Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

there was a thread on here about volleyball being for mean girls. true?

Yes, those are the girls it attracts and cultivates.

+1

In our experience, there are mean kids in other sports. Travel soccer U13-15 had some bad eggs. Starting to see some in VB. I don’t think it’s just VB.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

there was a thread on here about volleyball being for mean girls. true?

Not in our experience. There will always be “mean” people and “nice” people in every group. But I don’t find volleyball any more so than any other group activity my daughter has done. I actually find that they are usually very supportive of each other in practice and on the court.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

there was a thread on here about volleyball being for mean girls. true?

Yes, those are the girls it attracts and cultivates.

This is only partially true. We've been on a team where the cool girls were too good to mingle or even acknowledge the bare existence of some of their teammates. They were the typical "I am so much better than you" girls, always with their nails done and wearing crop tops every time they had an opportunity. On the other hand, we were part of another team where everyone was extremely supportive, despite clear differences between economic status. I feel like the education you get at home and the environment you are immersed in contribute quite a bit to the player attitude. It also matters if the coaches notice and care about player attitudes toward their teammates.

This aligns with our experience as well. DD doesn't play club volleyball, but has been to clinics and leagues from many local clubs, from lower tier to the competitive, elite ones. We definitely notice some cliqueiness here and there, but even some of the more clique girls are good sportswomen on the court.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

It seems like you’re not so confident in your decision that volleyball wasn’t right for your DD or family, so you feel the need to bash volleyball and try to convince others that you are right. It’s fine if you decided that it wasn’t right for your DD, but considering you have no actual experience with club volleyball, your ill informed opinions aren’t worth a whole lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

there was a thread on here about volleyball being for mean girls. true?

Yes, those are the girls it attracts and cultivates.

This is only partially true. We've been on a team where the cool girls were too good to mingle or even acknowledge the bare existence of some of their teammates. They were the typical "I am so much better than you" girls, always with their nails done and wearing crop tops every time they had an opportunity. On the other hand, we were part of another team where everyone was extremely supportive, despite clear differences between economic status. I feel like the education you get at home and the environment you are immersed in contribute quite a bit to the player attitude. It also matters if the coaches notice and care about player attitudes toward their teammates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

there was a thread on here about volleyball being for mean girls. true?

This weekend and next weekend are really tough for the ones going through tryouts. I’ve seen my daughter and her friends be so supportive of one another. It’s the opposite of mean girl behavior.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

there was a thread on here about volleyball being for mean girls. true?

Yes, those are the girls it attracts and cultivates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

there was a thread on here about volleyball being for mean girls. true?

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

I was in the exact same position as you, OP, a few months ago. After reading these threads and researching all the area club teams, the prices, the insane level of time commitment, and travel requirements, we have completely abandoned the idea. My daughter will just continue to play rec. She absolutely loves the game, but it’s not worth her abandoning all her other interest like singing and theater.I would never monopolize my child’s entire childhood to play this ridiculous game that apparently is overrun with money-hungry clubs, snobby girls, and parents who push their kids way too hard. It’s honestly a disgusting culture and I’m very glad we are not getting into it. I hope you choose the same for your daughter!

Anonymous wrote:Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.

It really depends on your expectations. If your DD just wants to play volleyball casually for fun, a rec league is fine. If they are competitive and have aspirations of playing on their HS varsity team or maybe in college one day, then you will need to consider club volleyball. Club volleyball is a big commitment of time and money, and if your DD really loves volleyball it can monopolize your family’s free time from January into July.

The youngest teams at most clubs are 12s, although there are more clubs starting younger teams recently. You can start later, but it can be challenging to catch up so if it seems like club volleyball is in your future, by age 12 is better. My DD started playing club at 10 and fell in love with the game. Between club volleyball, HS, and various training she’s training or playing multiple days per week pretty much all year and she committed to play D1 volleyball in college.

My daughter is 14 and spending the weekend trying out for open level teams, which are high level club teams. She started in rec in 5th grade. She tried out and made a lower level club in 7th grade. She doesn’t have to try out for these advanced club teams and could still play rec if we didn’t want to spend the time or money or if she didn’t want that level of competition. She is trying out for some lower level clubs too and is hoping she gets a position in a team. Yes, the competition everywhere is tough for club. She could go back to rec but doesnt want to.

You can start at any age, for fun. I’m thinking of starting myself as an adult. I never knew there were low key adult leagues around until she introduced me to the volleyball world.

There are 8 and 9 year olds playing on U11 teams. Parents start them early to establish their place in the club.

My 11 year old tried out today for u12. It’s kind of crazy, apparently they need a strong overhand serve at age 11 or you play rec😁. There are tons of kids interested in vball.

Volleyball newbie parent here. With all these threads about volleyball tryouts, teams scouting or recruiting kids - how old are your girls? Is volleyball so competitive that kids can’t just play in a team here? At what age did your competitive, recruited for private teams girls start playing? So. Many. Questions.