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Justifiable or not, it seems that some of the Maryland clubs are leveraging elementary public schools for practice spaces. There aren't too many clubs that have their own dedicated space, so perhaps the rents account for some of the difference. (I haven't come across a Virginia club using public schools, but I think that's what the regional Metro teams use here in VA).
I'd also look at the number of events (qualifiers in particular). Again, is it all justifiable? I cannot say.
I'd also look at the number of events (qualifiers in particular). Again, is it all justifiable? I cannot say.
Here's a 2024-2025 CHRVA Clubs spreadsheet (Google Sheets) that's similar to one I used for my player's tryout journey last year. I'm only trying to capture factual/verifiable information (fees, coaches, facilities, tryouts, competitive events). This document will NOT attempt to compare the competitiveness of one club's teams versus that of another club.
I've been adding information for a handful of clubs for one age group each day. I think I'll stop after the 12s and 11s. Had I known the boys' club tryouts were held this past weekend, I would have added them sooner. Maybe next year.
I have intentionally protected parts of each worksheet. Some folks like to get into a document like this and start moving stuff around. By protecting portions of each worksheet, I'm hoping to minimize permanent damage.
If you want to muck with the data, you can export your own copy.
I alone will not cover every CHRVA club/team. If there is a particular club/team that's "missing," feel free to add it to the right of the vertical black bar on the appropriate age group worksheet. Fill in as much info as you can, following the format of the data that's already there.
If updated information is posted by a club/team, just copy the existing column, add it to the right, and make the corrections/updates.
I'll move columns to the protected side of each worksheet after a quick sanity check (just once a day). I realize that some of the same info will work for multiple age groups, so I'll copy-and-paste accordingly. I intend to keep the clubs in alphabetical order going from left to right.
Have fun with it! (Just don't ruin it for everyone else! :p )
I've been adding information for a handful of clubs for one age group each day. I think I'll stop after the 12s and 11s. Had I known the boys' club tryouts were held this past weekend, I would have added them sooner. Maybe next year.
I have intentionally protected parts of each worksheet. Some folks like to get into a document like this and start moving stuff around. By protecting portions of each worksheet, I'm hoping to minimize permanent damage.
If you want to muck with the data, you can export your own copy.
I alone will not cover every CHRVA club/team. If there is a particular club/team that's "missing," feel free to add it to the right of the vertical black bar on the appropriate age group worksheet. Fill in as much info as you can, following the format of the data that's already there.
If updated information is posted by a club/team, just copy the existing column, add it to the right, and make the corrections/updates.
I'll move columns to the protected side of each worksheet after a quick sanity check (just once a day). I realize that some of the same info will work for multiple age groups, so I'll copy-and-paste accordingly. I intend to keep the clubs in alphabetical order going from left to right.
Have fun with it! (Just don't ruin it for everyone else! :p )
Anonymous wrote:
Could you share any perspectives on your experience w/TSJ for girls club vb? Specifically, the coaching, how the program runs, level of competitiveness in the 15-16 yr old range? TIA.
My DD played at TSJ on a top team two years ago. It was her first VB club season after having played 5+ years of another club/travel sport (DD had only starting playing VB during COVID while in middle school). The team's coaches were great as was the facility. The returning team members had gone to USAV Nationals the year prior (not sure what division they played at Nationals that year). I understand that they lost a key member or two from the prior year's team. With the influx of new players, they team seemed to have the talent to succeed. I think (again, as a novice VB club parent) they just needed another year together to really solidify as a unit.
The VB management at TSJ seemed to make a misstep or two during that season. For example, DD's team did not participate in enough local events in time to qualify for CHRVA Bid Regionals that March. Could that error have been on the coach? Maybe, but it seems like at least one person on the admin side would have noticed that in time to correct it. So, the team was basically out-of-the-running for earning a bid allocated to the region by mid-February. That team may not have earned a bid via CHRVA, but they never had the chance to play for it. At the end of the season, the coach was not offered the opportunity to return and move up with the team for the following season (yet the B team coaches were allowed to return and move up to coach the A team). It is probably unsurprising that only one player from that team returned to play for TSJ last year. Three players earned spots at Paramount, while others played at Mojo, Renaissance (unfortunate for those players), Columbia, and elsewhere, so it seems that there was some talent there. Had the coach been asked to return, I think many/most of the team would have stayed.
I don't quite know what happened to TSJ teams last year, but it seems that some of last year's new coaches that were there aren't returning. As it is now, I only recognize one girls' coach from two years ago that's still there.
Other than that, the facility is great ... parking aside!
Annandale screams "The St. James" for me
-Former Annandale resident and TSJ girls VB parent
-Former Annandale resident and TSJ girls VB parent
Looks like boys tryouts are this weekend: https://www.chrva.org/page/show/3927272-chrva-boys-volleyball
I didn't read this yet, but here's an older article explaining the divisions:
https://volleymob.com/everything-need-know-five-junior-national-divisions/
For what it is worth, I think there are at least seven divisions now, with the additions of Liberty and Freedom.
https://volleymob.com/everything-need-know-five-junior-national-divisions/
For what it is worth, I think there are at least seven divisions now, with the additions of Liberty and Freedom.
I don't want to start a new thread yet, but ...
Here's a 2024-2025 CHRVA Clubs spreadsheet (Google Sheets) that's similar to one I used for my player last year.
I've started with the 18s page since that age group usually has a shorter club schedule. I'll try to add another age group each day.
I have intentionally protected parts of each worksheet. Some folks like to get into a document like this and start moving stuff around. By protecting portions of each worksheet, I'm hoping to minimize permanent damage. If you want to muck with the data, you can export your own copy.
If you have a particular club in mind, feel free to add it to the right of the vertical black bar on the appropriate age group worksheet. Fill in as much info as you can, following the format of the data that's already there.
I'll move columns to the protected side of each worksheet after a quick sanity check. I realize that some of the same info will work for multiple age groups, so I'll copy-and-paste accordingly. I intend to keep the clubs in alphabetical order going from left to right.
Have fun with it!
Here's a 2024-2025 CHRVA Clubs spreadsheet (Google Sheets) that's similar to one I used for my player last year.
I've started with the 18s page since that age group usually has a shorter club schedule. I'll try to add another age group each day.
I have intentionally protected parts of each worksheet. Some folks like to get into a document like this and start moving stuff around. By protecting portions of each worksheet, I'm hoping to minimize permanent damage.
If you want to muck with the data, you can export your own copy.
If you have a particular club in mind, feel free to add it to the right of the vertical black bar on the appropriate age group worksheet. Fill in as much info as you can, following the format of the data that's already there.
I'll move columns to the protected side of each worksheet after a quick sanity check. I realize that some of the same info will work for multiple age groups, so I'll copy-and-paste accordingly. I intend to keep the clubs in alphabetical order going from left to right.
Have fun with it!
Unless I am mistaken, DMV Elite was formed (two years ago?) to re-brand the very top teams of Vienna Elite, effectively allowing them to get more teams into tournaments. I don't know if the DMV Elite teams have been successful on the court, as they tend to play Open.
For NoVA (RE: 09/23/2024 13:55), would you consider Blue Ridge, VA Juniors, The St. James, BRYC, the new Legacy VBA, or American? Check out their proposed schedules to understand the potential travel commitments ... as well as their practice locations. I cannot speak for winning, but they all could potentially be more competitive than the clubs you listed. I also do not know if Paramount will have a second team in some age groups as they had last year.
FWIW, look at the 2023-24 rankings from last season: https://advancedeventsystems.com/rankings/Female/U14/aes (have to change the season). Should give you a sense of how last year's 14s teams performed.
FWIW, look at the 2023-24 rankings from last season: https://advancedeventsystems.com/rankings/Female/U14/aes (have to change the season). Should give you a sense of how last year's 14s teams performed.
I didn't stay for the finale at the Flint Hill Invitational, which pitted Bishop O'Connell versus Colgan for the second time that day. They split a two-set match in pool play.
BO knocked out Flint Hill and Colgan beat Fairfax in the playoff bracket to advance to the championship match.
In pool play, Flint Hill went 3-0, Fairfax 1-1-1, Bishop Ireton 1-2-0, and Osbourn Park 0-2-1 on one side. Colgan (advanced on points), BO (advanced on points), and James Madison all went 1-0-2 and Mercersburg Academy last all three of its matches.
To answer an earlier question, spectator admission was free.
Any other results worth mentioning?
BO knocked out Flint Hill and Colgan beat Fairfax in the playoff bracket to advance to the championship match.
In pool play, Flint Hill went 3-0, Fairfax 1-1-1, Bishop Ireton 1-2-0, and Osbourn Park 0-2-1 on one side. Colgan (advanced on points), BO (advanced on points), and James Madison all went 1-0-2 and Mercersburg Academy last all three of its matches.
To answer an earlier question, spectator admission was free.
Any other results worth mentioning?
I didn't even know this club existed (or was being formed) until this week. Looking at the clips on Instagram, I think I see a few familiar faces. I believe they intend to post coaches on their website soon (I've gotten a few text messages from the TD whom we met two or so years ago). One of the Insta posts suggested that there will be a "Meet The Coaches" Zoom call in mid-October.
Fielding four teams (per Insta)
Fees will be in the $5500 range (including AAU/USAV Nationals)
Practices start Nov. 6th
Open division play (intend to meet the requirements for CRHVA Bid Regionals)
First tournament in December
Cap Hill
Three qualifiers (Big South, NEQ, Music City)
Fielding four teams (per Insta)
Fees will be in the $5500 range (including AAU/USAV Nationals)
Practices start Nov. 6th
Open division play (intend to meet the requirements for CRHVA Bid Regionals)
First tournament in December
Cap Hill
Three qualifiers (Big South, NEQ, Music City)
It'll cost some money, but try to have you player attend some of the ongoing clinics prior to tryouts. You/your player may get a sense of the club's culture before you have to commit to anything long term.
Look on the club websites to get a sense of where the teams practice. Some facilities are great (The St. James, on the inside at least), others are relatively accessible (close to interstate/Beltway exits), while others are at churches or schools. You may end up driving your kid to these locations three times a week, so make sure the practice locations make sense logistically for your household. Also check out practice times, if they are already posted. There are some weeknight practices that may start as early as 4:30/5PM or may end at 9PM or later ... and you still have to drive home after that!
Also, look at the events where the club intends to compete. Some are putting out their tournament schedules now. Get to know where some of these events are ... Volley by the James (Richmond), M-APL (Hampton, Raleigh, York in the past), Capital City Classic (DC), Big South (Atlanta), Music City (New Orleans), Sunshine (Orlando), Show Me (Kansas City), NEQ (Philadelphia), etc. Some of these schedules can be budget busters, so go into the season fully armed with an understanding of the intended schedule ... and fists full of dollars.
For high school families who may be pursuing club for the first time ... talk to outer parents. See if there are players that have already played a club season or two.
Look on the club websites to get a sense of where the teams practice. Some facilities are great (The St. James, on the inside at least), others are relatively accessible (close to interstate/Beltway exits), while others are at churches or schools. You may end up driving your kid to these locations three times a week, so make sure the practice locations make sense logistically for your household. Also check out practice times, if they are already posted. There are some weeknight practices that may start as early as 4:30/5PM or may end at 9PM or later ... and you still have to drive home after that!
Also, look at the events where the club intends to compete. Some are putting out their tournament schedules now. Get to know where some of these events are ... Volley by the James (Richmond), M-APL (Hampton, Raleigh, York in the past), Capital City Classic (DC), Big South (Atlanta), Music City (New Orleans), Sunshine (Orlando), Show Me (Kansas City), NEQ (Philadelphia), etc. Some of these schedules can be budget busters, so go into the season fully armed with an understanding of the intended schedule ... and fists full of dollars.
For high school families who may be pursuing club for the first time ... talk to outer parents. See if there are players that have already played a club season or two.
New club alert? Legacy Volleyball Academy. Seems like the program will be run out of Audrey Moore just off the Beltway on Braddock Road.
https://www.instagram.com/legacy_vba/
https://legacyvba.sportngin.com/
https://www.instagram.com/legacy_vba/
https://legacyvba.sportngin.com/
My HS kid just finished a season on a top team at Paramount. This was her first season with the club. Hopefully, I can offer something objective.
As far as CHRVA goes, Metro Travel and Paramount seem to perform the best across multiple age groups at the Open level for many years. As far as I am concerned, Open level play gets the most college coach eyeballs watching. In fact, a D-III school reached out to my kid after Big South back in April. My kid isn't even a starter, but she routinely gets on the court. Sure, it's not D-I (which my kid wants), but I think it shows the "reward" of playing for a club that consistently plays well in Open ... even if the club isn't a national powerhouse.
Someone recent shared the ScholarshipStats website (https://scholarshipstats.com/volleyball for more info) in another thread. If those numbers are reasonably accurate, a rostered HS player has a 1.2% competing in women's volleyball at an NCAA D-I school. I don't think those numbers imply that those players are actually getting athletic scholarships of any amount. I have no problem believing that the percentage drops for those actually getting some athletic scholarship funding.
Unless you are willing to move somewhere else in the country (where youth volleyball is stronger across multiple clubs and high schools in the same region) ... and your kid wants to play high-level volleyball in college, she would be best served by playing Metro Travel or Paramount. It's not impossible to get that level of exposure at another CHRVA club, but ... for now, it's almost built into the experience at those two clubs.
As far as CHRVA goes, Metro Travel and Paramount seem to perform the best across multiple age groups at the Open level for many years. As far as I am concerned, Open level play gets the most college coach eyeballs watching. In fact, a D-III school reached out to my kid after Big South back in April. My kid isn't even a starter, but she routinely gets on the court. Sure, it's not D-I (which my kid wants), but I think it shows the "reward" of playing for a club that consistently plays well in Open ... even if the club isn't a national powerhouse.
Someone recent shared the ScholarshipStats website (https://scholarshipstats.com/volleyball for more info) in another thread. If those numbers are reasonably accurate, a rostered HS player has a 1.2% competing in women's volleyball at an NCAA D-I school. I don't think those numbers imply that those players are actually getting athletic scholarships of any amount. I have no problem believing that the percentage drops for those actually getting some athletic scholarship funding.
Unless you are willing to move somewhere else in the country (where youth volleyball is stronger across multiple clubs and high schools in the same region) ... and your kid wants to play high-level volleyball in college, she would be best served by playing Metro Travel or Paramount. It's not impossible to get that level of exposure at another CHRVA club, but ... for now, it's almost built into the experience at those two clubs.
(Assuming the OP is asking about high school sports ...)
Short answer: Usually, matchups between schools in the the same district (or conference) are considered to be "in-conference," and may eventually result in a school earning a district/conference championship for a given sport. Teams can still play matches against other schools that aren't in the same district/conference during the season. Chances are that these non-conference contests occur early in the sports season.
Look at the banners in the gym or trophies in the trophy case. For public schools, you will probably see some "conference/district," "regional," and/or maybe even some "state" championships. You can also look for your kid's school and then sport on Maxpreps (mostly works for private and public high schools):
https://www.maxpreps.com/va/
https://www.maxpreps.com/md/
Longer answer: On the Virginia side, sports in public high schools is usually governed by the Virginia High School League. This body groups schools by student population (mostly). VHSL Class 6 has the largest high schools in the state, including ?all? FCPS (~25), Arlington (3), Alexandria (1). VHSL Class 5 is the next tier down, LCPS and PWCPS mostly resides here. The classes continue down to Class 1, which may have schools under 500 students or so. Meridian in Falls Church is Class 3, I believe, but they are basically an island with no similarly-sized public schools anywhere nearby.
Once you figure out the VHSL Class, the schools get broken down into regions and the regions are broken down into districts. District matchups are usually considered to be in conference. There are four regions in VHSL Class 6 with two of those regions covering Northern Virginia (Occoquan and Northern). The Occoquan Region has the Patriot and National Districts while the Northern Region has the Concorde and Liberty districts.
I am far less familiar with Maryland schools, but I think they do a bit of intra-county grouping in PG and Montgomery. Public schools in DC are likely their own conference.
Privates do their own thing. For example, some of the Catholics schools align themselves into a single conference.
.
Short answer: Usually, matchups between schools in the the same district (or conference) are considered to be "in-conference," and may eventually result in a school earning a district/conference championship for a given sport. Teams can still play matches against other schools that aren't in the same district/conference during the season. Chances are that these non-conference contests occur early in the sports season.
Look at the banners in the gym or trophies in the trophy case. For public schools, you will probably see some "conference/district," "regional," and/or maybe even some "state" championships. You can also look for your kid's school and then sport on Maxpreps (mostly works for private and public high schools):
https://www.maxpreps.com/va/
https://www.maxpreps.com/md/
Longer answer: On the Virginia side, sports in public high schools is usually governed by the Virginia High School League. This body groups schools by student population (mostly). VHSL Class 6 has the largest high schools in the state, including ?all? FCPS (~25), Arlington (3), Alexandria (1). VHSL Class 5 is the next tier down, LCPS and PWCPS mostly resides here. The classes continue down to Class 1, which may have schools under 500 students or so. Meridian in Falls Church is Class 3, I believe, but they are basically an island with no similarly-sized public schools anywhere nearby.
Once you figure out the VHSL Class, the schools get broken down into regions and the regions are broken down into districts. District matchups are usually considered to be in conference. There are four regions in VHSL Class 6 with two of those regions covering Northern Virginia (Occoquan and Northern). The Occoquan Region has the Patriot and National Districts while the Northern Region has the Concorde and Liberty districts.
I am far less familiar with Maryland schools, but I think they do a bit of intra-county grouping in PG and Montgomery. Public schools in DC are likely their own conference.
Privates do their own thing. For example, some of the Catholics schools align themselves into a single conference.
.