RVA

[Anonymous]

I hope I can place these two plots side-by-side:


On the left you can see the team rankings and on the right you can see the costs. RVA has a few teams that are doing relatively well (12, 14, and the top 16), but the rest are less competitive. DMV takes the cake for the most expensive club in the region (with just one team - 15 - doing relatively well). For all the age groups where DMV doesn't have teams, RVA is the most expensive club in the region. You will have to decide for yourself if it is worth spending so much money for the outcomes you see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So far RVA is the only club DD got an offer for (14U). Looked at their cost and was gagged. (Much more expensive compared to other clubs). Looked at the travel schedule and am baffled why they are traveling just as top teams???? We're new to volleyball but I though that teams like this one focused on more improvement.

Get on the makeup tryouts bandwagon. The top clubs don't need to organize makeups because they had enough talent to fill their rosters. The rest of the clubs are now feeding on the players who were hoping to make a top club, but never got an offer.

[Anonymous]

New pricing on website. Especially for lower ages need to consider coaching quality (excellent with RVA), and playing time at tournaments also likely more focused on player development as compared to club
stats with RVA compared to “nationally-ranked” clubs (quotation marks because… why does it matter if 10/12/14 are placing nationally… 🤷‍♀️)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New pricing on website. Especially for lower ages need to consider coaching quality (excellent with RVA), and playing time at tournaments also likely more focused on player development as compared to club
stats with RVA compared to “nationally-ranked” clubs (quotation marks because… why does it matter if 10/12/14 are placing nationally… 🤷‍♀️)

This is definitely not a club representative who noticed backlash at their pricing structure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New pricing on website. Especially for lower ages need to consider coaching quality (excellent with RVA), and playing time at tournaments also likely more focused on player development as compared to club
stats with RVA compared to “nationally-ranked” clubs (quotation marks because… why does it matter if 10/12/14 are placing nationally… 🤷‍♀️)

This is definitely not a club representative who noticed backlash at their pricing structure.

Correct- this is a parent letting other parents know that there is updated pricing so that you have accurate information…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New pricing on website. Especially for lower ages need to consider coaching quality (excellent with RVA), and playing time at tournaments also likely more focused on player development as compared to club
stats with RVA compared to “nationally-ranked” clubs (quotation marks because… why does it matter if 10/12/14 are placing nationally… 🤷‍♀️)

This is definitely not a club representative who noticed backlash at their pricing structure.

Correct- this is a parent letting other parents know that there is updated pricing so that you have accurate information…

And the sarcasm went right over their head. The pricing changed for the younger teams and stayed the same for the older teams. Still the most expensive club after DMV. Good luck attracting and keeping good players with that fee structure, crazy travel schedule, and outcomes!

[Anonymous]

It looks like 2024-25 season, RVA 12U girls ranked higher than metro 12 central and east as well as several Moco teams.. I guess I’m confused about why the trash talking. Haters are gonna hate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New pricing on website. Especially for lower ages need to consider coaching quality (excellent with RVA), and playing time at tournaments also likely more focused on player development as compared to club
stats with RVA compared to “nationally-ranked” clubs (quotation marks because… why does it matter if 10/12/14 are placing nationally… 🤷‍♀️)

I will attempt to answer the rhetorical question. A team ranks poorly when it is not competitive in the tournaments where it is placed. You can claim that the coaching is excellent, but it is hard to prove when the team keeps losing its games. That simply demonstrates that the the coaching is excellent, but for the opposing teams. Placing teams in high-level tournaments may have benefits: the players can see how the game is played at a higher level, and they are challenged to grow. However, losing game after game after game can be frustrating and demoralizing for both players and parents. On the opposite side of the spectrum, you can place the teams in easy tournaments, where every serve is an ace and you bring home the medals. This approach comes with a good feeling, but it is a complete waste of time and money because players are not being properly challenged. Ideally you would find the happy middle ground, where players are challenged at their level, they win some of their games, and they feel like they have a good experience even when they lose. A poor ranking shows either that the teams are not competitive (poor training / coaching), poor choice of tournaments (poor administrative decisions), or both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It looks like 2024-25 season, RVA 12U girls ranked higher than metro 12 central and east as well as several Moco teams.. I guess I’m confused about why the trash talking. Haters are gonna hate.

Since when Metro regional and bottom Moco teams are the standards of quality volleyball?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It looks like 2024-25 season, RVA 12U girls ranked higher than metro 12 central and east as well as several Moco teams.. I guess I’m confused about why the trash talking. Haters are gonna hate.

Since when Metro regional and bottom Moco teams are the standards of quality volleyball?

Since the time when petty moms on this board started referencing those clubs as some kind of gold standard, perhaps?
These are kids looking for a way to develop in a sport… get over yourself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New pricing on website. Especially for lower ages need to consider coaching quality (excellent with RVA), and playing time at tournaments also likely more focused on player development as compared to club
stats with RVA compared to “nationally-ranked” clubs (quotation marks because… why does it matter if 10/12/14 are placing nationally… 🤷‍♀️)

I will attempt to answer the rhetorical question. A team ranks poorly when it is not competitive in the tournaments where it is placed. You can claim that the coaching is excellent, but it is hard to prove when the team keeps losing its games. That simply demonstrates that the the coaching is excellent, but for the opposing teams. Placing teams in high-level tournaments may have benefits: the players can see how the game is played at a higher level, and they are challenged to grow. However, losing game after game after game can be frustrating and demoralizing for both players and parents. On the opposite side of the spectrum, you can place the teams in easy tournaments, where every serve is an ace and you bring home the medals. This approach comes with a good feeling, but it is a complete waste of time and money because players are not being properly challenged. Ideally you would find the happy middle ground, where players are challenged at their level, they win some of their games, and they feel like they have a good experience even when they lose. A poor ranking shows either that the teams are not competitive (poor training / coaching), poor choice of tournaments (poor administrative decisions), or both.

Thank you for this response, it is actually helpful as opposed to the hens on this thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It looks like 2024-25 season, RVA 12U girls ranked higher than metro 12 central and east as well as several Moco teams.. I guess I’m confused about why the trash talking. Haters are gonna hate.

Since when Metro regional and bottom Moco teams are the standards of quality volleyball?

Since the time when petty moms on this board started referencing those clubs as some kind of gold standard, perhaps?
These are kids looking for a way to develop in a sport… get over yourself

If all you want is to develop kids into players, you don't take them on travel all over the place and charge their parents thousands of dollars. Get them in a gym and take them to local tournaments. There is plenty of local competition that can kick RVA's behinds without the need to travel for hours and spend the night in hotel rooms. Start travelling with teams that are in the top 25% - those may need tougher competition than you can find locally. You are just wasting these people's time and money to keep the fantasy of a travel club alive. It's not hate, it's just a reaction to a poor business model. This will not help with the quality of players that you can attract.

And just to set the record straight, nobody talks about the Metro regional teams or Moco bottom teams as standards for quality volleyball. Mostly everyone is surprised by the difference in volleyball quality between Metro travel and Metro regionals. Being ranked higher than a Metro regionals or Moco bottom teams doesn't really give you bragging rights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New pricing on website. Especially for lower ages need to consider coaching quality (excellent with RVA), and playing time at tournaments also likely more focused on player development as compared to club
stats with RVA compared to “nationally-ranked” clubs (quotation marks because… why does it matter if 10/12/14 are placing nationally… 🤷‍♀️)

I will attempt to answer the rhetorical question. A team ranks poorly when it is not competitive in the tournaments where it is placed. You can claim that the coaching is excellent, but it is hard to prove when the team keeps losing its games. That simply demonstrates that the the coaching is excellent, but for the opposing teams. Placing teams in high-level tournaments may have benefits: the players can see how the game is played at a higher level, and they are challenged to grow. However, losing game after game after game can be frustrating and demoralizing for both players and parents. On the opposite side of the spectrum, you can place the teams in easy tournaments, where every serve is an ace and you bring home the medals. This approach comes with a good feeling, but it is a complete waste of time and money because players are not being properly challenged. Ideally you would find the happy middle ground, where players are challenged at their level, they win some of their games, and they feel like they have a good experience even when they lose. A poor ranking shows either that the teams are not competitive (poor training / coaching), poor choice of tournaments (poor administrative decisions), or both.

Thank you for this response, it is actually helpful as opposed to the hens on this thread

You are welcome. I am pretty sure that you would call me a hen if you could identify all my posts, but I am happy that you found this helpful.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It looks like 2024-25 season, RVA 12U girls ranked higher than metro 12 central and east as well as several Moco teams.. I guess I’m confused about why the trash talking. Haters are gonna hate.[/quote]
Since when Metro regional and bottom Moco teams are the standards of quality volleyball? [/quote]

Since the time when petty moms on this board started referencing those clubs as some kind of gold standard, perhaps?
These are kids looking for a way to develop in a sport… get over yourself [/quote]

If all you want is to develop kids into players, you don't take them on travel all over the place and charge their parents thousands of dollars. Get them in a gym and take them to local tournaments. There is plenty of local competition that can kick RVA's behinds without the need to travel for hours and spend the night in hotel rooms. Start travelling with teams that are in the top 25% - those may need tougher competition than you can find locally. You are just wasting these people's time and money to keep the fantasy of a travel club alive. It's not hate, it's just a reaction to a poor business model. This will not help with the quality of players that you can attract.

And just to set the record straight, nobody talks about the Metro regional teams or Moco bottom teams as standards for quality volleyball. Mostly everyone is surprised by the difference in volleyball quality between Metro travel and Metro regionals. Being ranked higher than a Metro regionals or Moco bottom teams doesn't really give you bragging rights. [/quote]

I loved traveling for tournaments growing up. Tournament play can ignite so much growth, and I didn’t play for a nationally ranked club growing up but traveling 1 state over or staying in a hotel because of a teenage here made

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]I loved traveling for tournaments growing up. Tournament play can ignite so much growth, and I didn’t play for a nationally ranked club growing up but traveling 1 state over or staying in a hotel because of a teenage here made[/quote]

Good for you and don't forget to thank your parents for providing that opportunity. While you are at it, ask them how much they paid for that experience, so you can compare with what we are asked to pay today. I am not claiming that the kids don't like it, because they do. Especially if they get to spend the night together instead of being stuck in their parents' hotel rooms. You don't need to travel one state over for the tournament play to ignite growth. Volleyball is already expensive without mindless travel. 90% of these kids (if not more) have no chance of playing in college, so most teams don't need to travel that extensively. The travel is mostly to keep the coaches and club owners in a professional circle, not because the kids really need it.