Volleyball club- recap and thoughts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some things I wish I had known before club volleyball tryouts the first time around —

Broadly, there are three types of volleyball clubs in the DMV

College Prep
- at the 18s level 90-100% college commitments
- U15 up —USAV bids or play either open/premier level at AAU for college exposure
- most players are really tall in the older age groups 5’10 or above
-many parents one or both were college athletes
-smaller players are Libero/DS/setters and unusually skilled/athletic
-win rates generally 70+ percent

High School Prep/Developmental
- as competitive as DMV volleyball has become to get on varsity or even JV at many schools club experience required
-players continue bc the reps are needed for HS playing time
-usav bids rare but go to aau every year (not open. rarely premier, more like club level for solid experience but not exposure)
-can see movement from these clubs to college prep level as girls grow taller and/or more skilled
- often many players for the same 1-3 high schools on the rosters
-win rates 50 -60 percent range

Identity Challenged Clubs
-trying to do both of the above with mixed results
— 0-3 ish college commitments per grad yr, highly variable win rates
- Rarely is everyone on the team on the same page. Can end up with an uneven team -starting 3-6 college potential or adjacent, sometimes other players don’t even get on the court much.
-win rates all over the place between different teams, 20-60 percent

Unfortunately in this area I believe many clubs fall into the identity challenged group — which can be hard to recognize in the wild.

Happiest players and families I have observed seem to be those who know exactly what they want and are on the right team for that —College Prep or High School/Developmental. When you’re not sure yet or find yourself in the middle that can be truly painful.

For a quick a dirty litmus test I would ask what level they register their teams in AAU if no USAV bid is won. That can start a helpful conversation about club philosophy and goals

This deserves a repost

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some things I wish I had known before club volleyball tryouts the first time around —

Broadly, there are three types of volleyball clubs in the DMV

College Prep
- at the 18s level 90-100% college commitments
- U15 up —USAV bids or play either open/premier level at AAU for college exposure
- most players are really tall in the older age groups 5’10 or above
-many parents one or both were college athletes
-smaller players are Libero/DS/setters and unusually skilled/athletic
-win rates generally 70+ percent

High School Prep/Developmental
- as competitive as DMV volleyball has become to get on varsity or even JV at many schools club experience required
-players continue bc the reps are needed for HS playing time
-usav bids rare but go to aau every year (not open. rarely premier, more like club level for solid experience but not exposure)
-can see movement from these clubs to college prep level as girls grow taller and/or more skilled
- often many players for the same 1-3 high schools on the rosters
-win rates 50 -60 percent range

Identity Challenged Clubs
-trying to do both of the above with mixed results
— 0-3 ish college commitments per grad yr, highly variable win rates
- Rarely is everyone on the team on the same page. Can end up with an uneven team -starting 3-6 college potential or adjacent, sometimes other players don’t even get on the court much.
-win rates all over the place between different teams, 20-60 percent

Unfortunately in this area I believe many clubs fall into the identity challenged group — which can be hard to recognize in the wild.

Happiest players and families I have observed seem to be those who know exactly what they want and are on the right team for that —College Prep or High School/Developmental. When you’re not sure yet or find yourself in the middle that can be truly painful.

For a quick a dirty litmus test I would ask what level they register their teams in AAU if no USAV bid is won. That can start a helpful conversation about club philosophy and goals

This deserves a repost

Can we add “have fun playing a fun sport,” in to the middle category. Ideally, it’s present in all clubs, but I think these “developmental” clubs allow more space for just playing for the love rather than the prestige, accolades and college goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So where does a kid go when they are too good for rec, but not good enough to make the club teams? Do they just stop playing?

There are so many clubs in NOVA for this type of player:

I would go to AES rankings and explore the 75+ clubs in CHRVA ranked 40 and below. There are so many options!

[Anonymous]

Or the CHRVA club directory (requires one or two clicks to search "all" states):

https://www.chrva.org/page/show/3927283-junior-club-directory

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So where does a kid go when they are too good for rec, but not good enough to make the club teams? Do they just stop playing?

There are so many clubs in NOVA for this type of player:

I would go to AES rankings and explore the 75+ clubs in CHRVA ranked 40 and below. There are so many options!

I second this. There are many clubs in NoVA that have multiple levels of teams. Some that fit the bill and come to mind specifically are NVVA Galaxy League (Rec) and the NVVA Red and White level club teams, which are essentially advanced Rec. No Panic Volleyball has several leagues that are advanced Rec like their Pink Shirt Academy. McLean Youth also has a Rec league and a “select” rec league for more advanced players. There may even be some “club” teams in the lower levels still looking for players if you want to attend some local tournaments in the area. You could try No Panic, X Factor, Monument, NVVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:new to volleyball here. what happens if you already have travel planned during one of the tournaments? should we cancel or do the coaches understand that vacation happens.....

Depends on the club. But you are expected to participate at every practice and tournament (unless of course for illness, injury, family emergencies). We don't plan vacations until after we accept the club offer and look at tournament schedules. If families can't make the full commitment rec or league volleyball would be a better fit. Possible regional teams/clubs may also be more flexible.

No, if you've already accepted and paid your fee, you talk to the coach. One family missing one tournament may or may not be a big issue for your particular club. Have the conversation first before you try to withdraw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another new VB parent here chiming in. After reading this thread, I'm sure there's been miscommunication regarding club/team top/competitive/tier, offers/preselect means. Is it really a tryout or money grab? As well as how much things cost. Parents really do come here for information from more experienced parents. I can also concur with a previous post. I was at a Metro Regional tryout and heard a coach say we only have a few spots left. Whatever you call that, I'll leave it up to the veteran parents or coaches.

On the Metro Regional coach saying they only had a few spots left... saying that in the 1st round of tryouts Sat morning 11/4 would be shady as hell and yes, that means they'd already likely offered many spots to known players before tryouts began. But a coach saying that at Sunday tryouts would totally not be a surprise because Metro makes a lot of offers on the spot to players when they have the one on one with each player at end of tryout. That wouldn't make tryouts a money grab, it would just mean they found most of their players in the first tryouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another new VB parent here chiming in. After reading this thread, I'm sure there's been miscommunication regarding club/team top/competitive/tier, offers/preselect means. Is it really a tryout or money grab? As well as how much things cost. Parents really do come here for information from more experienced parents. I can also concur with a previous post. I was at a Metro Regional tryout and heard a coach say we only have a few spots left. Whatever you call that, I'll leave it up to the veteran parents or coaches.

On the Metro Regional coach saying they only had a few spots left... saying that in the 1st round of tryouts Sat morning 11/4 would be shady as hell and yes, that means they'd already likely offered many spots to known players before tryouts began. But a coach saying that at Sunday tryouts would totally not be a surprise because Metro makes a lot of offers on the spot to players when they have the one on one with each player at end of tryout. That wouldn't make tryouts a money grab, it would just mean they found most of their players in the first tryouts.

We know for a fact that a Metro regional coach told girls on Sunday (return players) that all offers has been given out on Saturday the first day of tryouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another new VB parent here chiming in. After reading this thread, I'm sure there's been miscommunication regarding club/team top/competitive/tier, offers/preselect means. Is it really a tryout or money grab? As well as how much things cost. Parents really do come here for information from more experienced parents. I can also concur with a previous post. I was at a Metro Regional tryout and heard a coach say we only have a few spots left. Whatever you call that, I'll leave it up to the veteran parents or coaches.

On the Metro Regional coach saying they only had a few spots left... saying that in the 1st round of tryouts Sat morning 11/4 would be shady as hell and yes, that means they'd already likely offered many spots to known players before tryouts began. But a coach saying that at Sunday tryouts would totally not be a surprise because Metro makes a lot of offers on the spot to players when they have the one on one with each player at end of tryout. That wouldn't make tryouts a money grab, it would just mean they found most of their players in the first tryouts.

We know for a fact that a Metro regional coach told girls on Sunday (return players) that all offers has been given out on Saturday the first day of tryouts.

And what someone who used to coach for Metro Regional told us (similar to your point) is: Most offers definitely get made 1st day of tryouts (Saturday), and coaches prefer to have almost all spots full by end of day Saturday, but not everyone offered a spot accepts, and if they do see a total superstar on Sunday, they're making an offer. But everyone not a standout superstar definitely has their best chance (if any chance) by trying out the 1st day.

[Anonymous]

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[FPYCparent]

New USAV ranking system for 2024?

https://usavolleyball.org/play/usa-volleyball-national-rankings/

I wonder if/how this system will diverge from the "normal" AES rankings.

[Anonymous]

FPYCparent wrote:New USAV ranking system for 2024?

https://usavolleyball.org/play/usa-volleyball-national-rankings/

I wonder if/how this system will diverge from the "normal" AES rankings.

Hard to know how the algorithm will differ, but it is notable that the system will only include results from USAV sanctioned events, meaning AAU, JVA, and unsanctioned tournament results won’t be included. I think most clubs have already registered for their tournaments this year, but I wonder if it will impact which tournaments clubs choose to attend in future seasons?

[FPYCparent]

An early look at the rankings after only a weekend or two events reveals some differences between vanilla AES and the new USAV.

Just looking at the 15s age group, there are a handful of teams that have not lost a match, yet these teams are not ranked in the same order. For those teams, it looks like each one has the same number of matches on each list ... thus far, so those events must be USAV-approved (I'm assuming USAV is has more stringent 'qualification' requirement.)

However, there are three CHRVA teams that have recorded matches from any event at ?Spooky Nook?. Those matches are reflected in AES, but not USAV. I guess that implies that the event was not USAV-sanctioned/recognized.

https://www.advancedeventsystems.com/rankings/Female/U15/aes
https://www.advancedeventsystems.com/rankings/Female/U15/usav

[Anonymous]

My daughter has been facing challenges at Moco Volleyball that are impacting her overall well-being. Unfortunately, she has been subjected to instances of bullying from other girls within the program. As a parent, it is disheartening to witness the emotional toll this has taken on her. Additionally, I must express my dissatisfaction with what I perceive as a lack of professionalism within the organization. It is my belief that an environment promoting sportsmanship, respect, and positive camaraderie should be a priority for any sports program, and
sadly, this does not seem to be the case at Moco Volleyball. I kindly request that you investigate and address these concerns promptly. I believe that by fostering a more inclusive and supportive atmosphere, Moco Volleyball can create an environment where young athletes can thrive both personally and athletically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter has been facing challenges at Moco Volleyball that are impacting her overall well-being. Unfortunately, she has been subjected to instances of bullying from other girls within the program. As a parent, it is disheartening to witness the emotional toll this has taken on her. Additionally, I must express my dissatisfaction with what I perceive as a lack of professionalism within the organization. It is my belief that an environment promoting sportsmanship, respect, and positive camaraderie should be a priority for any sports program, and sadly, this does not seem to be the case at Moco Volleyball. I kindly request that you investigate and address these concerns promptly. I believe that by fostering a more inclusive and supportive atmosphere, Moco Volleyball can create an environment where young athletes can thrive both personally and athletically.