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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Seeking honest opinions on the local volleyball clubs. Which ones have over 12 players, have bad coaches or only trying to take your money. Additionally, which ones have great coaches and your daughters had positive experiences. [/quote]

Tier 1
Metro Travel - If your daughter is a freak athlete, look here. Good coaches at pretty much every level, hyper-competitive atmosphere.

Tier 2
Paramount - High-level teams with almost Metro-level athletes, but coaches who scream a lot at the kids
Virginia Elite - Travel-only teams, are almost exclusively interested in height/athleticism, don't mind taking some lumps at younger ages for purposes of development, very expensive.
Virginia Juniors - High-level teams, pretty strong coaches
Maryland Juniors (travel) - Have their own facility that's pretty easily accessible if you live in Maryland, pretty deep coaching staff

Tier 3
Loudoun Elite - New-ish program, competitive but don't know a ton about them
MVSA - Good option at younger ages (their 12 & under director is the head coach of an elite HS program), not so great at older ages
ECP Chesapeake - Mostly good coaches, also better with younger age groups (14s and down), absorbed MOJO recently
St. James - Best facility hands down, expensive, okay coaches
Metro (regional) - They typically have North (Columbia/Frederick), East (PG County), Central (Montgomery/DC), and South (NOVA), depending on where you live. Good coaches, less travel and pressure.
Maryland Juniors (regional) - Same deal as the more advanced teams.
American - Good option if you live out in the NOVA suburbs.
Liberty Elite - Good option if you live in Frederick.
Vienna Elite - Some teams can be pretty good, others pretty bad.
Libero - New club, hadn't heard about the weight thing until this thread.

Tier 4
Braddock Road - Inconsistent coaching quality
Monument - Seen lots of complaints about club direction here.
No Panic - Inconsistent quality.
NVVA - Have really slipped in recent years. Used to be Tier 2 once upon a time.
X-Factor - New, good option for kids who just want to play and not have much pressure.

Everything else below that.[/quote]

As far as summaries go, this is pretty good. However, Metro and Paramount have clearly separated themselves from all the other clubs in tnhe CHRVA Region; only difference is Metro has been around for a long time (20+ years, whereas Paramount is only in year 7). And in many ways, Paramount is equal to Metro now (Paramount and Metro are the only two CHRVA clubs to have every team qualify for USAV Nationals in 2022). Paramount's 17s team dominated Metro 17 Travel at CHRVA Regionals, their 13s also beat Metro, and as a club Paramount had multiple top 10 finishes in the Open Division of Qualifiers (Paramount 15s also earned an open bid in 2021).. 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.

VA Jrs. is definitely on the decline. They play in the lower divisions of qualifiers, and most smart parents and players see through all the hype that their higher-ups like to perpetuate. VAE has good training and at least challenges their teams by having them play in Open, but their teams get demolished and it's demoralizing for the players and families to constantly finish near the bottom at every tournament. They have had some phenomenal players come through their program, but they are few and far between now. Vienna Elite usually has a couple competitive teams. VAVA is definitely on the rise, and I see them overtaking VAJrs in the next 2-3 years. VAVA's coaches left VAJrs because of how poorly they were treated by the higher ups there, and they've done a good job of building. They're still not at the Jrs or VAE level, but they're making respectable progress. MVSA is phenomenal at the younger age groups, but once the kids get to U14, the quality of their teams decline and most of the girls move onto bigger clubs. [/quote]

I’m sorry, and not wishing to start a firestorm but Metro and Paramount are absolutely not comparable (at the moment). Yes, the 17s beat Metro once (and lost to them other times) - the test is, if all of the paramount players were offered a spot on Metro, would they go? Yes is the answer, every single one of them. Paramount is a fantastically well coached club, and they get a lot more out of their players than any other club….but let’s look at the total picture here - they are a clear nr2 in the region but still a large gap between them and metro.[/quote]

Partially agree. My DD has never been able to make a Paramount team but always attends their clinics every fall for the great training from their coaching staff. Agree that Paramount has separated itself as the clear #2 in our region, and you are exactly right that Paramount is a fantastically well-coached club (probably the most well-coached club in the entire CHRVA Region). However, while it isn't quite 1A and 1B yet, Paramount is much closer to Metro than you are giving them credit for; Metro is still #1 as of now, but it is much closer imo, and it would not at all surprise me if Paramount matches and/or exceeds Metro within the next 2-3 seasons. Paramount 17s split with Metro last season in the 2 matches they played them. Besides Metro's rising 17s and 18s teams, Metro does not have the talent they have been accustomed to having in their upcoming 13s/14s/15s/16s teams. Paramount is almost equally as strong as Metro in the rising 17s and 18s age groups, but you could make a pretty strong argument that Paramount has hurt Metro with the addition of their younger age groups, as many of these younger players have chosen Paramount over Metro. So, with that combined with the training, Metro should be very nervous these next couple seasons, as their reign may be coming to an end soon.

I'll be interested to see whether ther VAE has a resurgence to their prime years. VAVA is also a club on the rise that will very likely surpass VAJrs in the next few years.[/quote]

I'm also interested to see whether VAE (and to some degree VA Juniors) experience a resurgence to their prime years.  There are some truly outstanding coaches at both VAE and VA Juniors.  Coaching matters - Metro and Paramount are what they are by having talented coaches and players.

With VAE, the substantial (2000+) team fee increases season for all HS-aged teams may have decreased interest in that club.  There's a breakpoint in price for anything,  VAE may have reached it.  Even with the included travel costs it's hard to see why VAE fees are nearly double any other club.  And they keep losing in Open.

Re the VAE and to some degree VA Juniors college commitments, it's unclear how the relative wealth and privilege of so many players in those clubs drives the brand-name college outcomes.  Looks a bit like the kind of college admissions of other kids who live in places like McLean and attend schools like Langley (regardless of X sport).
[/quote]

Just for the record, and from personal experience of my DD playing at VAE and one of the other top clubs. When all said and done, VAE cost me less than the other club. I also appreciated not having to travel to every tournament with my daughter, as VAE travel and stay as a team (which is why it looks more expensive). Interesting point about colleges, however plenty of kids at Metro, Jnrs and Paramount attend private schools (Flint Hill, Bishop O’Connell, Episcopal, Potomac, Holy Cross etc, etc). VAE is not the sole home of kids at top local schools. I will say, VAE does do a good job in recruiting with a particularly impressive list of D1 and high academic D3 schools. Like someone else said - the 17s and 18s do perfectly well in open tournaments and last year’s group ended up at a great list of schools, and most, if not all are playing as freshmen (which is quite rare in this region).[/quote]

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