Volleyball club- recap and thoughts

[Anonymous]

Mojo was there before. Later Mojo merged into ECP , but seems only got the club name, not ECP coaches, at least for u14 and under. People are talking about ECP coaches left ECP to Mojo. Who are those coaches?

[FPYCparent]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have the 411 on No Panic and Xfactor clubs? How about VaVa?

Our player was "introduced" to club volleyball via No Panic last year by a recommendation from another parent. I'd say that at least 5 (and maybe even 10) girls across current varsity and JV players at DD's high school played at No Panic last year. My kid did try out with the club last year but ultimately decided to accept another offer.

As the name suggests, this is/was a low-to-no-stress club. Based on last year's experience, I'd say it's a decent place for players starting to get into organized volleyball. However, if you are looking for your player to excel, this may not be the place that will push you kid to elite levels of skill/play. But that's not a bad thing! Everyone needs to find a level of play that's compatible.

Based on the club's website, they're now located in Manassas and not in Chantilly like they were to start last year's season. I don't have any details behind the location change.

The only other thing I can add is that one of the NP coaches from last year now appears to be on staff at VA Juniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have the 411 on No Panic and Xfactor clubs? How about VaVa?

X-Factor is a newer club that was started two to three years ago. The founder used to coach for Arlington Elite and VA Elite. He was the head coach for Northern VA Community College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do any players make teams if they haven’t been selected for invite-only clinics? Do most teams know their roster before tryouts start?

It depends. Some clubs don’t do invite clinics. A good way to tell if your daughter is in the mix for consideration for the team is if the open clinics use two courts for her age group. If she’s on the court with the tall and more experienced girls, this is the “good” court, and she is likely going to be considered for a spot on the team. It’s important to go to as many pre tryout clinics as possible to get seen before tryouts. Tryouts can be crowded and they are usually short. It helps to be known before going in to the tryouts.


If you haven’t been given the nod before tryouts, your only route into any club is as a bench warmer. Some clubs tell their kids not to go to other clubs clinics or they’re out.

Paramount do a great job marketing on this forum btw.

For clarity, if my kid hasn’t received any invites to invite-only clinics, there is no point in going to tryouts?

What has been the coaches feedback at clinics you have attended?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mojo was there before. Later Mojo merged into ECP , but seems only got the club name, not ECP coaches, at least for u14 and under. People are talking about ECP coaches left ECP to Mojo. Who are those coaches?

I know there are many, but the one that comes to mind is Amy Skidmore who helped to bring ECP here in the first place.

[Anonymous]

This is such a depressing thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is such a depressing thread.

What's so depressing? It's just honest parents sharing their experiences, possibly saving other parents thousands of dollars. Club volleyball is very expensive with the club fees and traveling costs. Every parent thinks one's daughter is a bonafide D1 player. They just need to face reality that it's very competitive at tryouts and very competitive once you are on a team to get playing time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a depressing thread.

What's so depressing? It's just honest parents sharing their experiences, possibly saving other parents thousands of dollars. Club volleyball is very expensive with the club fees and traveling costs. Every parent thinks one's daughter is a bonafide D1 player. They just need to face reality that it's very competitive at tryouts and very competitive once you are on a team to get playing time.

And don't forget that club volleyball doesn't obey the old saying of "you get what you pay for." Price and experience can be completely inverse to each other. The coach, the team, the club director and the club culture can make a high cost club feel terrible and a low cost club feel great, and vice versa. A lot of the good posts of this thread are just sharing their point of view---so always take what's said in context and decide whether it really applies to your specific goals and situation.

The best time to do your research is prior to tryouts, because once tryouts start you information and time is very limited.

Another thought: Unless you and your DD are both committed to--and/or need the money that comes with--a D1/D2 scholarship, then think hard about the right club for you. There are a small # of clubs who have an outsized presence in these discussions, and it almost always focuses on club success, recruiting, etc. Winning and recruiting is vitally important to families who believe their DD is good enough to play at the top levels of volleyball, but that is a very small portion of the club players in our region. Most of those players are already being recruited prior to tryouts. They can be great clubs, but they may or may not be a great fit for your situation.

[Anonymous]

Be realistic about your child's skills. If you are shelling out 4-5K per season and paying for hotels and trave, alot of that could go towards a semester or two in-state or a nice car. It's big business in this area and parents get caught up throwing money at these clubs without gaging the cost/benefit of it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a depressing thread.

What's so depressing? It's just honest parents sharing their experiences, possibly saving other parents thousands of dollars. Club volleyball is very expensive with the club fees and traveling costs. Every parent thinks one's daughter is a bonafide D1 player. They just need to face reality that it's very competitive at tryouts and very competitive once you are on a team to get playing time.

And don't forget that club volleyball doesn't obey the old saying of "you get what you pay for." Price and experience can be completely inverse to each other. The coach, the team, the club director and the club culture can make a high cost club feel terrible and a low cost club feel great, and vice versa. A lot of the good posts of this thread are just sharing their point of view---so always take what's said in context and decide whether it really applies to your specific goals and situation.

The best time to do your research is prior to tryouts, because once tryouts start you information and time is very limited.

Another thought: Unless you and your DD are both committed to--and/or need the money that comes with--a D1/D2 scholarship, then think hard about the right club for you. There are a small # of clubs who have an outsized presence in these discussions, and it almost always focuses on club success, recruiting, etc. Winning and recruiting is vitally important to families who believe their DD is good enough to play at the top levels of volleyball, but that is a very small portion of the club players in our region. Most of those players are already being recruited prior to tryouts. They can be great clubs, but they may or may not be a great fit for your situation.

Having 2 kids that is playing vball in college, I recommend parents balance the "winning club" vs "court time". Best club is competitive (not necessary have to win every tournament), focus on player development (ie. all players, especially young ones, get train in passing, setting and hitting). Not easy to find such balance and it can be different for each age group. Be positive and realize that each experience (good and bad) can be a learning opportunity - so parents, be an adult, and help you DD grow and mature from each obstacle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having 2 kids that is playing vball in college, I recommend parents balance the "winning club" vs "court time". Best club is competitive (not necessary have to win every tournament), focus on player development (ie. all players, especially young ones, get train in passing, setting and hitting). Not easy to find such balance and it can be different for each age group. Be positive and realize that each experience (good and bad) can be a learning opportunity - so parents, be an adult, and help you DD grow and mature from each obstacle.

+1. It can be hard finding the balance that works best for your DD and your family.

Most competitive club teams will play a lot of matches in a season (some play 75+). If you are worried about playing time at the U15+ level, you can ask the potential coach for a stat report from the prior year. Most competitive clubs use HUDL, so its an easy request. One club showed us a season where 6-7 players played in virtually all the games and sets while the other 6-8 players on the team played in less than half the matches/sets even fewer sets. We learned quickly which clubs focused on winning and always playing their stars vs. which clubs balance playing time with being competitive. There are clubs out there where everyone plays in 80-90%+ of matches and sets, and the teams are very competitive at an open level.

At the U11-U14 level, everyone really should be developing strong fundamentals in practice and getting a lot of playing time in tournaments. Just remember that not every player is ready or able to play six rotations at that age, and good coaches figure out a way to get players on the court in a way that gives them a chance to succeed.

[Anonymous]

My DD couldn’t care less about playing in college. And we can’t afford to pay the insane club fees. What is a good lower level club in Northern VA that is fun?

[Anonymous]

This is a post for those who are interested in more info about Renaissance Chesapeake. This is NOT an official PR post- so please no bashing from those who clearly are not fans of the club. We are interested and have been looking for info, as have many others. Just sharing that the website has tournament info up for some teams.

https://www.renaissancechesapeake.com/dc-division

[FPYCparent]

Here are some resources that may be worth consideration when looking into clubs:

The VolleyTruth videos (YouTube):

Ep. 5 - Choosing the Right Volleyball Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3KpFW2z9PE
Ep. 17 - USAV Divisions Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ7qPaGDYuU

AES Rankings (look at historical seasons to get a season for how clubs/teams perform; NOTE that some clubs have multiple teams that compete at different levels/divisions): https://advancedeventsystems.com/rankings (You may have to tick the "Show national rankings" box to get a more realistic assessment of a team's season-long performance)

All CHRVA (Chesapeake region) clubs with youth teams: http://www.chrvajuniors.org/juniors/contacts_clubs/clubs_results.CFM

Now, if someone wants to nerd out, they can dump last year's rankings for the Chespeake region into a spreadsheet and then add a column for team fees for the year. Good luck with that!

[Anonymous]

FPYCparent wrote:Here are some resources that may be worth consideration when looking into clubs:=

The VolleyTruth videos (YouTube):

Ep. 5 - Choosing the Right Volleyball Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3KpFW2z9PE
Ep. 17 - USAV Divisions Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ7qPaGDYuU

AES Rankings (look at historical seasons to get a season for how clubs/teams perform; NOTE that some clubs have multiple teams that compete at different levels/divisions): https://advancedeventsystems.com/rankings (You may have to tick the "Show national rankings" box to get a more realistic assessment of a team's season-long performance)

All CHRVA (Chesapeake region) clubs with youth teams: http://www.chrvajuniors.org/juniors/contacts_clubs/clubs_results.CFM

Now, if someone wants to nerd out, they can dump last year's rankings for the Chespeake region into a spreadsheet and then add a column for team fees for the year. Good luck with that!

AES rankings are based on past performance. There's no guarantee you will get the same result this year or in future years. Just like the typical financial disclaimer on any financial investment. Past Performance Is Not Indicative Of Future Results