Club Volleyball - rate your club pros/cons

[Anonymous]

Has Metro announced tryout dates/times? Can’t find anything in their website yet. All other clubs gave posted!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for info and input on American VB club out in Manassas.

Tried out there last year. Didn’t make the 1s team so went elsewhere. Families I know that stayed liked it. Mostly good finishes across the board in the region and elsewhere. Not usually top 10 but some are some aren’t. I’d put them as a solid finisher among Va clubs though for sure. I believe they are a lot less expensive than some other clubs who fall around their ranking range. We did find that most of their roster was locked in before tryouts actually started. TONS of kids showed up to tryout and few ever set foot on the top court after the first round of evaluations.

Their 2s team was significantly less skilled.

Suggest you hit up fall clinics and ensure the coach for the age group will be there if they top your list. A good way to help weed yourself out or be weeded out based on attitude and interest displayed by coaches. Just like any club you consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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

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.

Not impressive. Years ago NVVA as a club / travel option hit the skids. Money to pay for that massive facility was a strong motivator and they seemed to price themselves out of the market way before other clubs started charging high prices. Be curious to see if this new, snazzy endeavor really ends up any better. Maybe?! But pig:lipstick. 🤷‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Has anyone done a comparison of cost to practice hours, conditioning and number of tournaments for VA national / open level clubs? For some super high price tags they don’t seem to offer tons of extras or hours of court time for the price. Though everyone seems to be jumping into the big travel tournaments game. Is that because it sounds cool to kids or parents or because it’s really a great challenge and opportunity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happened with Renaissance - Chesapeake last year was a tragedy.

What happened??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone done a comparison of cost to practice hours, conditioning and number of tournaments for VA national / open level clubs? For some super high price tags they don’t seem to offer tons of extras or hours of court time for the price. Though everyone seems to be jumping into the big travel tournaments game. Is that because it sounds cool to kids or parents or because it’s really a great challenge and opportunity?

At some point you have to step in and decide what is a great challenge and opportunity for your kids. Ours would not mind travelling all over the world to play volleyball and spend time with her team no matter how much they lose (they are not that good btw). Is it a great challenge? Sure, they get they behinds whooped all the time when they play against strong teams, so they are definitely getting challenged. Is it a great opportunity? Sure, who doesn't like to hop from place to place, especially when you get to spend time outside the court with your friends? Does it make sense though? Likely not. Travelling for the sake of seeing the interior of rec / convention centers in different cities while the team loses game after game is kinda silly. The rec centers look the same if you play regionally and you may win a few games without wasting so much money.

[Anonymous]

Hi there,
We are new to club volleyball but not new to club sports and tryout process (academy ECNL/MLS Next soccer, etc). DD went to a 13/14 "fall tryout prep" today at least 3 weeks before tryouts and several girls received hardcopy letters after the prep session for all to see handed to them by the coaches. There are words "invite" on the letter from what one of the participants could see. Are these invites to the team roster already? Is this typical practice of VB clubs in the area and does this mean the roster is nearly formed by tryout day? We are not naive about what goes on but didn't think it would be so public, appreciate any insight. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi there,
We are new to club volleyball but not new to club sports and tryout process (academy ECNL/MLS Next soccer, etc). DD went to a 13/14 "fall tryout prep" today at least 3 weeks before tryouts and several girls received hardcopy letters after the prep session for all to see handed to them by the coaches. There are words "invite" on the letter from what one of the participants could see. Are these invites to the team roster already? Is this typical practice of VB clubs in the area and does this mean the roster is nearly formed by tryout day? We are not naive about what goes on but didn't think it would be so public, appreciate any insight. Thanks!

They can’t make an offer until tryout weekend.

It was most likely invitations to an invite only clinic.

What club was it?

[Anonymous]

Vienna Elite

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi there,
We are new to club volleyball but not new to club sports and tryout process (academy ECNL/MLS Next soccer, etc). DD went to a 13/14 "fall tryout prep" today at least 3 weeks before tryouts and several girls received hardcopy letters after the prep session for all to see handed to them by the coaches. There are words "invite" on the letter from what one of the participants could see. Are these invites to the team roster already? Is this typical practice of VB clubs in the area and does this mean the roster is nearly formed by tryout day? We are not naive about what goes on but didn't think it would be so public, appreciate any insight. Thanks!

Read this.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1231654.page

[Anonymous]

Thank you!!!!

[Anonymous]

Just found this thread. I am new volleyball mom and all of this is overwhelming. My dd is playing for her middle school team (6th grade) but the school is tiny so it wasn't that difficult to make the team with no volleyball experience. She has done a couple of clinics with metro regional. She is starting in a rec one day a week with Bethesda Volleyball on Nov 10. She loves the sport and has definitely improved but no where near the level of other 6th graders she sees at the clinics.
I would like to get her in the Metro rec league in Winter but I heard that sells out so fast. She is not ready for a try out club team. We are in DC and trying to find more weekly opportunities to play and develop her skills.

[Anonymous]

18:50 you'd be better off starting a new thread. I don't think anyone else (besides me who is a vb info junky) will be reviewing this thread at this point since we've all just finished tryouts and are a bit burned out on volleyball at the moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18:50 you'd be better off starting a new thread. I don't think anyone else (besides me who is a vb info junky) will be reviewing this thread at this point since we've all just finished tryouts and are a bit burned out on volleyball at the moment.

I agree - this is where people gossip about clubs and your post asks what to do other than club.