Volleyball club- recap and thoughts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm shocked schools like UMD, GWU, Georgetown don't have developmental programs. Could be a huge money maker as the sport is growing.

They all have camps over the summer. We’ve gone to GMU, American, G’town and UVA, and there are many others. G’town was my fave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway for the 2023-2024 bloodbath:

1. Yes, it’s pay to play. Your kid needs to do paid clinics at every single club they hope to try-out for. Or private lessons with their coach of choice.

2. Some rosters are preordained, but not all. There are last minute slots that open and there is movement to scramble. We know two kids who were alternates for a top-5 club in the DC area and both got called.

3. Don’t despair if your kid doesn’t get a spot by Sunday. There are going to be options if they can play decently. I am shocked by how many top teams are still looking to fill gaps in their roster even as late as Wednesday.

4. Taller is better. Clubs will take someone 5’11”-6’2” and roster them no matter what their level of play us (if any) over a girl who is 5’7” or less, unless she has a hell of a jump or can play back row. There seems to be a need for tall girl RS and MB positions. Make sure your kid is “right” for the position they want to play. Don’t expect a kid who us 5’7” to play Middle.

5. Bring a camping chair to sit in.

6. Don’t put all of your eggs in one club’s basket no matter what they promise you. No matter how loyal they claim to be. No matter how often they tell you before tryouts that there will be a spot for you. No matter how many “invite” clinics you’re invited to. Have backups (Ahem… ECP/Mojo).

7. Agree we need more regional options closer into the DMV that aren’t far out in MoCo, Prince William Co, Loudon Co, or Howard Co. Programs similar to NVVA’s Galaxy League but that maybe play each other, even at their own facilities.

What’s a top 5 club? Metro/Paramount/VAE/Va Juniors/MD Juniors - that’s it. My DD played for two of those clubs and I can categorically assure that someone must have backed out of an offer (most likely to go to one of the others), and anyone that fills that roster spot has almost zero chance of meaningful playing time.

[Anonymous]

ECP charged me twice for a cancelled clinic. Shocked!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is mojo still holding tryouts? There is absolutely no way they need more players. There were soooo many great players at their clinics and their tryouts were full. I have a really hard time believing they still need players.

IMO it’s almost always because they shoot too high, focus on the wrong players at tryouts (think: players who are using mojo as backup but end up choosing Virginia elite or Juniors), and initially ignore the ones who are seriously interested. Their tryout sessions are so dismissive and humiliating toward the girls who aren’t the “chosen” ones that it’s a total turnoff. Those players then go on to accept other offers. And by Tuesday at least half of the top choices the mojo thought they were getting finally turn down their offer in favor of accepting at a stronger club and it leaves mojo scrambling.
Problem is, mojo really doesn’t play the game well when it comes to courting the ones who didn’t quite make the cut.
And by the time they realize they need them, they wind up reaching out to players who have already committed.
I hate to come down so hard on mojo but I’ve seen and heard it happen too many times to not call it out. Maybe they think their way is more honest and real? But if they made all the players who come to tryout dates feel valued and seen even if they don’t give them a bid, those players might feel like waiting around until Tuesday to see if an offer eventually comes. But mojo makes it super clear who they want and it’s hard to come back from that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ECP charged me twice for a cancelled clinic. Shocked!

Same

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ECP charged me twice for a cancelled clinic. Shocked!

How are all of you handing this? I’m a different poster and disputed a charge on my credit card. They recharged me. I went into the system and deleted all of my credit card info, it was stupid I hadn’t before and disputed the second charge. Now they are sending me generic emails that my card has been denied because they are attempting to charge me again. No one replies to their email. Does anyone have a contact of someone higher up?

This was one of the many reasons DD didn’t try out at Mojo or Renaissance. I don’t like how both took the lists and also kept emailing us about their clinics. I am so angry over ECP and don’t want anything to do with any of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aftermath thoughts:

1. Its basically pay to play.
2. Its better to start young to develop skills early. Start at 12 years old if your child is interested
3. Tryouts are not truly open, girls are preselected. Its a joke to have 100 girls on a court at a time for evaluation.
4. There are not enough teams in the DMV area. Specifically DC. VB needs a Rec component here.
5. Height plays a huge factor and since the average height is 5'3 or 5'4. Libero will be the toughest position to compete for.
6. Height and athletic potential outweigh playing experience. I.E. they'll take someone that is 6'2 before someone that understands rules, rotations, and fundamentals.
7. CHRVA needs revamping or create a new organization for the DMV area.
8. It's very expensive to play club.

I think that about covers it from my perspective.

Hi, club/school coach here. Trust me, it is hard for us as well, and while I can't necessarily recommend the methods or motives of all of my fellow coaches out there, it is a very high-stress time for us as well (and not much fun).

1. This is going to be the case in a sport that doesn't have spontaneous unorganized get-togethers to play (like soccer or basketball do).
2. True of any sport, but I have seen plenty of volleyball players pick up a ball for the first time as late as 10th grade and be very successful, up to and including "four-year starter at a Big Ten school with a brief overseas pro career" successful.
3. Again, can't speak for everyone, but a lot of them are not pre-selected. Do clinics help? Yes. If you're putting together a team without a feeder from a younger age group, it helps to have seen some of the players before the brief tryout window (which is mandated by the region, not by the clubs). It's absolutely hard to get eyes on everyone, but I have never walked into a tryout with a pre-formed roster.
4. Yes, absolutely. This is a function of gym space and the sizable overlap with basketball season (which I also coach).
5. The height of the net is what it is, and at some point in order to be a successful six-rotation or front row player you need to be able to get higher than the net, whether because you're tall or because you can jump.
6. This definitely varies from coach to coach and club to club, but being tall and reasonably coordinated never hurts. That said, I've seen my share of 6'+ girls who can walk and chew gum at the same time at makeup and last chance tryouts.
7. If you mean the timing of when tryouts, that's a double-edged sword. Plenty of other regions hold their tryouts in the summer...before school season when lots of players make drastic improvements, or maybe before 4-6 months of literal physical growth before the season starts. There are girls who made teams this weekend who would absolutely not have been in a position to do so without the two months of school season that they just had, but I agree that cramming everything into one weekend sucks for pretty much everyone involved.
8. It is, and although it appears to be a more popular sport both in terms of youth play and television exposure each year, there are barriers to entry for too many kids and families that are a problem. But I also don't quite know how to fix them - I'm just a lowly regional coach and not a club or USAV admin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is mojo still holding tryouts? There is absolutely no way they need more players. There were soooo many great players at their clinics and their tryouts were full. I have a really hard time believing they still need players.

IMO it’s almost always because they shoot too high, focus on the wrong players at tryouts (think: players who are using mojo as backup but end up choosing Virginia elite or Juniors), and initially ignore the ones who are seriously interested. Their tryout sessions are so dismissive and humiliating toward the girls who aren’t the “chosen” ones that it’s a total turnoff. Those players then go on to accept other offers. And by Tuesday at least half of the top choices the mojo thought they were getting finally turn down their offer in favor of accepting at a stronger club and it leaves mojo scrambling.
Problem is, mojo really doesn’t play the game well when it comes to courting the ones who didn’t quite make the cut.
And by the time they realize they need them, they wind up reaching out to players who have already committed.
I hate to come down so hard on mojo but I’ve seen and heard it happen too many times to not call it out. Maybe they think their way is more honest and real? But if they made all the players who come to tryout dates feel valued and seen even if they don’t give them a bid, those players might feel like waiting around until Tuesday to see if an offer eventually comes. But mojo makes it super clear who they want and it’s hard to come back from that.

+100. Very well put. My DD tried out for 6 clubs this year, and received offers from 5, including three “1s” teams for national-level clubs and two regional clubs. So she’s clearly a competitive player.

The one offer she didn’t get was from Mojo - She said the Mojo tryout was by far the most demoralizing tryout she’s ever been to, and she swore she will never go back to a clinic or tryout there again. She said they didn’t bother to test vertical or check reach. It was a free for all. During a water break she mouthed to me that the coaches hadn’t even looked at her. We actually should have left instead of wasting 1.5 hours of energy there.

Incumbent favoritism and height bias was blatantly obvious. Some of the girls were rude and refused to rotate positions with her and coaches didn’t enforce it. So I’m surprised to read that they also did some former ECP players dirty bc we saw them getting pulled over much more skilled players. Bad vibes all around.

Ironically they were still advertising needing players in DD’s age group. Biggest eye roll ever. DD laughed when I showed her the email and said she can’t wait to get kills against that team. “See ya on the court, Mojo!”

[Anonymous]

FWIW my DD rec’d an immediate offer on Mojo’s team despite never having played at ECP or attending a clinic. She accepted an offer an open-level team instead, but to be fair, the owner reached out after we declined and was gracious. (That wasn’t true of all the coaches at the tryout — DD really didn’t enjoy them).

All of DD’s offers were for open and national-level teams but the one she did NOT get was with the regional team Dulles Youth Sports (DYS). Go figure! That club is wildly popular, in part because it’s relatively inexpensive but also because it seems very fun and laid back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW my DD rec’d an immediate offer on Mojo’s team despite never having played at ECP or attending a clinic. She accepted an offer an open-level team instead, but to be fair, the owner reached out after we declined and was gracious. (That wasn’t true of all the coaches at the tryout — DD really didn’t enjoy them).

All of DD’s offers were for open and national-level teams but the one she did NOT get was with the regional team Dulles Youth Sports (DYS). Go figure! That club is wildly popular, in part because it’s relatively inexpensive but also because it seems very fun and laid back.

My daughter went to DYS tryouts for those reasons. She liked the clinics and the coaches seemed so nice and fun. We were both very disappointed in tryouts. They were the same way at the beginning with the meeting with the girls and parents, so nice and approachable. Then it seemed like they didn’t look at the girls during tryouts. It was the one we walked away from feeling like it was predetermined. We don’t know anyone who got an offer. DD will skip their clinics next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW my DD rec’d an immediate offer on Mojo’s team despite never having played at ECP or attending a clinic. She accepted an offer an open-level team instead, but to be fair, the owner reached out after we declined and was gracious. (That wasn’t true of all the coaches at the tryout — DD really didn’t enjoy them).

All of DD’s offers were for open and national-level teams but the one she did NOT get was with the regional team Dulles Youth Sports (DYS). Go figure! That club is wildly popular, in part because it’s relatively inexpensive but also because it seems very fun and laid back.

Sorry but this doesn’t disprove the point above about mojo.
AT the tryout, if they have already seen you at clinics, they make it known very quickly that they don’t want you by assigning you to a court that none of the coaches bother to look at. It’s super obvious!
I suspect that with the one girl who got 5 offers, she’s probably on the shorter side—inferred from mom’s post—and they figured they have enough shorter players who are known to them already.
The point is—you and your DD saw a different side to how the MOJO staff treats players because your DD was one of “the chosen”—-even if she was chosen the second they first saw her at tryout for the first time. (I’m guessing your DD is very tall or she was otherwise known to them from having seen her play at prior tournaments for another team) They are very consistent at love-bombing the ones they want—even if it’s players they just met. And they are equally consistent at completely dismissing and ignoring the ones they have no interest in even while AT the tryout. That is t the case everywhere. My DD didn’t get 5 out if 6 offers. She got 1 out if 3. But the staff at two of those clubs really engaged with all the players and encouraged all of them.

And of course mojo made a follow-up call and were gracious when your DD turned them down because the whole point of the call was to see if it was too late to persuade her to choose them (They probably asked “are you sure? Have you paid the deposit yet?—because we’d really love you to play for us and it’s not too late for you to change your mind…” And they know that there is always next year, so it is not a surprise that they know how to be nice to players they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is mojo still holding tryouts? There is absolutely no way they need more players. There were soooo many great players at their clinics and their tryouts were full. I have a really hard time believing they still need players.

IMO it’s almost always because they shoot too high, focus on the wrong players at tryouts (think: players who are using mojo as backup but end up choosing Virginia elite or Juniors), and initially ignore the ones who are seriously interested. Their tryout sessions are so dismissive and humiliating toward the girls who aren’t the “chosen” ones that it’s a total turnoff. Those players then go on to accept other offers. And by Tuesday at least half of the top choices the mojo thought they were getting finally turn down their offer in favor of accepting at a stronger club and it leaves mojo scrambling.
Problem is, mojo really doesn’t play the game well when it comes to courting the ones who didn’t quite make the cut.
And by the time they realize they need them, they wind up reaching out to players who have already committed.
I hate to come down so hard on mojo but I’ve seen and heard it happen too many times to not call it out. Maybe they think their way is more honest and real? But if they made all the players who come to tryout dates feel valued and seen even if they don’t give them a bid, those players might feel like waiting around until Tuesday to see if an offer eventually comes. But mojo makes it super clear who they want and it’s hard to come back from that.

+100. Very well put. My DD tried out for 6 clubs this year, and received offers from 5, including three “1s” teams for national-level clubs and two regional clubs. So she’s clearly a competitive player.

The one offer she didn’t get was from Mojo - She said the Mojo tryout was by far the most demoralizing tryout she’s ever been to, and she swore she will never go back to a clinic or tryout there again. She said they didn’t bother to test vertical or check reach. It was a free for all. During a water break she mouthed to me that the coaches hadn’t even looked at her. We actually should have left instead of wasting 1.5 hours of energy there.

Incumbent favoritism and height bias was blatantly obvious. Some of the girls were rude and refused to rotate positions with her and coaches didn’t enforce it. So I’m surprised to read that they also did some former ECP players dirty bc we saw them getting pulled over much more skilled players. Bad vibes all around.

Ironically they were still advertising needing players in DD’s age group. Biggest eye roll ever. DD laughed when I showed her the email and said she can’t wait to get kills against that team. “See ya on the court, Mojo!”

Just curious whether you think trying out for SIX clubs is really necessary????
Seems to me that your DD knows by now that she’s pretty good right? So why not pick 2-3 rather than go around collecting all the offers like trophies all while knowing that other players are sitting at home by the phone and refreshing their emails until Tuesday morning in hopes that they will get a bid from one of the FOUR clubs that your DD has decided to decline.

Look, maybe you are one of those thoughtful families who declined the other FOUR offers right away once you knew that the club DD really wanted had come through with their offer, but somehow I am doubtful that someone who received five offers didn’t have the offer she really wanted already in-hand by Saturday afternoon! This is one of the main problems with the tryout process for this sport, and it creates hard feelings.

[Anonymous]

We are a new family, first year DD is playing club. When she got an offer from her #1 choice we stopped going to other tryouts. We know 4 other families who were in the same situation with different clubs but still went to everything the rest of the weekend. Why? Is it just to see how many offers your DD gets? If you know where you are going to accept, what’s the point of this? I understand if your DD is on the fence for any reason but this entire process seemed so stressful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is mojo still holding tryouts? There is absolutely no way they need more players. There were soooo many great players at their clinics and their tryouts were full. I have a really hard time believing they still need players.

IMO it’s almost always because they shoot too high, focus on the wrong players at tryouts (think: players who are using mojo as backup but end up choosing Virginia elite or Juniors), and initially ignore the ones who are seriously interested. Their tryout sessions are so dismissive and humiliating toward the girls who aren’t the “chosen” ones that it’s a total turnoff. Those players then go on to accept other offers. And by Tuesday at least half of the top choices the mojo thought they were getting finally turn down their offer in favor of accepting at a stronger club and it leaves mojo scrambling.
Problem is, mojo really doesn’t play the game well when it comes to courting the ones who didn’t quite make the cut.
And by the time they realize they need them, they wind up reaching out to players who have already committed.
I hate to come down so hard on mojo but I’ve seen and heard it happen too many times to not call it out. Maybe they think their way is more honest and real? But if they made all the players who come to tryout dates feel valued and seen even if they don’t give them a bid, those players might feel like waiting around until Tuesday to see if an offer eventually comes. But mojo makes it super clear who they want and it’s hard to come back from that.

+100. Very well put. My DD tried out for 6 clubs this year, and received offers from 5, including three “1s” teams for national-level clubs and two regional clubs. So she’s clearly a competitive player.

The one offer she didn’t get was from Mojo - She said the Mojo tryout was by far the most demoralizing tryout she’s ever been to, and she swore she will never go back to a clinic or tryout there again. She said they didn’t bother to test vertical or check reach. It was a free for all. During a water break she mouthed to me that the coaches hadn’t even looked at her. We actually should have left instead of wasting 1.5 hours of energy there.

Incumbent favoritism and height bias was blatantly obvious. Some of the girls were rude and refused to rotate positions with her and coaches didn’t enforce it. So I’m surprised to read that they also did some former ECP players dirty bc we saw them getting pulled over much more skilled players. Bad vibes all around.

Ironically they were still advertising needing players in DD’s age group. Biggest eye roll ever. DD laughed when I showed her the email and said she can’t wait to get kills against that team. “See ya on the court, Mojo!”

Just curious whether you think trying out for SIX clubs is really necessary????
Seems to me that your DD knows by now that she’s pretty good right? So why not pick 2-3 rather than go around collecting all the offers like trophies all while knowing that other players are sitting at home by the phone and refreshing their emails until Tuesday morning in hopes that they will get a bid from one of the FOUR clubs that your DD has decided to decline.

Look, maybe you are one of those thoughtful families who declined the other FOUR offers right away once you knew that the club DD really wanted had come through with their offer, but somehow I am doubtful that someone who received five offers didn’t have the offer she really wanted already in-hand by Saturday afternoon! This is one of the main problems with the tryout process for this sport, and it creates hard feelings.

If other offers not immediately declined once desired offer in hand this is the thoughtless player version of thoughtless teams filling benches with girls who won’t play. Depriving CHILDREN of opportunities. Holding those offers causes stress to other girls, and forces them to choose between a club below her level (and bumping yet another girl out of an appropriate club for her) or playing a game of chicken with the Tuesday deadline and ending up with no team at all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a new family, first year DD is playing club. When she got an offer from her #1 choice we stopped going to other tryouts. We know 4 other families who were in the same situation with different clubs but still went to everything the rest of the weekend. Why? Is it just to see how many offers your DD gets? If you know where you are going to accept, what’s the point of this? I understand if your DD is on the fence for any reason but this entire process seemed so stressful.

Both considerate of everyone else’s time and teaching your kid to be a thoughtful human. Well done.