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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What has become readily apparent over the last couple of years (especially as of late) is that these DCUM forums have unfortunately become overrun by proxies for a whole bunch of different clubs. Whether these people are actual club directors for the club, coaches, or diehard loyalists, the end result is that these forums contain absolutely zero worthwhile (or truthful) information to help parents make decisions. Just in this forum I can see what appears to be Legacy's Club Director, a Metro loyalist who is always bolstering up Metro and criticizing Paramount, a Paramount loyalist who just talks about tournament finishes, and someone with broken English who likes to criticize Metro. This is just to name a few. [b]How about everybody grows up, gets out of this anonymous online forum, and starts to live a life in the real world.[/b] [/quote]

If you grew up, got out of this anonymous online forum, and started to live a life in the real world, we would not have had to read this message that doesn't contribute anything to the discussion. There is a lot of good information on these threads, especially for people with limited experience in the world of club volleyball. There was no back-and-forth between the Metro and Paramount loyalists on this particular thread. I agree that Legacy's club director trying to ANSWER every single point with non-answers is a bit questionable - of course she will turn herself into a pretzel just to make the club look good.

I still have to read a good reason for the club fees in Virginia being so damn high. An excuse like "others charge the same" is not acceptable: why is it possible to charge more decent prices in MD? Just look how much MVSA charges for a roster of 10 players. It is absolutely fine if you want to pay the coaches: divide the coach stipend to the number of players and add it to the MVSA prices. I doubt that VA coaches are paid so much better than the MD coaches to justify the difference in fees. Do you need an admin because the club is too large? Divide the cost to the total number of club players. Most clubs (even MD clubs) don't have 10 player rosters, so the price per player should actually go down. It is likely that even MOCO or MEVC fees are a bit inflated, even though they look reasonable compared to the club fees in VA. The truth is that they found a business opportunity and they are milking it. [/quote]

I agree it seems like VA fees trend higher than MD fees. That said, I think it's more fair to compare VA fees to Maryland clubs like MOCO, MEVC, or Maryland Juniors, rather than MVSA.

What MVSA has created over the course of more than 30 years is pretty unique and would be almost impossible to replicate if you started today. In addition to all volunteer coaches, MVSA practices almost exclusively in MCPS or rec center facilities. According to the MCPS website, gym rental at an MCPS school for a non-profit organization is $17 per hour (it’s $22.50 per hour for a for profit). Commercial facilities and private schools tend to be a lot more ($75-$100 per hour). Another thing MVSA does to offset costs is host a LOT of tournaments. These allow for their teams to have priority to play in these tournaments (and presumably they don’t pay tournament fees for their own events) as well as make some extra revenue to help offset other costs. Many teams will have parents help at practice or serve as assistant coaches. They also have connections with t-shirt printing companies and deals on gear that help keep their costs low on the limited gear that's included with the club fees. A lot of people are giving their time, expertise, experience, and connections without being paid to make what MVSA does possible.

It's pretty much a full time job for most of the year for a club director to run a club of even one team per age group. Most of the bigger clubs have at least one paid administrative person in addition to the director. Do these people not deserve to make a reasonable living from running their small business? Using MOCO as an example, their highest club fee for the upcoming season is $3600 for their older 1s teams. Their fees include: 3 jerseys, backpack, practice shirts, HUDL, coach pay, equipment and training supplies, 3 practices/week, strength & conditioning, skills clinics, program administration, and tournament entry fees. Honestly, $3600 seems like a pretty good deal considering they start practicing in late November/early December, go to some bigger tournaments (e.g., Capitol Hill, NEQ, and ECC) and continue to at least Memorial Day. And if some of that $3600 is profit for the club, isn't that reasonable?

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