Club Volleyball - question about playing time in tournaments
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Anonymous
| Appreciate all the replies - we’re going to look for a smaller club next year. Last week three girls were benched the entire tournament (my daughter got her usual 1/2 out of 3 games). The past two tournaments have had at least one girl crying. |
Anonymous
I’d be inclined to focus on size of roster, not just smaller club. Some of the bigger clubs restrict their roster - any more than 12 and at least 2 kids are always sitting on the bench. |
Anonymous
I think you should combine the 3 best bits of advice I saw here so far: 1. Find a smaller club and approach the coach, explain that it's really not a good fit for your child where they are and how even in scrimmages they're benched the whole time, and ask what they think you can do. Maybe ask a couple of smaller clubs and see what they say. They may know how to get around the "No new clubs once season starts" rule. 2. If you find a new club, dispute the charges at your current one and explain why you find to not at all be what you thought you were paying for. See if you can either get them to commit to more development of your daughter & more playtime OR see if you can get that refund and go to a club if you've found a new one. Sounds like a tough situation but there are many nice coaches out there. I met a few last club season and I really respected that NONE of them would speak badly of any other clubs, and when I ran dynamics by them that bothered me, the most they'd say is "Yeah, we do things differently...." and tell me how they handle it. We weren't so unhappy we wanted to leave last season, but we got great tips on where to try for this coming season. Now if I could only find my damn notes on it!  I'm totally serious, I'm starting to see tryout schedules posted and I cannot find my damn notes... #BestVolleyballMomEver 
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Anonymous
| Oh of course I just figured out this thread is from last club season and of course the situation is past now! OP I would like to hear what happened, and did you find a new club last spring or that you'll focus on for this coming spring season? I hope your daughter stayed optimistic and wanting to play... and I wish you both the best for the upcoming season. |
Anonymous
| This conversation is relevant every year |
Anonymous
| Has anyone listed to michael Lewis’s playing to win? I think it’s only on audible. He highlights girl’s volleyball as the big moneymaker among youth sports. Particularly the tournaments. |
Anonymous
huge moneymaker There is actually a guy who rents courts to all the tournaments. If you have been to the Capital Classic in DC, there are probably over 100 courts rents them to the tournament, gets local high school kids or parents to put them down and packs them up and on to the next tournament and he has many tournaments each weekend. The dump over in Laurel MD Juniors makes a killing every weekend. 10 courts 30 teams or so paying $500 bucks you do the math. Clubs make more and more teams at each age group increases club revenue. Only the top travel team care about their players the rest is just revenue for the owner. |
Anonymous
+1 I’d have already requested a meeting with the coach. And if it wasn’t corrected I’d explain to DD she’s there to learn and play and not ride a bench at practice and that we were leaving. Then I’d bash the club to anyone who was willing to listen. |
Anonymous
Yes, that is exactly what michael Lewis says - the tournaments rake in so much money because you can pack a lot of games in a small amount of space. When you think about youth sports from a business perspective, suddenly it all makes sense- why sports are all year round now, why there is so much travel, etc |
Anonymous
But that's not what is happening here. OP said the two "best" girls play all the time and the other three hitters rotate. That seems about right. If you want equal playing time, she needs to get as good as the best ones or go to a lower team (different club). |
Anonymous
| When you move to club it is play your win. You daughter needs to get better if she wants to play more. You can invest more money in privates and maybe it will help. But she may not get better then the others as they are likely working to maintain their spot and possibly move to a higher level team. |
Anonymous
| OP here - nothing changed the rest of the year at club - the coach had her rotation and it didn’t change the entire season. My daughter started high school and is now a starter on the freshman team and was invited to play with varsity the entire pre-season and will be on varsity next year. We signed up for club again so will see how it goes. (She not once got to serve at club - now she serves every high school game). We have been practicing a lot but her skill level hasn’t changed by that much! Anyways she loves the sport so we’re continuing on. (There was a girl on her club team last year that was a starter at club but benched at high school - so mostly skill but maybe luck and chemistry with coach as well?) |
Anonymous
| Always try to go somewhere that really wants your DD, otherwise it’s a hard road as she is probably seen as a benchwarmer and roster filler. There is nothing more heartbreaking than watching your kid sit on the bench all season. Better to go to a club where she’ll actually play, and get spotted by other clubs (hopefully). |
Anonymous
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Club Vball is pay for practice time. Tournament play time is not a guarantee. Players should talk to coach regarding what they can do to improve to get more playing time.
DD was on a competitive club last year and was told she would need to fight tooth and nail for playing time as there were other really good players on the team. She rode the bench A LOT especially when they shifted some rotations as well as having 13 girls on the roster. A few players went to tournaments where they had to fly a few hours or drive all day to get there for 3-4 days and never set foot to play a point on the court because it was too close so they kept the starters in, or played maybe 1-3 points. It was an emotional and physical battle all year that wore on DD and parents. HS has helped improve with regular 5x/week play but level of play is not always the same as club depending on HS and competitive level of club. DD has enjoyed it though and she worked her butt off in summer camps, at HS and now at pre-season clinics as she is trying to keep options open and maximize playing time. She improved a lot even just at practice with a high caliber team/players but ultimately most experience (and fun in the season) is to actually play in tournaments to play against players you don't know and work the unexpected as occurs in game play. DD is keeping options open similar to OP but also aware still that playing time is never guaranteed. Most have you sign a contract to show you understand that leaving means you are still liable for $$ of the club fee for year. You may be able to work something with the club but I'm not sure which clubs would do this. Plenty quit before season ends (particularly in later spring and/or post-season AAU or nationals) but the year fees are still paid... 10 ppl on team seems to best to get playing time but leaves club vulnerable to injuries and illness and not having enough to play at the tournaments. At U14, they definitely start specializing and recruiting by positions and a player may have a backup position to fill in for injury or some flexibility. |
Anonymous
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I know this thread is old but since we are coming up on tryout season, it's relevant all over again. For anyone new-ish to club volleyball, you should know that it can be brutal at some of the top tier clubs especially 15-18. Who gets cut from the previous year when someone better shows up, who plays and who works their butt off but sits on the bench all season anyway. For DD's 15s team last year some kids hardly ever played --some of them sat while a starter in a different position got injured then took over as starter in THEIR position when she recovered. She was one of a core group they obviously wanted playing as much as possible so even in a new position she was going to play. That core group at most clubs will likely receive offers before tryouts and everyone else will be competing for a few openings. Not saying it's right or wrong. It's just reality.
If your daughter isn't interested in playing in college, think hard about where you want to accept an offer and put a priority on development, coaching style, and travel schedule. There are enough clubs in the mid to lower tiers, some with 2 levels of teams, who can give your kid a good experience and help her grow by actually letting her play. There is a right fit for everyone but go in eyes as open as possible. |