Club Volleyball - rate your club pros/cons
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Anonymous
Her day job was formerly as the head volleyball coach at Catholic University but she took a new job as an assistant at Marshall University. |
Anonymous
Looking at the rosters (which includes the coaches) of the St James teams that played in the 2024 CHC (https://events.sportwrench.com/#/events/cf57945b1/clubs/33282) it doesn't seem like most of these coaches were at the St. James last year. I agree these seem to be experienced coaches which is a good thing. Nevertheless, I think that attracting experienced players needed to compete at national qualifiers (particularly if they are going to play in the open division) will be a challenge for a new club. Yes there are lots of girls at tryouts, but the ones that don't have offers from more established clubs are going to be those with less experience. None of this is meant to say that people shouldn't be starting new clubs. There is absolutely a need for more clubs as volleyball continues to grow in the DMV. I just feel like taking a more measured approach in the first season or two would be better. Setting club fees at the level of more established clubs with a demonstrated track record and committing to 3 qualifiers in season 1 seems to set them up for some disappointment. |
Anonymous
Beware, their club director isn't even living in VA. Her family moved to Texas over the summer. |
Anonymous
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Re: Legacy volleyball. My DD checked out the clinics. Our take is this new club is by former St James coaches/parents. We saw 3 parent groups/moms running admin for the clinics and they appear to be looking to springboard their own daughters. It was obvious at the clinics who their daughters were bc two were very strong players and standouts (one was not). The clinics were intense with a lot of more physically challenging drills. The level of talent we saw was all over the map. There were the coaches’ girls - strong hitters with one definitely open level player. Then there were girls who couldn’t serve over the net.
My DD thought the training was good. Coaches seemed good. But like anything else, a new club is a risk. My DD almost accepted a spot on a Renaissance Chesapeake team last year after a hard sell from the coaches/director and a lot of promises made, and boy *is she glad she didn’t take the spot* and went for a tried and true proven club. We saw the Renaissance teams at tournaments last year and I don’t think they won a single game. Maybe a single set. My DD knows girls who quit volleyball after last season and taking a risk on a new club. |
Anonymous
| What happened with Renaissance - Chesapeake last year was a tragedy. |
Anonymous
A new club setting too high expectations is a recipe for failure. Having experienced coaches helps, but success also requires attracting the right players and I think that is where Renaissance and to a certain extent, EC Power Chesapeake, fell short of expectations which led to disappointment. |
Anonymous
If they play many open level qualifiers, it will help the good athelets in their team to be noticed by college coaches and got recruited. Compare to players in good clubs with less playing time. |
Anonymous
Coaches cannot watch every single game, especially the pool games. They will likely watch a lot of the top division games. If you are a standout on a team that doesn't perform well as a whole, it will be difficult to get noticed, no matter how many open qualifiers you go to. |
Anonymous
| Don't fool people, coaches come to watch the candidates playing, not just to the top division. There is another post on the gjnc 2024 results, no chrva team really in so called top division. If a player not in p5 level, playing in the travel teams that also qualify to gjnc nationals would get you enough attention given you have your recruitment profiles updated and contacted your target college coaches. |
Anonymous
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NVVA announced this new club brand and format via email today. What do folks thing is this “new” format?
We’re excited to announce that our club volleyball program has officially transitioned into X-Performance! This means all teams will now benefit from enhanced local training, tailored skill development, and growth opportunities—without travel sports’ financial burden and time commitment. This transition allows us to provide an even stronger pathway for athletes to reach their potential right here in the community. What’s Coming Up: Fall Clinics on Sundays: A perfect chance for athletes to connect with future XP players in their age group and meet our dedicated XP coaches. Start building the bonds that will last all season! Workshops: Focus on specific skills with our top coaches and work on areas that will help elevate your game. Whether you want to perfect your serve or improve your defense, these workshops are designed to take you to the next level. XP Tryouts: Join our tryouts to assess your skill level, receive an XP badge, and possibly join one of our competitive teams. It’s an opportunity to see where you stand and create a roadmap for improvement. XP Club Volleyball Season: Kicking off this winter and running through the summer, the XP club season is designed for athletes ready to commit to volleyball fully. With our structured program and expert coaching, players will experience a season of development, teamwork, and competitive growth. We are also excited to introduce XP Memberships! While optional, membership offers excellent perks, including clinic discounts, workshops, and more. We’re excited to take this journey with you and your athlete! To learn more about these exciting changes, membership perks, and opportunities, check out our full release by clicking here. We can’t wait to see you at our upcoming events and help your athlete take their game to the next level! Best regards, The X-Performance Team |
Anonymous
It’s too early to tell. They are advertising a lot of teams and there is the demand. Their prices seem high for the tournaments but people will be willing to pay it. We are skeptical of the promise of advanced training while keeping things local. Thumbs down on the badge system. It seems confusing and gimmicky. |
Anonymous
This is true. College coaches aren’t just wandering around big tournaments waiting for players to catch their attention. They have a plan for which players they want to watch and it doesn’t matter if their team is winning or losing. This is why the best recruiting advice is for players to be proactive and be reaching out to college coaches to get on their radar. It is somewhat true that college coaches have a preference for players on teams playing in the open division, especially for liberos/defensive specialists. While a college coach might take a chance on a hitter that’s tall or touches over 10’ that plays for a team in a lower division, it’s less risky for them to take players that have already demonstrated they can play at a very high level. |
Anonymous
College coaches have limited time and resources for recruiting. College coaches almost always have a list, usually coming from a combination of players reaching out to them via their college recruiting forms. They'll watch highlights and film along with review player physical stats (height, touch, etc.) and position and then decide if the player may meet their needs/standards. If a coach is interested in you, they'll find a way to watch you at whatever level you compete at. If they are really interested and you are U16/U17 they'll invite you to their prospect camp so they can watch you closely. Coaches aren't just showing up to tournaments and they aren't randomly sitting down on courts to watch players unless one of the players they are watching is warming up on the next court over and they have a few minutes to rest. This is especially true of programs that are in high demand, including P5 and high academic D1 and D3 schools. Remember, not every great player lives near a club where they can play on a team that can compete in open at a qualifier or AAU nationals. And just because you play on an open-level competitive team does mean you can compete at a high level in college. If coaches limit themselves to just open-level recruiting they'll end up competing for all the same players--which means many of the programs will lose out to the big schools. So they all cast wide nets and look not just for great players, but for great players that are interested in playing for their school. Don't underestimate how important that last part is. Even powerhouses like Nebraska, Stanford, Wisconsin, etc. have recruits turn them down every year -- and not just to go to one of those other schools. There are even many P5 players that are recruited every year that don't compete at the open level. For proof look at https://volleytalk.proboards.com/thread/99241/2026-ncaa-d1-indoor-commits, where there are dozens of D1 commits that weren't on open level teams at GJNC or AAU. In fact, there are more than a dozen D1 recruits for the Big 10, Big 12 and SEC that didn't compete in open at USAV nationals on that list. And these are the early commits for the Class of 2026, if you check the 2025 list you'll see even more that didn't compete at the open level. And if you have the physical stats to stand out, they may contact you regardless of if you are interested in them or even if they haven't seen you. 6'3" MH? You'll get interest no matter where you play. 6'1" OH that touches 9'10", same thing. Beyond high D1, the mid/low D1, D2 and D3 schools also all recruit at all levels of club volleyball. There are even D1 schools and lots of D2 schools that recruit at club levels well below that of the top D3 schools. Also, college coaches know their competitive recruiting hierarchy. As much as a Patriot League coach would love to have a P5 prospect join them, they know the odds are very low unless the player is actively showing interest in their school. Bottom line: if you want to play in college, if you put in the effort to contact coaches and have the ability to play at their programs level, you will get interest. Playing in open may help the edge cases some, but its by no means required. And for a lot of schools its a detractor because they may have had poor success recruiting national level open players in the past, so they don't spend time on them. |
Anonymous
+1. We are well past our recruiting years in our family, but DD played on a U16 team where there were 2 tall middles and two OH that were athletic and could jump, along with a setter that was smaller but very good. None of the hitters were that great yet--most had started playing at U14/U15 ages, so the team was competing 3 levels down at NEQs and AAUs. The team didn't even make it into the top into the regional bid tournament for USAV. But at AAUs, we had coaches 2-3 deep on the sidelines during some matches. The most we counted was 15+ coaches watching a match at the club level of AAU nationals for a team that finished in the bottom half of the tournament. Each of the players reached out to 10-15 schools that they knew where going to be there prior to nationals. For a few of those schools the players were very clear that they planned on applying to the school even if they didn't play volleyball. D1, D2 and D3 coaches all showed up. Every one of those players got an offer from at least one school, most got multiple. |
Anonymous
| Looking for info and input on American VB club out in Manassas. |