team, but Metro passes on many talented players every year because there isn’t enough space on Travel rosters, even taking 15 players. I’d guess they are hoping to be able to make offers to players who were close to making a Travel team. Over time, maybe they will be able to reduce the number of players on the Travel teams from 15 to 12 and still be able to field solid National teams. Based on what they’ve got on the website, it looks like the plan is to run the National teams in the same way as the Travel teams so it would seem they won’t be like the regional teams.

My guess is the Metro name will attract enough talented players to make a solid team. Whether those teams will be competitive for a USA bid, I’m not sure, but I’d bet they will be good enough to compete for a bid at regionals.