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Anonymous wrote:I was poking around AES to see what teams were registered at some of the early season tournaments and noticed what appears to be another new club. Or at least one I’ve never heard of. Anyone know anything about Eclipse?
https://eclipsevball.com/

More reasonable fees than other clubs in VA, but still higher than well-established clubs in MD. I feel like they do a lot of unnecessary travel outside of the area. With the level of players they will likely get, local tournaments would be sufficient (but probably the coaches want to travel, so the players must pay up). At least they don't take their newbie teams to the qualifiers.

Looking at the schedule, seems pretty similar to what the MVSA 1s teams do. At least everything is within driving distance.

It's interesting a new club is planning an 18s team since players who aren't continuing with volleyball in college often stop playing club to leave the second half of their senior year more free for other things. Maybe it will be more a combined 17-18s team.

Are you going to tell me that the schedule of top MVSA teams is the standard that other clubs should follow? I would not complain if they would follow the pricing model, but... How do you justify going to the same tournaments with a rookie team? Why not follow the schedule of a regional MVSA team? Would you rather meet their top teams and get aced every other serve, or meet one of their regional team and manage to do some rallies? Some of the top MVSA teams play one age up in some tournaments because they want a better challenge than what they get at their age level. How is a rookie team in a newly formed club even comparable?

Wasn't an endorsement or criticism of the schedule - just an observation. I think it's at least a more reasonable schedule than a new club that is planning on Big South, Music City, NEQ, etc. In my opinion, Volley By the James, CHC, and East Coast Championships are all fun tournaments and much less competitive than big qualifiers. You can see (in AES or SportWrench) Eclipse registered to play in the club division at Volley by the James and in the Select division at ECC so they aren't coming out of the gate thinking they're going to be competing with the top teams.

While I agree that a new club should start out small and build up to a more challenging schedule, I think 3 teams and all tournaments within driving distance is a lot more reasonable than other new clubs that have been discussed in this thread.

As for the pricing, it is obviously higher than MVSA or VolleyViet, but it seems like a steal compared to say Loudoun Elite, whose 16s second team has a pretty similar schedule to Eclipse's 16s for $2500 more. Maybe they have way cooler backpacks.

I would reserve the word "steal" for the players who make MVSA or VolleyViet. You cannot say "steal" with a straight face when the parents have to fork 4-5k into a sports team. They could have come up with a regional schedule to save money and lower fees. It's not like you go somewhere and do what tourists do: you see the inside of the venue and that of the hotel room because at the end of each day you are exhausted and you may have to wake up early the next day. Which is cooler - the inside of the Richmond Convention Center or the inside of the St. James? Of course the inside of the St. James: I can drive back home, sleep in my bed, and not pay a few more hundreds of dollars for the hotel. In these circumstances, you can also lower the club fees because you don't spend money on coach travel (money that also comes from the parents).

Sure, but that's a different style of club. It sounds like your preferred type of club is one that goes to mostly one day tournaments (or local multi-day tournaments) and prioritizes keeping costs low. And that's valid and if that's is what you are looking for, I agree it's probably hard to find because there are not a lot of clubs that are operated like that. I disagree that there are not valuable experiences that happen at travel tournaments beyond playing volleyball. Sure you are not going to do a ton of sightseeing, but I think there is value in downtime spent with teammates at meals or in hotels. Also, I personally have enjoyed time spent with my DD at tournaments, especially traveling on long car rides or on flights on the way to faraway tournaments. I know I will miss those times when club volleyball comes to an end.

Well, that's the type of club that is rare in this area. Most of our clubs behave as if the players are going to get recruited and need exposure and far away games. In reality, we have a handful of clubs that really perform at that level (and only their top teams). They need to get real: most of our teams have plenty of local, legit competition. I also like to travel with my family, but we need a destination and things to do at that destination. If the destination is a rec center / convention center and the thing to do is volleyball, thank you, but no thank you. I can do that locally and use the money for real travel (not travel for the sake of traveling).

I am not sure how you enjoy the travel to tournaments because for us it's always stressful. We usually make it to the hotel pretty late at night. Ideally you catch a morning wave, even though breakfast is always some crappy fast food. Lunch is crappy convention center food. But at least you have some time in the evening to go out for dinner with the other families. Afternoon wave gives you enough time to have some decent breakfast, but you are screwed for lunch and dinner. Not much of this is quality time. And you pay through the nose for meaningless travel.

NP and i understand how some feel that way. But I loved the travel. My family and I generally love to travel in general. DH and I would take turns who would go. Each had valuable alone time with a teen, which is rare these days. When I stayed home I went out to dinner and had some time with my kid who wasn’t in volleyball. When I was away I liked the long road trips, getting in late and sometimes eating dinner at Wawa in the middle of nowhere since nothing was open and we were hungry on the road, the frantic early mornings, hanging out with the other parents, and getting back exhausted. DD and I both missed a little work and school and we are fortunate that we can do this. We are excited to do it all over again and hope she makes a team with travel.

We have a different view of what travel is. I don't mind getting tired while sightseeing, walking through a city, hiking, etc. I would drive pretty far to see new places or for new experiences. For example, I took my teenager to see the eclipse: the drive was brutal and more tiring than any volleyball tournament we've been to. But we got to experience something new and worthwhile. It is good that the eclipse doesn't come 10+ times in 6 months though because I would get tired of it pretty quickly. It would just be more of the same, exactly like a volleyball tournament. Which can be done locally with less wasted time and money.

While I am on the side that thinks there is value in traveling for a volleyball tournament, I can certainly understand the other point of view. What I don't understand is what the debate is about. If I think it's a worthwhile investment of money and time for my DD to play for a club that travels a lot, what's the problem? If you don't feel the same way, then don't make that choice. Maybe there are less options for clubs that don't travel a ton, but there are options. And if you feel like even going to Richmond is too far and your DD isn't interested in collegiate volleyball, maybe a league or something other than club volleyball would be a better option anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was poking around AES to see what teams were registered at some of the early season tournaments and noticed what appears to be another new club. Or at least one I’ve never heard of. Anyone know anything about Eclipse?
https://eclipsevball.com/

More reasonable fees than other clubs in VA, but still higher than well-established clubs in MD. I feel like they do a lot of unnecessary travel outside of the area. With the level of players they will likely get, local tournaments would be sufficient (but probably the coaches want to travel, so the players must pay up). At least they don't take their newbie teams to the qualifiers.

Looking at the schedule, seems pretty similar to what the MVSA 1s teams do. At least everything is within driving distance.

It's interesting a new club is planning an 18s team since players who aren't continuing with volleyball in college often stop playing club to leave the second half of their senior year more free for other things. Maybe it will be more a combined 17-18s team.

Are you going to tell me that the schedule of top MVSA teams is the standard that other clubs should follow? I would not complain if they would follow the pricing model, but... How do you justify going to the same tournaments with a rookie team? Why not follow the schedule of a regional MVSA team? Would you rather meet their top teams and get aced every other serve, or meet one of their regional team and manage to do some rallies? Some of the top MVSA teams play one age up in some tournaments because they want a better challenge than what they get at their age level. How is a rookie team in a newly formed club even comparable?

Wasn't an endorsement or criticism of the schedule - just an observation. I think it's at least a more reasonable schedule than a new club that is planning on Big South, Music City, NEQ, etc. In my opinion, Volley By the James, CHC, and East Coast Championships are all fun tournaments and much less competitive than big qualifiers. You can see (in AES or SportWrench) Eclipse registered to play in the club division at Volley by the James and in the Select division at ECC so they aren't coming out of the gate thinking they're going to be competing with the top teams.

While I agree that a new club should start out small and build up to a more challenging schedule, I think 3 teams and all tournaments within driving distance is a lot more reasonable than other new clubs that have been discussed in this thread.

As for the pricing, it is obviously higher than MVSA or VolleyViet, but it seems like a steal compared to say Loudoun Elite, whose 16s second team has a pretty similar schedule to Eclipse's 16s for $2500 more. Maybe they have way cooler backpacks.

I would reserve the word "steal" for the players who make MVSA or VolleyViet. You cannot say "steal" with a straight face when the parents have to fork 4-5k into a sports team. They could have come up with a regional schedule to save money and lower fees. It's not like you go somewhere and do what tourists do: you see the inside of the venue and that of the hotel room because at the end of each day you are exhausted and you may have to wake up early the next day. Which is cooler - the inside of the Richmond Convention Center or the inside of the St. James? Of course the inside of the St. James: I can drive back home, sleep in my bed, and not pay a few more hundreds of dollars for the hotel. In these circumstances, you can also lower the club fees because you don't spend money on coach travel (money that also comes from the parents).

Sure, but that's a different style of club. It sounds like your preferred type of club is one that goes to mostly one day tournaments (or local multi-day tournaments) and prioritizes keeping costs low. And that's valid and if that's is what you are looking for, I agree it's probably hard to find because there are not a lot of clubs that are operated like that. I disagree that there are not valuable experiences that happen at travel tournaments beyond playing volleyball. Sure you are not going to do a ton of sightseeing, but I think there is value in downtime spent with teammates at meals or in hotels. Also, I personally have enjoyed time spent with my DD at tournaments, especially traveling on long car rides or on flights on the way to faraway tournaments. I know I will miss those times when club volleyball comes to an end.

Well, that's the type of club that is rare in this area. Most of our clubs behave as if the players are going to get recruited and need exposure and far away games. In reality, we have a handful of clubs that really perform at that level (and only their top teams). They need to get real: most of our teams have plenty of local, legit competition. I also like to travel with my family, but we need a destination and things to do at that destination. If the destination is a rec center / convention center and the thing to do is volleyball, thank you, but no thank you. I can do that locally and use the money for real travel (not travel for the sake of traveling).

I am not sure how you enjoy the travel to tournaments because for us it's always stressful. We usually make it to the hotel pretty late at night. Ideally you catch a morning wave, even though breakfast is always some crappy fast food. Lunch is crappy convention center food. But at least you have some time in the evening to go out for dinner with the other families. Afternoon wave gives you enough time to have some decent breakfast, but you are screwed for lunch and dinner. Not much of this is quality time. And you pay through the nose for meaningless travel.

NP and i understand how some feel that way. But I loved the travel. My family and I generally love to travel in general. DH and I would take turns who would go. Each had valuable alone time with a teen, which is rare these days. When I stayed home I went out to dinner and had some time with my kid who wasn’t in volleyball. When I was away I liked the long road trips, getting in late and sometimes eating dinner at Wawa in the middle of nowhere since nothing was open and we were hungry on the road, the frantic early mornings, hanging out with the other parents, and getting back exhausted. DD and I both missed a little work and school and we are fortunate that we can do this. We are excited to do it all over again and hope she makes a team with travel.

We have a different view of what travel is. I don't mind getting tired while sightseeing, walking through a city, hiking, etc. I would drive pretty far to see new places or for new experiences. For example, I took my teenager to see the eclipse: the drive was brutal and more tiring than any volleyball tournament we've been to. But we got to experience something new and worthwhile. It is good that the eclipse doesn't come 10+ times in 6 months though because I would get tired of it pretty quickly. It would just be more of the same, exactly like a volleyball tournament. Which can be done locally with less wasted time and money.

While I am on the side that thinks there is value in traveling for a volleyball tournament, I can certainly understand the other point of view. What I don't understand is what the debate is about. If I think it's a worthwhile investment of money and time for my DD to play for a club that travels a lot, what's the problem? If you don't feel the same way, then don't make that choice. Maybe there are less options for clubs that don't travel a ton, but there are options. And if you feel like even going to Richmond is too far and your DD isn't interested in collegiate volleyball, maybe a league or something other than club volleyball would be a better option anyway.

+1 There is nothing to debate. Plenty of people enjoy the traveling. Look at the demand for clubs with extensive travel. You don’t have to go to these tryouts. Stick with local select or travel leagues in rec if regional teams are too much travel. I didn’t travel for the eclipse because that was too much for me. I don’t mine traveling 10+ times for volleyball. Different people like different things.

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:I was poking around AES to see what teams were registered at some of the early season tournaments and noticed what appears to be another new club. Or at least one I’ve never heard of. Anyone know anything about Eclipse?
https://eclipsevball.com/

More reasonable fees than other clubs in VA, but still higher than well-established clubs in MD. I feel like they do a lot of unnecessary travel outside of the area. With the level of players they will likely get, local tournaments would be sufficient (but probably the coaches want to travel, so the players must pay up). At least they don't take their newbie teams to the qualifiers.

Looking at the schedule, seems pretty similar to what the MVSA 1s teams do. At least everything is within driving distance.

It's interesting a new club is planning an 18s team since players who aren't continuing with volleyball in college often stop playing club to leave the second half of their senior year more free for other things. Maybe it will be more a combined 17-18s team.

Are you going to tell me that the schedule of top MVSA teams is the standard that other clubs should follow? I would not complain if they would follow the pricing model, but... How do you justify going to the same tournaments with a rookie team? Why not follow the schedule of a regional MVSA team? Would you rather meet their top teams and get aced every other serve, or meet one of their regional team and manage to do some rallies? Some of the top MVSA teams play one age up in some tournaments because they want a better challenge than what they get at their age level. How is a rookie team in a newly formed club even comparable?

Wasn't an endorsement or criticism of the schedule - just an observation. I think it's at least a more reasonable schedule than a new club that is planning on Big South, Music City, NEQ, etc. In my opinion, Volley By the James, CHC, and East Coast Championships are all fun tournaments and much less competitive than big qualifiers. You can see (in AES or SportWrench) Eclipse registered to play in the club division at Volley by the James and in the Select division at ECC so they aren't coming out of the gate thinking they're going to be competing with the top teams.

While I agree that a new club should start out small and build up to a more challenging schedule, I think 3 teams and all tournaments within driving distance is a lot more reasonable than other new clubs that have been discussed in this thread.

As for the pricing, it is obviously higher than MVSA or VolleyViet, but it seems like a steal compared to say Loudoun Elite, whose 16s second team has a pretty similar schedule to Eclipse's 16s for $2500 more. Maybe they have way cooler backpacks.

I would reserve the word "steal" for the players who make MVSA or VolleyViet. You cannot say "steal" with a straight face when the parents have to fork 4-5k into a sports team. They could have come up with a regional schedule to save money and lower fees. It's not like you go somewhere and do what tourists do: you see the inside of the venue and that of the hotel room because at the end of each day you are exhausted and you may have to wake up early the next day. Which is cooler - the inside of the Richmond Convention Center or the inside of the St. James? Of course the inside of the St. James: I can drive back home, sleep in my bed, and not pay a few more hundreds of dollars for the hotel. In these circumstances, you can also lower the club fees because you don't spend money on coach travel (money that also comes from the parents).

Sure, but that's a different style of club. It sounds like your preferred type of club is one that goes to mostly one day tournaments (or local multi-day tournaments) and prioritizes keeping costs low. And that's valid and if that's is what you are looking for, I agree it's probably hard to find because there are not a lot of clubs that are operated like that. I disagree that there are not valuable experiences that happen at travel tournaments beyond playing volleyball. Sure you are not going to do a ton of sightseeing, but I think there is value in downtime spent with teammates at meals or in hotels. Also, I personally have enjoyed time spent with my DD at tournaments, especially traveling on long car rides or on flights on the way to faraway tournaments. I know I will miss those times when club volleyball comes to an end.

Well, that's the type of club that is rare in this area. Most of our clubs behave as if the players are going to get recruited and need exposure and far away games. In reality, we have a handful of clubs that really perform at that level (and only their top teams). They need to get real: most of our teams have plenty of local, legit competition. I also like to travel with my family, but we need a destination and things to do at that destination. If the destination is a rec center / convention center and the thing to do is volleyball, thank you, but no thank you. I can do that locally and use the money for real travel (not travel for the sake of traveling).

I am not sure how you enjoy the travel to tournaments because for us it's always stressful. We usually make it to the hotel pretty late at night. Ideally you catch a morning wave, even though breakfast is always some crappy fast food. Lunch is crappy convention center food. But at least you have some time in the evening to go out for dinner with the other families. Afternoon wave gives you enough time to have some decent breakfast, but you are screwed for lunch and dinner. Not much of this is quality time. And you pay through the nose for meaningless travel.

NP and i understand how some feel that way. But I loved the travel. My family and I generally love to travel in general. DH and I would take turns who would go. Each had valuable alone time with a teen, which is rare these days. When I stayed home I went out to dinner and had some time with my kid who wasn’t in volleyball. When I was away I liked the long road trips, getting in late and sometimes eating dinner at Wawa in the middle of nowhere since nothing was open and we were hungry on the road, the frantic early mornings, hanging out with the other parents, and getting back exhausted. DD and I both missed a little work and school and we are fortunate that we can do this. We are excited to do it all over again and hope she makes a team with travel.

We have a different view of what travel is. I don't mind getting tired while sightseeing, walking through a city, hiking, etc. I would drive pretty far to see new places or for new experiences. For example, I took my teenager to see the eclipse: the drive was brutal and more tiring than any volleyball tournament we've been to. But we got to experience something new and worthwhile. It is good that the eclipse doesn't come 10+ times in 6 months though because I would get tired of it pretty quickly. It would just be more of the same, exactly like a volleyball tournament. Which can be done locally with less wasted time and money.

While I am on the side that thinks there is value in traveling for a volleyball tournament, I can certainly understand the other point of view. What I don't understand is what the debate is about. If I think it's a worthwhile investment of money and time for my DD to play for a club that travels a lot, what's the problem? If you don't feel the same way, then don't make that choice. Maybe there are less options for clubs that don't travel a ton, but there are options. And if you feel like even going to Richmond is too far and your DD isn't interested in collegiate volleyball, maybe a league or something other than club volleyball would be a better option anyway.

+1 There is nothing to debate. Plenty of people enjoy the traveling. Look at the demand for clubs with extensive travel. You don’t have to go to these tryouts. Stick with local select or travel leagues in rec if regional teams are too much travel. I didn’t travel for the eclipse because that was too much for me. I don’t mine traveling 10+ times for volleyball. Different people like different things.

I was not debating, I was expressing my distaste for traveling to tournaments. I was not trying to convince you (or anyone else) that you should hate that kind of travel, I was simply explaining why I don't like it. I can express this distaste even though I also travel to 10+ places during the volleyball season. And I will likely travel again because - as long as my DD stays competitive - I don't have many alternatives to this travel nonsense. Rec is not an option because the level of play is so low that it doesn't even worth considering it as alternative.

Anonymous wrote:Hey, Legacy, can you explain the structure of the club fees? Break it down for me to see where the money goes. What is the item that increases your fees way above those of more established clubs in MD? What is it that you have to pay for that they don't have to? If you leave this question unanswered, I will doubt that you have the best interest of my athlete at heart, it feels like you care more about your bottom line.

I still don't understand the philosophy of making a team of players who are not performing that well in other clubs. There is a reason why the players in the second teams didn't make the top teams. Do you expect them to earn a bid, when it is hard enough for the top teams to earn one? I am not as excited as the 21:31 "parent" - I will sit this one out and watch the first season. Your willingness to gamble with parents' money and place your teams in the uncomfortable position where they will be outmatched are at least questionable. To put it nicely, your plan is very ambitious and overly optimistic.

Anonymous wrote:Has Mojo been having invite clinics? DD went to their prior clinics but never was contacted. She’s trying to figure out if this means her chances are slim at tryouts, if the invite clinics already happened.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey, Legacy, can you explain the structure of the club fees? Break it down for me to see where the money goes. What is the item that increases your fees way above those of more established clubs in MD? What is it that you have to pay for that they don't have to? If you leave this question unanswered, I will doubt that you have the best interest of my athlete at heart, it feels like you care more about your bottom line.

I still don't understand the philosophy of making a team of players who are not performing that well in other clubs. There is a reason why the players in the second teams didn't make the top teams. Do you expect them to earn a bid, when it is hard enough for the top teams to earn one? I am not as excited as the 21:31 "parent" - I will sit this one out and watch the first season. Your willingness to gamble with parents' money and place your teams in the uncomfortable position where they will be outmatched are at least questionable. To put it nicely, your plan is very ambitious and overly optimistic.

Hey you know if you take a look at LEGACY’s webpage they will have a zoom meeting this coming weekend!

Time: Oct 13, 2024 07:00 PM 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83696276949?pwd=Pg8dYSw3lKXfQ7BvRGr6YSj0umBxD7.1 (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83696276949?pwd=Pg8dYSw3lKXfQ7BvRGr6YSj0umBxD7.1)

Meeting ID: 836 9627 6949
Passcode: 226851

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kI3GAKYxc (https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kI3GAKYxc)

Anonymous wrote:Has Mojo been having invite clinics? DD went to their prior clinics but never was contacted. She’s trying to figure out if this means her chances are slim at tryouts, if the invite clinics already happened.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey, Legacy, can you explain the structure of the club fees? Break it down for me to see where the money goes. What is the item that increases your fees way above those of more established clubs in MD? What is it that you have to pay for that they don't have to? If you leave this question unanswered, I will doubt that you have the best interest of my athlete at heart, it feels like you care more about your bottom line.

I still don't understand the philosophy of making a team of players who are not performing that well in other clubs. There is a reason why the players in the second teams didn't make the top teams. Do you expect them to earn a bid, when it is hard enough for the top teams to earn one? I am not as excited as the 21:31 "parent" - I will sit this one out and watch the first season. Your willingness to gamble with parents' money and place your teams in the uncomfortable position where they will be outmatched are at least questionable. To put it nicely, your plan is very ambitious and overly optimistic.

Hey you know if you take a look at LEGACY’s webpage they will have a zoom meeting this coming weekend!

Time: Oct 13, 2024 07:00 PM 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83696276949?pwd=Pg8dYSw3lKXfQ7BvRGr6YSj0umBxD7.1 (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83696276949?pwd=Pg8dYSw3lKXfQ7BvRGr6YSj0umBxD7.1)

Meeting ID: 836 9627 6949
Passcode: 226851

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kI3GAKYxc (https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kI3GAKYxc)

FPYCparent wrote:Paramount (one year) parent here ... with no affiliation to Legacy.

I don't think it is appropriate to ask for justification of club fees during Legacy's Meet the Coaches meeting. I am not trying to say that PP's question is completely invalid, it just does not seem appropriate for that meeting's intended purpose. I'm going to guess that the director's contact information is posted on the their website. If you really want to know that info, PP could reach out and report back to us.

I'll admit that part of me also wonders if PP's search for the club's fee structure information is a bit disingenuous. It's a new club with three or four teams setting up shop in NoVA (probably not the cheapest place to start a club). They may ultimately field teams that are quite successful ... or the teams may fare poorly against teams inside and outside of CHRVA. (And, honestly, wins and losses shouldn't be the sole metric by which teams/coaches/clubs are judged!) Since PP's club priorities seem to lie elsewhere ... or they would have asked such questions already, is the PP asking their preferred clubs for fee structure info? If so, please share the findings with the rest of us!

Other club teams in the high-school age range are charging similar fees without a significant track record of success (see Loudoun Elite, DMV Elite, The St. James, MOJO, etc.) ... as far as I can tell. Does PP feel that those club fees are justified? I don't know how comparable Paramount's fees were when the club entered the market in 2015. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. Is anyone complaining about their fees now? In the end, the market will decide whether or not any club's fees are outrageous or just right. No one is forcing any family to become a paying customer.

Anonymous wrote:

FPYCparent wrote:Paramount (one year) parent here ... with no affiliation to Legacy.

I don't think it is appropriate to ask for justification of club fees during Legacy's Meet the Coaches meeting. I am not trying to say that PP's question is completely invalid, it just does not seem appropriate for that meeting's intended purpose. I'm going to guess that the director's contact information is posted on the their website. If you really want to know that info, PP could reach out and report back to us.

I'll admit that part of me also wonders if PP's search for the club's fee structure information is a bit disingenuous. It's a new club with three or four teams setting up shop in NoVA (probably not the cheapest place to start a club). They may ultimately field teams that are quite successful ... or the teams may fare poorly against teams inside and outside of CHRVA. (And, honestly, wins and losses shouldn't be the sole metric by which teams/coaches/clubs are judged!) Since PP's club priorities seem to lie elsewhere ... or they would have asked such questions already, is the PP asking their preferred clubs for fee structure info? If so, please share the findings with the rest of us!

Other club teams in the high-school age range are charging similar fees without a significant track record of success (see Loudoun Elite, DMV Elite, The St. James, MOJO, etc.) ... as far as I can tell. Does PP feel that those club fees are justified? I don't know how comparable Paramount's fees were when the club entered the market in 2015. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. Is anyone complaining about their fees now? In the end, the market will decide whether or not any club's fees are outrageous or just right. No one is forcing any family to become a paying customer.

PP here. The analysis that I pointed out on the other thread made me pretty comfortable with the fees charged by the clubs we are trying out for. That means I will not bring up the club fees because I have no reason to question them. On the other hand, paying outrageous club fees without questioning them seems quite silly. Each club should be able to justify where the money goes. If the club offers additional services that cost a lot more than what other clubs pay, they can explain what those services are. The parents would understand what they are paying for and decide whether they want those services. If it all goes for profit, so be it, but the parents would know that it's just jacked up pricing and they don't really pay for additional services.

I feel like it is a fair question for a parent meeting because that's where the stakeholders are and pricing is a big part of club volleyball. How would it better help if we leave it up to one person to request the information through email and report back? The club director could show up here and pretend to have had that conversation (based on some weird messages already posted on this thread, I would not be surprised). We would hear from another "typical parent" being amazed about the great deal you get playing for this club.

Anonymous wrote:How do I get my daughter on Coach Mehdi’s club team?

I love an old-school coach like him. Calling a 15y/o volunteer linesman a “f$&@ing blind bi$&h” in 2024 while coaching for DJO at SJC.

A modern coach would suspend himself and a modern school would suspend him for the season. But not this guy and not this school!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

FPYCparent wrote:Paramount (one year) parent here ... with no affiliation to Legacy.

I don't think it is appropriate to ask for justification of club fees during Legacy's Meet the Coaches meeting. I am not trying to say that PP's question is completely invalid, it just does not seem appropriate for that meeting's intended purpose. I'm going to guess that the director's contact information is posted on the their website. If you really want to know that info, PP could reach out and report back to us.

I'll admit that part of me also wonders if PP's search for the club's fee structure information is a bit disingenuous. It's a new club with three or four teams setting up shop in NoVA (probably not the cheapest place to start a club). They may ultimately field teams that are quite successful ... or the teams may fare poorly against teams inside and outside of CHRVA. (And, honestly, wins and losses shouldn't be the sole metric by which teams/coaches/clubs are judged!) Since PP's club priorities seem to lie elsewhere ... or they would have asked such questions already, is the PP asking their preferred clubs for fee structure info? If so, please share the findings with the rest of us!

Other club teams in the high-school age range are charging similar fees without a significant track record of success (see Loudoun Elite, DMV Elite, The St. James, MOJO, etc.) ... as far as I can tell. Does PP feel that those club fees are justified? I don't know how comparable Paramount's fees were when the club entered the market in 2015. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. Is anyone complaining about their fees now? In the end, the market will decide whether or not any club's fees are outrageous or just right. No one is forcing any family to become a paying customer.

PP here. The analysis that I pointed out on the other thread made me pretty comfortable with the fees charged by the clubs we are trying out for. That means I will not bring up the club fees because I have no reason to question them. On the other hand, paying outrageous club fees without questioning them seems quite silly. Each club should be able to justify where the money goes. If the club offers additional services that cost a lot more than what other clubs pay, they can explain what those services are. The parents would understand what they are paying for and decide whether they want those services. If it all goes for profit, so be it, but the parents would know that it's just jacked up pricing and they don't really pay for additional services.

I feel like it is a fair question for a parent meeting because that's where the stakeholders are and pricing is a big part of club volleyball. How would it better help if we leave it up to one person to request the information through email and report back? The club director could show up here and pretend to have had that conversation (based on some weird messages already posted on this thread, I would not be surprised). We would hear from another "typical parent" being amazed about the great deal you get playing for this club.

I'm curious whether anyone asked the question about fees at the Meet the Coaches meeting and if so, how the club director responded? I was on the side of a meeting intended to allow prospective players to get to know the coaches was probably not the appropriate venue, but am interested to know if it was asked, how it was received.