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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Metro was never really interested in the younger age groups, not many clubs were.  The interest in volleyball has grown so much in the last 5 years, even at the younger ages, it makes sense for clubs to expand to include 11U and 12U.[/quote]

Metro wasn’t interested until Paramount started it. MVSA had been doing it for years, but Metro never cared because they knew they could always poach those kids when they got to U14-U15, and because they never viewed MVSA as a threat.  Now they care because Paramount is doing it (and doing it so well)[/quote]

Lol…I have no dog is this fight. I don’t expect Metro to stop poaching U14-U15 players, even though they now have U12 Travel.[/quote]
What does "poaching" mean? If a player chooses to leave one club to go to Metro (or any other club) isn't that their (and their parents) decision?[/quote]

I really don’t have a problem with it. Metro has to do what is necessary to have the best players and players and their families have to do what they think is best for them. College recruiting for the class 2026 (rising juniors) just opened this summer and Metro already posted 4 of their players have verbally committed to D1 schools (3 to P5 conferences).[/quote]

Of those 4, how many played for Metro since U13? The answer is zero. 3 joined at U15, one at U16. One of those players was already in the NTDP system before she joined Metro.  Those players were developed elsewhere. Metro’s two best players on their 18s team last season were developed elsewhere (VAJRS and Paeamount). I’m not saying this is unique to metro (paramount also has commits who don’t join paramount until later), but based on the success Paramount’s younger teams have had at U11 and U12, they’re clearly developing players, whereas Metro’s modus operandi is to take the best talent that was developed elsewhere.

Poaching doesn’t imply that those players are involuntarily being lured to Metro. What it implies is metro has to poach the best talent that has been cultivated and developed at other clubs, because they lack the ability to develop their younger players. [/quote]
The rising Metro 17s actually have 7 commitments and it's probably their most impressive list of schools for a single Metro team to date (Tennessee, Baylor, Kentucky, Marquette, Long Beach, Syracuse, and American). Of those 7, 2 have been playing for Metro since 13s or younger.

The rising Metro 18s have 11 D1 commits, and 5 have been playing for Metro since at list 13s. That doesn't include the 4 class of 2025 players who played for 18 Travel last year that are all committed to D1, but all of whom played for other clubs prior to Metro. I do find it interesting that people always give credit to VAJRs for developing the PSU commit even though she only played there 2 seasons. She started at Metro on the 12 Central team and played 13 and 14s for MVSA.

As you noted, Paramount also regularly lures away better players from other clubs. The roster of this past season's Paramount 17s only included 3 players that had been with the club since their 14s season. Prior to the 2021-22 season, Paramount's youngest team was 14s. I think the numbers are pretty similar for most of the VA Elite and VAJRs teams as well. Even at less competitive clubs there are always players coming and going for a variety of reasons. I think the better clubs get criticized for "poaching" because when a mid-tier team who has a good season loses a good player to Metro or Paramount,  the players/families left behind feel betrayed because the team isn't as good as it was the prior season. In my opinion, families should be evaluating every season what club best fits what they are looking for. If last year's club continues to meet your needs, then great. If not, look for a better fit, but be realistic about where your DD might be best suited. There is a lot of competition for spots on better teams (esp. Metro and Paramount), so be plan to tryout for several options.

It will be interesting to see whether the introduction of younger teams at Paramount and Metro changes things. I tend to doubt that there are going to be significant numbers of players that go all the way from 11-12s to recruitment age. A reality in volleyball (and other sports) is that the best players at 11-13s are usually not the best players at 17 and 18. It's often the players who are more physically mature who standout on the younger teams and it is really common for the players who were the stars at 12s to be passed by as the peers catch up in maturity. [/quote]

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