Volleyball club- recap and thoughts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid targeted Paramount and VA Juniors (prestigious clubs?) ... among others ... during the November tryouts. I don't want to flat out say that the pre-tryout clinics were a moneygrab, but we tried to be a bit more strategic going into this season, which would be the second club season for my player. We really didn't "know" any clubs going into her first club year, so we only went with some word-of-mouth suggestions from fellow high school players. Our intent with the most recent tryouts was to be ensure that clubs had seen our kid at least once before the tryout weekend. Before anyone screams, we did not seriously look at Metro as its practices would not work for us logistically. My kid decided to go to make-up tryout there at the last minute "for fun." Their rosters were likely set before that make-up, but one coach said something like "We wish we had seen her sooner."

As far as any player movement between clubs, here's what I've observed. Paramount simply added this year's rosters to their website while keeping last year's rosters online. As a quick check, it looks like 9 players from the 17s moved up to the 18s (4 ?new? players) while seven players from the 16s moved up to 17s (7 ?new?). I didn't look too hard to see if some of the "new" players moved up more than one age group. (My kid is not playing 17s/18s.) If you can get the VA Juniors website to work, you will see that they haven't posted this year's rosters, but last year's teams were still there. I haven't seen VA Juniors play this season, so I couldn't begin to discern if any players are new or returning. My kid's club from last year hasn't posted this year's rosters, but we've only seen one or two familiar faces from last year. Most of my kid's team landed at different clubs (apparently two or more ended up at Paramount).

Juniors is a bit of a sad story - they used to be a top 2/3 club in the region until they became totally toxic (mainly due to some dire coaches who had no idea how to coach young girls). They are now a feeder club to Paramount who are a clear number 2 in the region and snapping on the heels of Metro.

It's unfortunate this story is continuing ^^^. Juniors is still a very strong club and yes, I'd still consider them third with Paramount being number 2. Metro is the historic #1 in CHRVA but Paramount is coming for them and has amazing players. The problem with paramount and what holds them back is the coaches YELL at the kids in a very toxic manner and they over stack the roster so girls just sit around and watch. Metro teams aren't very close, the girls operate as individuals instead of a team. The girls are highly athletic and the teams do well, however the team dynamics are challenging. VA Jrs got the message that they need to recruit and are doing a better job doing so. The envionrment is overall more positive than Paramount and just works better for some of the top talent in the region.

Overall, there are many clubs with different options for every player. I advise parents to choose clubs that work best for their daughter, and ignore what is considered "the best" b/c "the best" club may not be so for the development and dynamics for your DD.

Juniors are a disaster and are in no way 3rd in the region. They are decent at the younger age groups and then all their best players leave to go to Metro or Paramount. They were totally ruined by one Coach in particular who made it a very toxic environment and completely played favorites. One age group he coached pretty much quit as a team.

I feel like this got personal. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?

Anyone who’s been on a Juniors team in the past 5 years, knows exactly who this refers to, and it’s been bad.

I am willing to bet that most of this forum's readers have no clue what you are talking about. The idea that there are people out there who know what you are talking about is simply not useful to this thread. It simply looks like you have some personal beef with MD Juniors and try to spread rumors.

I don’t think the Juniors in question is MD. It’s probably VA Juniors. They’ve had multiple teams implode over the past few years

The club name doesn't really matter much. It is the type of information shared mysteriously on an anonymous website. "There is a select group of us who can read these messages and nod in agreement. The rest of the earthlings can only wonder how we obtained the wisdom that we spread around." The fact that I had trouble identifying the club just proves my point. Quit beating around the bush and share the information in a way that is helpful.

Speak for yourself. In the way-too-many-years that I've been on DCUM, I have found a very high % of the "mysterious info" true when it's been something my family is involved in (whether it's schools, sports, or many other areas). If VA Jrs is a hot mess, as long as people are clear about which club it is (I was following along understanding it was VA Jrs so it must've been said early on), then it's useful. Everything on DCUM needs to be taken with a truckload of salt, but there is a ton of truth here too. You don't find it interesting, cool, you can ignore it. But don't make mistake thinking no one else finds it useful.

I do speak for myself. I read other volleyball threads on this site and there's always someone who brings up coach J, most of the time out of the blue. It always starts with how much Jrs declined, then the blame is squarely placed on this coach. I don't know the coach, and my daughter has little chance to play for JRs (we live in MD), but I can tell that some parents took something very personally and are out for blood. Some pretend that they moved on and just want to warn others, but it sounds like they are attempting a character assassination.

Maybe he gets brought up for a reason? I don’t see anything like as much about any other Coach in the DMV. Maybe Paramount get a bad rap occasionally, but nobody else comes close to what I have seen about this individual. Volleyball is a small world, there’s no way there is this much smoke without fire.

I feel that a few unhappy parents keep the smoke going to make others believe that there is fire. They pretend to have moved on, but they cannot help themselves from trashing the coach. Looks like there was some really bad blood there. Every time I read one of their new posts, I am rolling my eyes and think "Here we go again."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid targeted Paramount and VA Juniors (prestigious clubs?) ... among others ... during the November tryouts. I don't want to flat out say that the pre-tryout clinics were a moneygrab, but we tried to be a bit more strategic going into this season, which would be the second club season for my player. We really didn't "know" any clubs going into her first club year, so we only went with some word-of-mouth suggestions from fellow high school players. Our intent with the most recent tryouts was to be ensure that clubs had seen our kid at least once before the tryout weekend. Before anyone screams, we did not seriously look at Metro as its practices would not work for us logistically. My kid decided to go to make-up tryout there at the last minute "for fun." Their rosters were likely set before that make-up, but one coach said something like "We wish we had seen her sooner."

As far as any player movement between clubs, here's what I've observed. Paramount simply added this year's rosters to their website while keeping last year's rosters online. As a quick check, it looks like 9 players from the 17s moved up to the 18s (4 ?new? players) while seven players from the 16s moved up to 17s (7 ?new?). I didn't look too hard to see if some of the "new" players moved up more than one age group. (My kid is not playing 17s/18s.) If you can get the VA Juniors website to work, you will see that they haven't posted this year's rosters, but last year's teams were still there. I haven't seen VA Juniors play this season, so I couldn't begin to discern if any players are new or returning. My kid's club from last year hasn't posted this year's rosters, but we've only seen one or two familiar faces from last year. Most of my kid's team landed at different clubs (apparently two or more ended up at Paramount).

Juniors is a bit of a sad story - they used to be a top 2/3 club in the region until they became totally toxic (mainly due to some dire coaches who had no idea how to coach young girls). They are now a feeder club to Paramount who are a clear number 2 in the region and snapping on the heels of Metro.

It's unfortunate this story is continuing ^^^. Juniors is still a very strong club and yes, I'd still consider them third with Paramount being number 2. Metro is the historic #1 in CHRVA but Paramount is coming for them and has amazing players. The problem with paramount and what holds them back is the coaches YELL at the kids in a very toxic manner and they over stack the roster so girls just sit around and watch. Metro teams aren't very close, the girls operate as individuals instead of a team. The girls are highly athletic and the teams do well, however the team dynamics are challenging. VA Jrs got the message that they need to recruit and are doing a better job doing so. The envionrment is overall more positive than Paramount and just works better for some of the top talent in the region.

Overall, there are many clubs with different options for every player. I advise parents to choose clubs that work best for their daughter, and ignore what is considered "the best" b/c "the best" club may not be so for the development and dynamics for your DD.

Juniors are a disaster and are in no way 3rd in the region. They are decent at the younger age groups and then all their best players leave to go to Metro or Paramount. They were totally ruined by one Coach in particular who made it a very toxic environment and completely played favorites. One age group he coached pretty much quit as a team.

I feel like this got personal. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?

Anyone who’s been on a Juniors team in the past 5 years, knows exactly who this refers to, and it’s been bad.

I am willing to bet that most of this forum's readers have no clue what you are talking about. The idea that there are people out there who know what you are talking about is simply not useful to this thread. It simply looks like you have some personal beef with MD Juniors and try to spread rumors.

I don’t think the Juniors in question is MD. It’s probably VA Juniors. They’ve had multiple teams implode over the past few years

The club name doesn't really matter much. It is the type of information shared mysteriously on an anonymous website. "There is a select group of us who can read these messages and nod in agreement. The rest of the earthlings can only wonder how we obtained the wisdom that we spread around." The fact that I had trouble identifying the club just proves my point. Quit beating around the bush and share the information in a way that is helpful.

Speak for yourself. In the way-too-many-years that I've been on DCUM, I have found a very high % of the "mysterious info" true when it's been something my family is involved in (whether it's schools, sports, or many other areas). If VA Jrs is a hot mess, as long as people are clear about which club it is (I was following along understanding it was VA Jrs so it must've been said early on), then it's useful. Everything on DCUM needs to be taken with a truckload of salt, but there is a ton of truth here too. You don't find it interesting, cool, you can ignore it. But don't make mistake thinking no one else finds it useful.

I do speak for myself. I read other volleyball threads on this site and there's always someone who brings up coach J, most of the time out of the blue. It always starts with how much Jrs declined, then the blame is squarely placed on this coach. I don't know the coach, and my daughter has little chance to play for JRs (we live in MD), but I can tell that some parents took something very personally and are out for blood. Some pretend that they moved on and just want to warn others, but it sounds like they are attempting a character assassination.

Maybe he gets brought up for a reason? I don’t see anything like as much about any other Coach in the DMV. Maybe Paramount get a bad rap occasionally, but nobody else comes close to what I have seen about this individual. Volleyball is a small world, there’s no way there is this much smoke without fire.

I feel that a few unhappy parents keep the smoke going to make others believe that there is fire. They pretend to have moved on, but they cannot help themselves from trashing the coach. Looks like there was some really bad blood there. Every time I read one of their new posts, I am rolling my eyes and think "Here we go again."

Agree completely. Coach nick from paramount throws huge temper tantrums during games, yells constantly at the girls but the "avoid coach jharred at all costs" poster is pervasive on this thread and brings up the same situation over and over. Let it go hun.

[Anonymous]

Parents! Just do what's best for your own kid. Let's stop name dropping coaches from clubs (Jared from Jrs, Nic from pmount, the mystery coach from Metro) and just make the best decision for your kid. If your kid didn't have a great experience at a club, it's fine! Just move on! You will find people who love some of these coaches who are mentioned on here, and some who hate them. The people who are always the loudest on here are those who believe their kid was lied to about playing time/expectations (when in reality other kids were probably just better and took their spot), players who were cut, or people who just didn't think they were given their money's worth or were victims of a bait and switch. Very few people who have had good experiences would feel the need to come on here and rant; it's the people who have had bad experiences who love to bash others under the shield of anonymity.

As a veteran in this volleyball scene, my recommendations when picking a club are threefold:
1. Look at tournament results from the previous season (these don't lie and will quickly show you which clubs/coaches are winning at a high level)

2. Attend various clinics and ask parents of returning players what their experience was like at the club and with particular coaches. Parents are usually pretty honest.

3. After doing the above 2, as tryouts approach, speak to the coaches/club directors about where they see your daughter standing in terms of making the team. If they receive an offer from the club during tryouts, ask for more information about role/playing time (coaches may not be entirely honest; it's up to you to sort through this part). Then, make the best decision for your daughter in terms of having her play on the most competitive team possible that she can actually get playing time on.

[Anonymous]

Here is one thing I would add to that list based on personal experience:

4. Your kid will play for fun and likely not at high level (statistically speaking very few will). If your kid is not very tall or very talented, trying out for top clubs will be a waste of money. Lower your expectations and pick a club with decent coaching / supporting environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid targeted Paramount and VA Juniors (prestigious clubs?) ... among others ... during the November tryouts. I don't want to flat out say that the pre-tryout clinics were a moneygrab, but we tried to be a bit more strategic going into this season, which would be the second club season for my player. We really didn't "know" any clubs going into her first club year, so we only went with some word-of-mouth suggestions from fellow high school players. Our intent with the most recent tryouts was to be ensure that clubs had seen our kid at least once before the tryout weekend. Before anyone screams, we did not seriously look at Metro as its practices would not work for us logistically. My kid decided to go to make-up tryout there at the last minute "for fun." Their rosters were likely set before that make-up, but one coach said something like "We wish we had seen her sooner."

As far as any player movement between clubs, here's what I've observed. Paramount simply added this year's rosters to their website while keeping last year's rosters online. As a quick check, it looks like 9 players from the 17s moved up to the 18s (4 ?new? players) while seven players from the 16s moved up to 17s (7 ?new?). I didn't look too hard to see if some of the "new" players moved up more than one age group. (My kid is not playing 17s/18s.) If you can get the VA Juniors website to work, you will see that they haven't posted this year's rosters, but last year's teams were still there. I haven't seen VA Juniors play this season, so I couldn't begin to discern if any players are new or returning. My kid's club from last year hasn't posted this year's rosters, but we've only seen one or two familiar faces from last year. Most of my kid's team landed at different clubs (apparently two or more ended up at Paramount).

Juniors is a bit of a sad story - they used to be a top 2/3 club in the region until they became totally toxic (mainly due to some dire coaches who had no idea how to coach young girls). They are now a feeder club to Paramount who are a clear number 2 in the region and snapping on the heels of Metro.

It's unfortunate this story is continuing ^^^. Juniors is still a very strong club and yes, I'd still consider them third with Paramount being number 2. Metro is the historic #1 in CHRVA but Paramount is coming for them and has amazing players. The problem with paramount and what holds them back is the coaches YELL at the kids in a very toxic manner and they over stack the roster so girls just sit around and watch. Metro teams aren't very close, the girls operate as individuals instead of a team. The girls are highly athletic and the teams do well, however the team dynamics are challenging. VA Jrs got the message that they need to recruit and are doing a better job doing so. The envionrment is overall more positive than Paramount and just works better for some of the top talent in the region.

Overall, there are many clubs with different options for every player. I advise parents to choose clubs that work best for their daughter, and ignore what is considered "the best" b/c "the best" club may not be so for the development and dynamics for your DD.

Juniors are a disaster and are in no way 3rd in the region. They are decent at the younger age groups and then all their best players leave to go to Metro or Paramount. They were totally ruined by one Coach in particular who made it a very toxic environment and completely played favorites. One age group he coached pretty much quit as a team.

I feel like this got personal. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?

Anyone who’s been on a Juniors team in the past 5 years, knows exactly who this refers to, and it’s been bad.

I am willing to bet that most of this forum's readers have no clue what you are talking about. The idea that there are people out there who know what you are talking about is simply not useful to this thread. It simply looks like you have some personal beef with MD Juniors and try to spread rumors.

I don’t think the Juniors in question is MD. It’s probably VA Juniors. They’ve had multiple teams implode over the past few years

The club name doesn't really matter much. It is the type of information shared mysteriously on an anonymous website. "There is a select group of us who can read these messages and nod in agreement. The rest of the earthlings can only wonder how we obtained the wisdom that we spread around." The fact that I had trouble identifying the club just proves my point. Quit beating around the bush and share the information in a way that is helpful.

Speak for yourself. In the way-too-many-years that I've been on DCUM, I have found a very high % of the "mysterious info" true when it's been something my family is involved in (whether it's schools, sports, or many other areas). If VA Jrs is a hot mess, as long as people are clear about which club it is (I was following along understanding it was VA Jrs so it must've been said early on), then it's useful. Everything on DCUM needs to be taken with a truckload of salt, but there is a ton of truth here too. You don't find it interesting, cool, you can ignore it. But don't make mistake thinking no one else finds it useful.

I do speak for myself. I read other volleyball threads on this site and there's always someone who brings up coach J, most of the time out of the blue. It always starts with how much Jrs declined, then the blame is squarely placed on this coach. I don't know the coach, and my daughter has little chance to play for JRs (we live in MD), but I can tell that some parents took something very personally and are out for blood. Some pretend that they moved on and just want to warn others, but it sounds like they are attempting a character assassination.

Maybe he gets brought up for a reason? I don’t see anything like as much about any other Coach in the DMV. Maybe Paramount get a bad rap occasionally, but nobody else comes close to what I have seen about this individual. Volleyball is a small world, there’s no way there is this much smoke without fire.

I feel that a few unhappy parents keep the smoke going to make others believe that there is fire. They pretend to have moved on, but they cannot help themselves from trashing the coach. Looks like there was some really bad blood there. Every time I read one of their new posts, I am rolling my eyes and think "Here we go again."

Agree completely. Coach nick from paramount throws huge temper tantrums during games, yells constantly at the girls but the "avoid coach jharred at all costs" poster is pervasive on this thread and brings up the same situation over and over. Let it go hun.

Didn’t an entire VA Juniors team quit because of him? That’s pretty bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid targeted Paramount and VA Juniors (prestigious clubs?) ... among others ... during the November tryouts. I don't want to flat out say that the pre-tryout clinics were a moneygrab, but we tried to be a bit more strategic going into this season, which would be the second club season for my player. We really didn't "know" any clubs going into her first club year, so we only went with some word-of-mouth suggestions from fellow high school players. Our intent with the most recent tryouts was to be ensure that clubs had seen our kid at least once before the tryout weekend. Before anyone screams, we did not seriously look at Metro as its practices would not work for us logistically. My kid decided to go to make-up tryout there at the last minute "for fun." Their rosters were likely set before that make-up, but one coach said something like "We wish we had seen her sooner."

As far as any player movement between clubs, here's what I've observed. Paramount simply added this year's rosters to their website while keeping last year's rosters online. As a quick check, it looks like 9 players from the 17s moved up to the 18s (4 ?new? players) while seven players from the 16s moved up to 17s (7 ?new?). I didn't look too hard to see if some of the "new" players moved up more than one age group. (My kid is not playing 17s/18s.) If you can get the VA Juniors website to work, you will see that they haven't posted this year's rosters, but last year's teams were still there. I haven't seen VA Juniors play this season, so I couldn't begin to discern if any players are new or returning. My kid's club from last year hasn't posted this year's rosters, but we've only seen one or two familiar faces from last year. Most of my kid's team landed at different clubs (apparently two or more ended up at Paramount).

Juniors is a bit of a sad story - they used to be a top 2/3 club in the region until they became totally toxic (mainly due to some dire coaches who had no idea how to coach young girls). They are now a feeder club to Paramount who are a clear number 2 in the region and snapping on the heels of Metro.

It's unfortunate this story is continuing ^^^. Juniors is still a very strong club and yes, I'd still consider them third with Paramount being number 2. Metro is the historic #1 in CHRVA but Paramount is coming for them and has amazing players. The problem with paramount and what holds them back is the coaches YELL at the kids in a very toxic manner and they over stack the roster so girls just sit around and watch. Metro teams aren't very close, the girls operate as individuals instead of a team. The girls are highly athletic and the teams do well, however the team dynamics are challenging. VA Jrs got the message that they need to recruit and are doing a better job doing so. The envionrment is overall more positive than Paramount and just works better for some of the top talent in the region.

Overall, there are many clubs with different options for every player. I advise parents to choose clubs that work best for their daughter, and ignore what is considered "the best" b/c "the best" club may not be so for the development and dynamics for your DD.

Juniors are a disaster and are in no way 3rd in the region. They are decent at the younger age groups and then all their best players leave to go to Metro or Paramount. They were totally ruined by one Coach in particular who made it a very toxic environment and completely played favorites. One age group he coached pretty much quit as a team.

I feel like this got personal. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?

Anyone who’s been on a Juniors team in the past 5 years, knows exactly who this refers to, and it’s been bad.

I am willing to bet that most of this forum's readers have no clue what you are talking about. The idea that there are people out there who know what you are talking about is simply not useful to this thread. It simply looks like you have some personal beef with MD Juniors and try to spread rumors.

I don’t think the Juniors in question is MD. It’s probably VA Juniors. They’ve had multiple teams implode over the past few years

The club name doesn't really matter much. It is the type of information shared mysteriously on an anonymous website. "There is a select group of us who can read these messages and nod in agreement. The rest of the earthlings can only wonder how we obtained the wisdom that we spread around." The fact that I had trouble identifying the club just proves my point. Quit beating around the bush and share the information in a way that is helpful.

Speak for yourself. In the way-too-many-years that I've been on DCUM, I have found a very high % of the "mysterious info" true when it's been something my family is involved in (whether it's schools, sports, or many other areas). If VA Jrs is a hot mess, as long as people are clear about which club it is (I was following along understanding it was VA Jrs so it must've been said early on), then it's useful. Everything on DCUM needs to be taken with a truckload of salt, but there is a ton of truth here too. You don't find it interesting, cool, you can ignore it. But don't make mistake thinking no one else finds it useful.

I do speak for myself. I read other volleyball threads on this site and there's always someone who brings up coach J, most of the time out of the blue. It always starts with how much Jrs declined, then the blame is squarely placed on this coach. I don't know the coach, and my daughter has little chance to play for JRs (we live in MD), but I can tell that some parents took something very personally and are out for blood. Some pretend that they moved on and just want to warn others, but it sounds like they are attempting a character assassination.

Maybe he gets brought up for a reason? I don’t see anything like as much about any other Coach in the DMV. Maybe Paramount get a bad rap occasionally, but nobody else comes close to what I have seen about this individual. Volleyball is a small world, there’s no way there is this much smoke without fire.

I feel that a few unhappy parents keep the smoke going to make others believe that there is fire. They pretend to have moved on, but they cannot help themselves from trashing the coach. Looks like there was some really bad blood there. Every time I read one of their new posts, I am rolling my eyes and think "Here we go again."

Agree completely. Coach nick from paramount throws huge temper tantrums during games, yells constantly at the girls but the "avoid coach jharred at all costs" poster is pervasive on this thread and brings up the same situation over and over. Let it go hun.

Didn’t an entire VA Juniors team quit because of him? That’s pretty bad.

Here we go again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid targeted Paramount and VA Juniors (prestigious clubs?) ... among others ... during the November tryouts. I don't want to flat out say that the pre-tryout clinics were a moneygrab, but we tried to be a bit more strategic going into this season, which would be the second club season for my player. We really didn't "know" any clubs going into her first club year, so we only went with some word-of-mouth suggestions from fellow high school players. Our intent with the most recent tryouts was to be ensure that clubs had seen our kid at least once before the tryout weekend. Before anyone screams, we did not seriously look at Metro as its practices would not work for us logistically. My kid decided to go to make-up tryout there at the last minute "for fun." Their rosters were likely set before that make-up, but one coach said something like "We wish we had seen her sooner."

As far as any player movement between clubs, here's what I've observed. Paramount simply added this year's rosters to their website while keeping last year's rosters online. As a quick check, it looks like 9 players from the 17s moved up to the 18s (4 ?new? players) while seven players from the 16s moved up to 17s (7 ?new?). I didn't look too hard to see if some of the "new" players moved up more than one age group. (My kid is not playing 17s/18s.) If you can get the VA Juniors website to work, you will see that they haven't posted this year's rosters, but last year's teams were still there. I haven't seen VA Juniors play this season, so I couldn't begin to discern if any players are new or returning. My kid's club from last year hasn't posted this year's rosters, but we've only seen one or two familiar faces from last year. Most of my kid's team landed at different clubs (apparently two or more ended up at Paramount).

Juniors is a bit of a sad story - they used to be a top 2/3 club in the region until they became totally toxic (mainly due to some dire coaches who had no idea how to coach young girls). They are now a feeder club to Paramount who are a clear number 2 in the region and snapping on the heels of Metro.

It's unfortunate this story is continuing ^^^. Juniors is still a very strong club and yes, I'd still consider them third with Paramount being number 2. Metro is the historic #1 in CHRVA but Paramount is coming for them and has amazing players. The problem with paramount and what holds them back is the coaches YELL at the kids in a very toxic manner and they over stack the roster so girls just sit around and watch. Metro teams aren't very close, the girls operate as individuals instead of a team. The girls are highly athletic and the teams do well, however the team dynamics are challenging. VA Jrs got the message that they need to recruit and are doing a better job doing so. The envionrment is overall more positive than Paramount and just works better for some of the top talent in the region.

Overall, there are many clubs with different options for every player. I advise parents to choose clubs that work best for their daughter, and ignore what is considered "the best" b/c "the best" club may not be so for the development and dynamics for your DD.

Juniors are a disaster and are in no way 3rd in the region. They are decent at the younger age groups and then all their best players leave to go to Metro or Paramount. They were totally ruined by one Coach in particular who made it a very toxic environment and completely played favorites. One age group he coached pretty much quit as a team.

I feel like this got personal. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?

Anyone who’s been on a Juniors team in the past 5 years, knows exactly who this refers to, and it’s been bad.

I am willing to bet that most of this forum's readers have no clue what you are talking about. The idea that there are people out there who know what you are talking about is simply not useful to this thread. It simply looks like you have some personal beef with MD Juniors and try to spread rumors.

I don’t think the Juniors in question is MD. It’s probably VA Juniors. They’ve had multiple teams implode over the past few years

The club name doesn't really matter much. It is the type of information shared mysteriously on an anonymous website. "There is a select group of us who can read these messages and nod in agreement. The rest of the earthlings can only wonder how we obtained the wisdom that we spread around." The fact that I had trouble identifying the club just proves my point. Quit beating around the bush and share the information in a way that is helpful.

Speak for yourself. In the way-too-many-years that I've been on DCUM, I have found a very high % of the "mysterious info" true when it's been something my family is involved in (whether it's schools, sports, or many other areas). If VA Jrs is a hot mess, as long as people are clear about which club it is (I was following along understanding it was VA Jrs so it must've been said early on), then it's useful. Everything on DCUM needs to be taken with a truckload of salt, but there is a ton of truth here too. You don't find it interesting, cool, you can ignore it. But don't make mistake thinking no one else finds it useful.

I do speak for myself. I read other volleyball threads on this site and there's always someone who brings up coach J, most of the time out of the blue. It always starts with how much Jrs declined, then the blame is squarely placed on this coach. I don't know the coach, and my daughter has little chance to play for JRs (we live in MD), but I can tell that some parents took something very personally and are out for blood. Some pretend that they moved on and just want to warn others, but it sounds like they are attempting a character assassination.

Maybe he gets brought up for a reason? I don’t see anything like as much about any other Coach in the DMV. Maybe Paramount get a bad rap occasionally, but nobody else comes close to what I have seen about this individual. Volleyball is a small world, there’s no way there is this much smoke without fire.

I feel that a few unhappy parents keep the smoke going to make others believe that there is fire. They pretend to have moved on, but they cannot help themselves from trashing the coach. Looks like there was some really bad blood there. Every time I read one of their new posts, I am rolling my eyes and think "Here we go again."

Agree completely. Coach nick from paramount throws huge temper tantrums during games, yells constantly at the girls but the "avoid coach jharred at all costs" poster is pervasive on this thread and brings up the same situation over and over. Let it go hun.

Didn’t an entire VA Juniors team quit because of him? That’s pretty bad.

Here we go again.

True dat

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My kid targeted Paramount and VA Juniors (prestigious clubs?) ... among others ... during the November tryouts. I don't want to flat out say that the pre-tryout clinics were a moneygrab, but we tried to be a bit more strategic going into this season, which would be the second club season for my player. We really didn't "know" any clubs going into her first club year, so we only went with some word-of-mouth suggestions from fellow high school players. Our intent with the most recent tryouts was to be ensure that clubs had seen our kid at least once before the tryout weekend. Before anyone screams, we did not seriously look at Metro as its practices would not work for us logistically. My kid decided to go to make-up tryout there at the last minute "for fun." Their rosters were likely set before that make-up, but one coach said something like "We wish we had seen her sooner."

As far as any player movement between clubs, here's what I've observed. Paramount simply added this year's rosters to their website while keeping last year's rosters online. As a quick check, it looks like 9 players from the 17s moved up to the 18s (4 ?new? players) while seven players from the 16s moved up to 17s (7 ?new?). I didn't look too hard to see if some of the "new" players moved up more than one age group. (My kid is not playing 17s/18s.) If you can get the VA Juniors website to work, you will see that they haven't posted this year's rosters, but last year's teams were still there. I haven't seen VA Juniors play this season, so I couldn't begin to discern if any players are new or returning. My kid's club from last year hasn't posted this year's rosters, but we've only seen one or two familiar faces from last year. Most of my kid's team landed at different clubs (apparently two or more ended up at Paramount).

Juniors is a bit of a sad story - they used to be a top 2/3 club in the region until they became totally toxic (mainly due to some dire coaches who had no idea how to coach young girls). They are now a feeder club to Paramount who are a clear number 2 in the region and snapping on the heels of Metro.

It's unfortunate this story is continuing ^^^. Juniors is still a very strong club and yes, I'd still consider them third with Paramount being number 2. Metro is the historic #1 in CHRVA but Paramount is coming for them and has amazing players. The problem with paramount and what holds them back is the coaches YELL at the kids in a very toxic manner and they over stack the roster so girls just sit around and watch. Metro teams aren't very close, the girls operate as individuals instead of a team. The girls are highly athletic and the teams do well, however the team dynamics are challenging. VA Jrs got the message that they need to recruit and are doing a better job doing so. The envionrment is overall more positive than Paramount and just works better for some of the top talent in the region.

Overall, there are many clubs with different options for every player. I advise parents to choose clubs that work best for their daughter, and ignore what is considered "the best" b/c "the best" club may not be so for the development and dynamics for your DD.

Juniors are a disaster and are in no way 3rd in the region. They are decent at the younger age groups and then all their best players leave to go to Metro or Paramount. They were totally ruined by one Coach in particular who made it a very toxic environment and completely played favorites. One age group he coached pretty much quit as a team.

I feel like this got personal. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?

Anyone who’s been on a Juniors team in the past 5 years, knows exactly who this refers to, and it’s been bad.

I am willing to bet that most of this forum's readers have no clue what you are talking about. The idea that there are people out there who know what you are talking about is simply not useful to this thread. It simply looks like you have some personal beef with MD Juniors and try to spread rumors.

I don’t think the Juniors in question is MD. It’s probably VA Juniors. They’ve had multiple teams implode over the past few years

The club name doesn't really matter much. It is the type of information shared mysteriously on an anonymous website. "There is a select group of us who can read these messages and nod in agreement. The rest of the earthlings can only wonder how we obtained the wisdom that we spread around." The fact that I had trouble identifying the club just proves my point. Quit beating around the bush and share the information in a way that is helpful.

Speak for yourself. In the way-too-many-years that I've been on DCUM, I have found a very high % of the "mysterious info" true when it's been something my family is involved in (whether it's schools, sports, or many other areas). If VA Jrs is a hot mess, as long as people are clear about which club it is (I was following along understanding it was VA Jrs so it must've been said early on), then it's useful. Everything on DCUM needs to be taken with a truckload of salt, but there is a ton of truth here too. You don't find it interesting, cool, you can ignore it. But don't make mistake thinking no one else finds it useful.

I do speak for myself. I read other volleyball threads on this site and there's always someone who brings up coach J, most of the time out of the blue. It always starts with how much Jrs declined, then the blame is squarely placed on this coach. I don't know the coach, and my daughter has little chance to play for JRs (we live in MD), but I can tell that some parents took something very personally and are out for blood. Some pretend that they moved on and just want to warn others, but it sounds like they are attempting a character assassination.

Maybe he gets brought up for a reason? I don’t see anything like as much about any other Coach in the DMV. Maybe Paramount get a bad rap occasionally, but nobody else comes close to what I have seen about this individual. Volleyball is a small world, there’s no way there is this much smoke without fire.

I feel that a few unhappy parents keep the smoke going to make others believe that there is fire. They pretend to have moved on, but they cannot help themselves from trashing the coach. Looks like there was some really bad blood there. Every time I read one of their new posts, I am rolling my eyes and think "Here we go again."

Agree completely. Coach nick from paramount throws huge temper tantrums during games, yells constantly at the girls but the "avoid coach jharred at all costs" poster is pervasive on this thread and brings up the same situation over and over. Let it go hun.

Perfect way to describe Coach N

[Anonymous]

We are making "progress." We switched from coach J to coach N. Does anyone have another coach to say "nice" things about?

[Anonymous]

FPYCparent wrote:I see many mentions here that Metro has been best club in CHRVA. I don't want to disagree with what appears to be common knowledge, but what is that based on? Most bids to USAV Nationals over time? Most wins overall? Most wins head-to-head against other clubs near the top? Most collegiate recruits? Best coaches?

I'm only in club season #2 with my player, so I don't have a full sense of the region's history. With SportsEngine buying/rebranding AES, I don't know how much I can trust the data from previous years (which "only" goes back to 2020-2021 now). On its website, Paramount proudly touts a top 5 USAV National Open division finish for one team ... some time in the past ... as the best CHRVA finish ever at USAV Nationals. Metro makes other claims on its website (like CHRVA club with the most teams to qualify for USAV Nationals for a given year, etc.) Is there anything objective that distinguishes Metro from Paramount from VA Juniors from Blue Ridge from MD Juniors ... on and on?

There are a couple of data points that would suggest Metro is still the top CHRVA club, although Paramount has definitely been closing the gap. The first would be the number of teams that qualify for USAV Girls Junior Nationals in the Open division in any given year. I think in most years Metro will have 3-4 Travel teams earn open bids to Nationals - last year 18 Travel, 17 Travel, and 15 Travel got Open bids. My recollection is that last year only Paramount 18s got an Open bid and before that the 2021 Paramount 15s team earned an Open bid.

A second thing to consider is college commitments. Almost every year the entire Metro 18 Travel team will go on to play collegiate volleyball, most in Division 1. The current Metro 18 Travel team has a pretty impressive list of commitments, including Penn State, Georgia Tech, Duke, UVA, Navy, Colorado State, Vanderbilt, and many more.

Another place to look is the rankings done by the various volleyball media outlets. The rankings system used to determine who is invited to the prestigious Triple Crown tournament which was last weekend is at https://www.tcvolleyballnit.com/top-100-rankings.html. You can see they have Metro ranked 19th and Paramount ranked 95th. PrepVolleyball and PrepDig are other outlets that publish rankings of teams/clubs.

In terms of the accolades the clubs post on social media, I think you have to read those carefully and take them with a grain of salt. For example, the Paramount Instagram account has several posts touting how they are the only CHRVA club invited and who accepted to go to the Triple Crown tournament. While this is technically true, the reason Metro doesn't send teams to Triple Crown is because they choose to play in the Capitol Hill Classic, which was started by the late Barry Goldberg (long time coach at American University) and who was also the founder of the predecessor club to Metro (Metro American) so Capitol Hill is sort of a home tournament for Metro. Similarly, the Paramount 18s 5th place finish at in 18 Open at USAV Nationals last year is the highest finish for a CHRVA team in 18 Open, but not the highest for a CHRVA team in an Open division across other age groups. Even last year, Metro 17 Travel finished 5th in 17 Open at Nationals. I think a few years back a Metro Travel team finished on the podium in an open division.

At the end of the day, you should really only be considering Metro Travel or Paramount if your DD wants to play volleyball in college. The expense, travel, and commitment are probably too much if they don't aspire to play at the next level. In terms of other clubs for girls who want to play in college, VA Elite is probably the next best option, and then VA Juniors, Blue Ridge, and MDJRs. But if your DD doesn't play for one of those clubs, that doesn't mean they can't or won't be recruited to play in college. For example, there are 3 players on the current Columbia 18s team committed to play D1 volleyball. If your DD doesn't play for a top team, they will need to take the initiative to be more proactive and reach out to college coaches to get them to come watch them play at tournaments or even to attend a club practice.

[Anonymous]

I agree with almost everything you said. Metro 18 travel did get an open division bid last year. They actually finished 17th.

I know Paramount has been boasting that they were the only CHRVA club invited to Triple Crown, this made me chuckle. Metro don’t go because they host Capitol Hill Classic. However, based on the criteria to get an invite they most likely qualify each year because have been ranked a top 50 club over the last 5 years (ranked 17th last year; Paramount was ranked 95th). Paramount definitely earned their invite though by finishing 5th in open division last year. They are the first 18s CHRVA team to finish so high so they should boast about this!

Paramount is putting in the work and I hope they maintain it. Metro is still the top club, and will be for a while, but it’s good for girls who want to play in college, specifically d1, to have these other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

FPYCparent wrote:I see many mentions here that Metro has been best club in CHRVA. I don't want to disagree with what appears to be common knowledge, but what is that based on? Most bids to USAV Nationals over time? Most wins overall? Most wins head-to-head against other clubs near the top? Most collegiate recruits? Best coaches?

I'm only in club season #2 with my player, so I don't have a full sense of the region's history. With SportsEngine buying/rebranding AES, I don't know how much I can trust the data from previous years (which "only" goes back to 2020-2021 now). On its website, Paramount proudly touts a top 5 USAV National Open division finish for one team ... some time in the past ... as the best CHRVA finish ever at USAV Nationals. Metro makes other claims on its website (like CHRVA club with the most teams to qualify for USAV Nationals for a given year, etc.) Is there anything objective that distinguishes Metro from Paramount from VA Juniors from Blue Ridge from MD Juniors ... on and on?

There are a couple of data points that would suggest Metro is still the top CHRVA club, although Paramount has definitely been closing the gap. The first would be the number of teams that qualify for USAV Girls Junior Nationals in the Open division in any given year. I think in most years Metro will have 3-4 Travel teams earn open bids to Nationals - last year 18 Travel, 17 Travel, and 15 Travel got Open bids. My recollection is that last year only Paramount 18s got an Open bid and before that the 2021 Paramount 15s team earned an Open bid.

A second thing to consider is college commitments. Almost every year the entire Metro 18 Travel team will go on to play collegiate volleyball, most in Division 1. The current Metro 18 Travel team has a pretty impressive list of commitments, including Penn State, Georgia Tech, Duke, UVA, Navy, Colorado State, Vanderbilt, and many more.

Another place to look is the rankings done by the various volleyball media outlets. The rankings system used to determine who is invited to the prestigious Triple Crown tournament which was last weekend is at https://www.tcvolleyballnit.com/top-100-rankings.html. You can see they have Metro ranked 19th and Paramount ranked 95th. PrepVolleyball and PrepDig are other outlets that publish rankings of teams/clubs.

In terms of the accolades the clubs post on social media, I think you have to read those carefully and take them with a grain of salt. For example, the Paramount Instagram account has several posts touting how they are the only CHRVA club invited and who accepted to go to the Triple Crown tournament. While this is technically true, the reason Metro doesn't send teams to Triple Crown is because they choose to play in the Capitol Hill Classic, which was started by the late Barry Goldberg (long time coach at American University) and who was also the founder of the predecessor club to Metro (Metro American) so Capitol Hill is sort of a home tournament for Metro. Similarly, the Paramount 18s 5th place finish at in 18 Open at USAV Nationals last year is the highest finish for a CHRVA team in 18 Open, but not the highest for a CHRVA team in an Open division across other age groups. Even last year, Metro 17 Travel finished 5th in 17 Open at Nationals. I think a few years back a Metro Travel team finished on the podium in an open division.

At the end of the day, you should really only be considering Metro Travel or Paramount if your DD wants to play volleyball in college. The expense, travel, and commitment are probably too much if they don't aspire to play at the next level. In terms of other clubs for girls who want to play in college, VA Elite is probably the next best option, and then VA Juniors, Blue Ridge, and MDJRs. But if your DD doesn't play for one of those clubs, that doesn't mean they can't or won't be recruited to play in college. For example, there are 3 players on the current Columbia 18s team committed to play D1 volleyball. If your DD doesn't play for a top team, they will need to take the initiative to be more proactive and reach out to college coaches to get them to come watch them play at tournaments or even to attend a club practice.

I agree that Metro is the top in chrva but my point is: given the talents the Metro girls have, many of these girls underachieving. Paramount has better training but I don't like the coach style during the game.(we live in Maryland so never get chance able to see their practice). Metro won by weaking other clubs ( try to attract as many girls as possible from other clubs even to their bench so other clubs got weakened). Capitol classic rigged like this will not benefit chrva region at all.

[Anonymous]

I used to think like you, and to some extent I still do (re: Metro does not improve the CHRVA region). However, if players want to play D1, especially in a power 4 league, a lot of these other clubs just don’t have the college recruitment infrastructure. You may say it’s because of the poaching but some don’t even have a point person that families can strategize with about recruitment. If you are interested in playing in college and you visit a clubs website and go to the college commitment page and you start comparing Metro sells itself, it doesn’t even have to poach players. Anybody who is playing on Metro travel 16 and older want to get recruited.

I have noticed that some players get recruited when they are with other clubs but for their 18U year they play with Metro. I’ve wondered if Metro have some kind of arrangement to provide training and conditioning before some players arrive on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to think like you, and to some extent I still do (re: Metro does not improve the CHRVA region). However, if players want to play D1, especially in a power 4 league, a lot of these other clubs just don’t have the college recruitment infrastructure. You may say it’s because of the poaching but some don’t even have a point person that families can strategize with about recruitment. If you are interested in playing in college and you visit a clubs website and go to the college commitment page and you start comparing Metro sells itself, it doesn’t even have to poach players. Anybody who is playing on Metro travel 16 and older want to get recruited.

I have noticed that some players get recruited when they are with other clubs but for their 18U year they play with Metro. I’ve wondered if Metro have some kind of arrangement to provide training and conditioning before some players arrive on campus.

I think you're right the most direct path to D1 is the reason Metro Travel teams continue to attract many of the best players in the region, despite the fact that there are probably 4 or 5 players on every Metro Travel team that don't get to play in tournaments as much as they would if they played for another club. I think most of these players know that when they accept the offer, but believe that being on Metro Travel, even as a reserve player, will be better for recruiting purposes. With 15 players on many of the Metro Travel rosters, there is no question that some really great players are standing on the sidelines. This obviously weakens other teams to certain extent, but I'm not sure whether that is the reason that Metro takes so many on each team. Having a deep bench is helpful when players get hurt or have to miss a tournament for some reason and also allows for really competitive practices.

I have also heard that some college coaches encourage their local commits to switch to Metro for their last year (or two) of club volleyball because of the level of competition, both in practice and at tournaments.

[Anonymous]

Totally new to volleyball- been playing Rec in Montgomery County. The club that is closest to me is MoCo. Can anyone share their experience with this club? Clinics seem good, but would be interested in hearing from parents of teens who play for their teams. TIA.