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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
My DD has never played for Paramount, but I've never understood why people think the Paramount coaches treat the players any differently than the Metro Travel coaches treat their players (have you seen Metro 16s coach be escorted out of the convention center by police before?). That intensity just comes with the territory of playing in and competing at the highest level of the sport (which only Metro and Paramount do in this area; VAE also does but their teams get demolished). If the Paramount coaches are so over the top, then why don't they have a constant turnover of players? Kids and families scratch and claw to get on and stay on their teams, which wouldn't be the case if that stigma were true. Intensity just comes with the territory at those two clubs. [/quote]

I think you are right on about certain coaches at those clubs.  But the reason they don't have a large turnover of players is because the players need the team more than the team needs them -- you don't even consider those two clubs unless you want to play in college (preferably D1), which is remarkably hard to do, and the players think they need to play on the best team in the area to maximize their recruiting opportunities. Yet even with the power dynamic strongly in the clubs favor, players still leave those clubs.  Both clubs are out searching for new players on multiple teams right now -- because they already know some players are leaving.

Regarding screaming, there are lots of ways to motivate players, and the screaming approach has gone out of favor for a reason -- it may motivate a player if done once or twice, but it actually reduces motivation when it is frequent.  There will always be more players to take their place, so the behavior just continues.  But it doesn't have to come with the territory.  There are a number of great players in the area that don't play for those teams, and I would guess that one of the reasons they don't is because the coaching style (and team dynamic caused by the players) doesn't work for them.

If you watch the D1 college game a lot, you'll notice that coaches rarely ever scream at their players.  They may get mad at the refs sometime, but even that is muted.  The players on those teams are often even more intense and the overall team skill level is significantly above that of a U16/17/18 Metro Travel/Paramount team -- so if the "intense coach" style you see in club worked, why don't we see it in college?

Virtually every club coach at the upper programs gets intense at some point -- they care about their teams and their performance.  But if the intensity/screaming/etc. is the normal coaching approach, then you have to be certain your DD can handle it. No level of club volleyball is worth the potential self-esteem and mental health issues that type of coach can cause for a player.  
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+1.  Agree with all of this.  And for the PP who says there is no turnover at these clubs because maybe the "intensity just comes with the territory" -  There is actually a lot of turnover at Paramount in particular because the girls get the crap beaten out of them mentally.  It's not just intense coaching - for some of these coaches it's way beyond that.  They had players at every age group quit before the end of the season last few years and a whole lot don't come back by choice. DD did not play there but did play at another top tier club and now playing in college.  She knew many Paramount players/former players through HS varsity and the club circuit who talked pretty openly about it.  Watch some of their coaches on the sidelines at tournaments -- they don't even try to hide the crazy.[/quote]

I think you're exaggerating the turnover at Paramount. Their top players do not leave, and if they had as much turnover as you are implying and are as over the top as you are implying, how do their teams have so much success? My DD has attended clinics there but we know she'd probably never make their team. While there have certainly been girls at Paramount who have quit over the years, I'd say the vast majority of the turnover is new talent replacing the bottom half of talent on the teams from the previous season. If Paramount's top talent was hemorrhaging every season, how could they possibly be at the point where all their teams earned bids to USAV Nationals the past two seasons (Metro is the only other club to do this)? How is Paramount the only club in the region besides Metro actually competing and winning at the open level? The players who quit Paramount/Metro/Jrs are usually the players who are not getting the playing time they want (for example, Jrs 17s team two years ago had 6 girls quit before Nationals, not because of intense coaching but because of the games the coach played and the empty promises left on the table). Metro will stick 15 players on all their travel teams, and there are always 4-5 players who never see the court (Metro 16s coach is the most maniacal coach in the entire region, imo). And yet, those girls scratch and claw to get on and stay on all those club's teams. But as PP said, the great thing about our region is there are options for everybody; if you don't like the intense style, there are plenty of quality options besides Metro and Paramount. If you want to play D1 AND win, though, Metro and Paramount are separating themselves from the rest at this point in time (Metro obviously the cream of the crop as of now). You can get one without the other at some of the other clubs in our area (e.g., the recruiting without the winning, like at VAE), but imo Metro and Paramount are the only two where you can get the winning and the recruiting at this moment in time.[/quote]

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