Reply to Is 8th grade too late to start club volleyball?

Forum Index » Sports General Discussion

Reply to "Is 8th grade too late to start club volleyball?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is a difference between being on a volleyball team and being a volleyball player.

For the person who said it is not very complicated, you are playing basic volleyball.

My kid started in 8th grade and other family members around the same time 2 of the 3 are division 1 players.

It wasn't just being on a club, it was doing extra work.  That is what separates the kids.

There are clubs for each level and I have personally seen kids walk into he gym for high school tryouts who never payed but are athletic and excel.  I have seen kids who have played since u12 attend the same tryouts and get cut.

Volleyball is interesting because you can catch up quickly to get to the basic level to make it enjoyable but to get to a serious level with complicated schemes, high speed, powerful jumps and hits, it takes an exceptional athlete.

Is your kid willing to stand in front of a ball being hit at 80 to 120 mph?  I have seen too many casual players come and go for exactly that reason.  They became scared after playing for a few years.  [/quote]

THIS.   Pretty obvious at tournaments which girls/teams/clubs are full of "volleyball players."  [b]Nothing wrong with that.  Just keep in mind that you are still paying upwards of $4000 plus travel expenses regardless of whether you are on a high level team or not[/b][/quote]

Agree with PPs - there are a lot of clubs in NoVA with varying levels so there may be one out there that is the right fit for your DD. At U14, the costs go up and understand that vball tournaments take up a lot of time (all day 1 day 'local' tournaments where you leave your house at 6:30am and get home at 7 or 8pm) for both regional and national/'travel' teams. Then throw in some out of town tournaments where you leave Fri and come home late Sunday or play on the long weekends - most teams, the travel costs come out of your pocket on top of the annual club price. Our DD loves it at U12 but we are watching to see how it will pan out with teams at U14 if she stops growing and the others are just starting on their growth spurt and hit their athletic strides. We also have a niece out in WA state who started club for the first time at U14 - she found a club with multiple team levels and also figured out what positions they may still be looking to fill to help her 'self identify' what position she liked to play (eg maybe DS vs setter or hitter etc) when the first round of tryouts didn't quite pan out.

For U14s, there is still opportunity but your DD needs to start doing the rec and clinics now (VA Elite has a 4 week series for nonclub players now on Saturdays through the spring) to get good training and really start to get a feel for the ball and team play. You want to know now if your DD really likes it enough for you to make a 'club' investment when tryouts come in the first week of November for next year. Play rec this spring and then definitely sign up for some summer camps/leagues, and then do the circuit of club pre-tryout prep clinics/sessions that start up late Aug/early Sept and run through Oct. Whatever you do, don't wait until the fall to start trying stuff out for a club investment.

If your DD is tall and athletic, some clubs will take her if she shows promise and they rely on their belief that they can train tall and athletic to do what they want them to do. Other clubs will start looking for new players as their best players move to really competitive teams and there is shifting for girls to land where they want to go through their high school years (if they didn't shift at U13 or wanted to shift after their first go in a U13 club and now have a better sense going into U14).  There is definitely a club out there if your DD is willing to put in the time and work to find the club that best fits her play level. Every year, there seems to be new clubs popping up and offering multiple teams at each age. It just may not be the very first one you find and start liking, and/or you may need to drive a bit. Most of the NoVA teams are located out in West fairfax/dulles/herndon/loudoun county since there is more space for facilities out there.

Good luck!!![/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics