Anonymous wrote:Nope. We are not doing anything that restricts basic health needs such as sleep.

These clubs prey on family desperation and I have never given my money to them. Kids are now 20 and 15.

If you've never given any money to them (i.e. never played club volleyball), how are you so sure the clubs prey on family desperation? Seems like you made up your mind without any experience.

Anonymous wrote:Nope. We are not doing anything that restricts basic health needs such as sleep.

These clubs prey on family desperation and I have never given my money to them. Kids are now 20 and 15.

What was your solution for volleyball? Rec?

Nope. We are not doing anything that restricts basic health needs such as sleep.

These clubs prey on family desperation and I have never given my money to them. Kids are now 20 and 15.

My DD is on the RMHS JV team. A lot of the players on that team (some on the varsity as well) are high achievers, with some in the IB program. They have been playing volleyball for years and they learned how to manage their time. Playing volleyball is not a guarantee that your DD would be able to manage her time or she would keep up her academics though. You probably know already whether playing volleyball with all the late practices and tournaments is a good idea for your DD. Follow your instincts.

Regarding the late practices: finishing a practice after 10 would not be reasonable, that's why you see the last practice between 8-10. The most convenient time slot is between 6-8, but that is typically reserved for the younger age groups. We got used to the 8-10 time slot when our DD started playing at the U14 age level. It was not ideal, but we made it work twice a week. The traffic is better when your practice starts at 8 (the rush hour is still in full swing at 6), and the streets are practically empty at 10.

DD played U16 last year and HS practice from 8-10 pm with at least a 30 minute drive, 40 if we were carpooling, which was the majority of the time. She’s have to come home and shower and sometimes eat, so she didn’t go to bed until midnight those nights. On nights she didn’t have practice she’s go to bed at 9:30 pm. Her club made practices optional during finals and AP exams. It was hard but we got used to the schedule. She’s do a lot of homework during the school day if possible.

Anonymous wrote:How do volleyball kids keep their grades up? Our DD sometimes has 3 exams in one day. We can't be the only ones in a rigorous school with a kid that wants to play.

You definitely aren’t the only one. There are a lot of high-performing students who are also club volleyball players.

As a parent initially you wonder how anyone could handle a late practice followed by three exams the next day. But if you talk with parents of those high performing students, most will tell you it’s hard at first and then it becomes much easier. The key is planning ahead-DD can’t study the night before and expect success, you need to study in advance and with a plan.

DD is at a very challenging school and has a very hard schedule. We always set the expectation that school comes first and that if grades slip then no more volleyball. Now she would tell you that she loves the structure the late volleyball practices provide and the way they force her to plan ahead.

Last year, before DD tried out, she came up with a list of clubs and we researched the practice times. Some clubs were nixed because they were too late (9:30 was the latest I was willing to do) or had practice on Friday evenings or Saturdays. I wasn't willing to give up all weekend travel for 6 months. The tournament weekends are more than enough. She ended up on a team with Sunday evening practices, which were easy to plan around.

This is a practice schedule you'll be on for half of the year. It's an important consideration.

I have a U14 soccer player and wouldn’t be ok with that.

That’s insane.

We passed on PVC for this reason.

Don’t do it. Those times are terrible for teens.

We didn’t let DD try out at clubs where the practice schedule didn’t work for us when she was younger. Some were too far, some too frequent or some too late.

Now, at 15, she will try out for clubs that practice late but has shown she can balance her workload at school. Our others are driving so we only have to drive her around. It will be awful for us if she makes a team with a schedule like this because we also have to get up for work but these years are short and they are off to college.

Know your kid. Our other kids couldn’t have handled this and kept up with high level classes at school.

How do volleyball kids keep their grades up? Our DD sometimes has 3 exams in one day. We can't be the only ones in a rigorous school with a kid that wants to play.

Sorry, welcome to club volleyball. DMV is not unusual in terms of their practice times. With their prices, OTOH! I’ve heard they are more $$ than other similar clubs.

Was totally considering PVC tryouts for my beginner 14U and just glanced at the practice schedule. 8pm-10pm Mon/Weds or Tues/Thurs. Are they serious? We live in DC and DD has to be up at 6am for school. How are you guys managing this? We go to a fairly demanding private and her being up until 11pm on school nights doesn't makes sense at all.
Is this normal?? I haven't taken a look at other team schedules, but if this is DMV volleyball club life we're out. We'll just continue to do clinics, get some private lessons and group training at normal hours so we can just try out for her school team when she has the skills to make it. I'm sorry but this is just ridiculous.