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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=FPYCparent]I'm still wrapping my brain around the usual top performers within CHRVA, but do Metro and Paramount have [i]that much[/i] turnover year after year?  In other words, haven't some of these local teams been together for awhile?  (My casual observation is that parents and players from each club seem to know each other fairly well ... as if they've all known each other for more than a few years.)

In any event, it is a bit humbling to see how CHRVA teams are fairing thus far in Las Vegas:

16 Open - Metro is 0-5 (last in pool of 6)
16 National - Paramount is 2-3 (3rd in pool of 6)
16 American - MVSA is 0-6 (last in pool of 8)

17 Open - no CHRVA teams
17 National - Metro and VA Elite are both 3-2 in their respective pools (Metro is 4th out of 6 in pool, while VAE is 3rd out of 6 in pool)
17 American - Paramount 6-0 and will play another 6-0 team to complete pool play in the morning
[/quote]

The 16s and 17s ages had the most player movement between clubs we've seen in a long time. That resulted in movement at all of the next tier clubs in the local DC area. There were a lot of reasons including college recruiting, promises of playing time, coaching changes, aggressive recruiting, etc. It was also a function of the crazy decision CHRVA made to have every age group try out on the same weekend.  The result was a bunch of good teams, but no incredible teams and a lot of teams where its been about the individual rather than developing team cohesion.

Another issue is our bid tournament process -- we put way too much value in performance on a single day rather the finding the teams that are consistent over a season. USAV Nationals is a long tournament that requires depth and consistency much more than other tournaments, but our tournament focuses on who was hot on a single day. We'd be better served moving to the power league format a lot of other regions have adopted.

FYI, the players all know each other because the number of players on top teams is pretty small -- if you take the top 10 teams in each age group, its only 100-120 players -- and most of them play with each other in high school.[/quote]

I don't think the movement on Metro Travel teams is much worse (if at all) than other less competitive teams. Using the current 17s team as an example, 7 of the 15 girls they started the season with on the roster had been on the team since 13 Travel.  Another 5 didn't start with Metro at 13s but have been on the team for 2 or more seasons.  They picked up 3 new players this year. One from Paramount, one from VA Juniors, and one from CEVA, but they were simply added to the roster. Two players from last year's 16 Travel played for 18 Travel this year, mostly to make up for some holes left in the roster from several key players who left to go to college early. No one from last year's 16 Travel was cut or moved to another club.

As to the idea of doing a power league format instead of a one-day bid regional tournament, I don't think this would result in any meaningful difference in the teams that rise to the top. Again using 17s an an example, I think it's pretty clear for this age group that Metro, VA Elite, Paramount, and Blue Ridge are the top teams in CHRVA.  VA Juniors, MD Juniors, Premier, and MVSA are the next tier, and then it gets kind of hard to say after that.  But forcing these teams to play each other within the region isn't going to do anything to raise the level of CHRVA teams against the rest of the country - playing in Open at National Qualifiers is the way to get exposure to the top teams in the country. Metro, Paramount, and VA Elite all went to 3 or 4 qualifiers playing in the Open division. While none of them earned an Open bid, playing at those tournaments helps them improve far more than playing each other week after week vying for a National bid.

And playing at more qualifiers gets the players more exposure to college coaches - 11 players from 17 Travel are committed to D1 schools. VA Elite 17s has 4 D1 commits so far. Paramount 17s have 3 D1 commits so far.  I think Blue Ridge and MVSA have at least one D1 commitment.  I think the reasons for this are two-fold. Obviously, the most talented players in CHRVA tend to end up at these clubs. Layer that with the clubs having more recruiting infrastructure, reputation, and relationships with college coaches, and it is easier for these players to be noticed. Of course players from other clubs will commit to play D1 volleyball, but it will require more work from them to get on the radar of college coaches.[/quote]

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