Platform finalized and posted their rosters. At the first look, it feels like they got fewer players per team than last year (which is a positive development). Apparently, they could not field an 11s team and they seem to still have spots on their 12s team.

Your experience in Platform will vary depending on what team you end up in. We've been lucky so far, but we know families who were not. A common complaint is that lower level teams (especially white) don't have good coaches. This is definitely true, but we hear the same complaints about lower level teams in other clubs. Parents are told that players (not parents) must raise any issues with the coaches. The claim is that players need to learn how to speak for themselves. I am sure that's an easy way to dismiss complaints (most of which are court time) because players rarely can stand up for themselves after the coaches provide reasoning (which may or may not be sound). Parents are told that they can escalate issues that are not solved satisfactorily, but there is no clear roadmap for that. They probably will say that the coach explained their reasoning to the player and they trust the coach to make decisions on court time.

The court time issue is contentious, especially for the deep rosters at Platform. We are not buying into the reasoning for those deep rosters (some players don't show up at tournaments because of sickness or injuries). With very few exceptions, most of our players were showing up consistently at tournaments. The major problem we noticed was related to how the teams were put together. To be competitive, some of the players should have been placed on lower level teams, where they would have played more. There was a recent thread about benching players that perfectly describes what happens in Platform: players are assigned on pretty heterogeneous teams. The best players will get court time, the weaker players will get much less court time. It's not the player's fault, I see it as the fault of the coaches who put together these teams.

We’ve played for them in the past and the coaching was absolutely terrible. There was zero support from the higher ups, group concerns were not addressed, and parent were quite literally told they were not allowed to speak to the coaches.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Avoid this club completely

Why do you say this?

I would dismiss any comment that comes with no reasoning. I may have reasons to say: "Never shop at Trader Joe's" but those reasons could be completely meaningless for others. For example, I may hate the narrow space at the check-out lines, which may be laughable to other people. The PP may have provided that advice based on personal experience which may or may not resonate with other parents. Knowing the why can be relevant for other parents, maybe what other clubs the PP had a better experience with.

Anonymous wrote:Avoid this club completely

Why do you say this?

Avoid this club completely

Anonymous wrote:The offer just mentioned white so I’m assuming not an alternate. The other club is Xperience in Clarksburg. Many haven’t seem to hear of it so I didn’t think it mattered to mention it.

Always offer as much information as you are comfortable offering without making assumptions about what clubs are known and what clubs are less known. Chances are, the volleyball parents saw some of those teams on the other side of the net. You may not be comfortable saying too much about your current club because you don't want to be identified in case you were playing for a small club (which makes complete sense). But if we know club names and age levels, the advice can be even more targeted. My sense is that there is little difference between Xperience and the bottom Platform teams. It all comes down to the coaches. Try to learn as much as you can about the coaches before you make a decision. You can ask both clubs for a 5-10 minute discussion with the coaches to help you decide. A coach who really wants you on their team will definitely want to talk to you. Read the room if they don't want to facilitate that discussion.

There was a recent discussion about PVC on a different thread (see the back-and-forth starting with 10/21/2025 06:47):
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/150/1228523.page#31001713

Anonymous wrote:The offer just mentioned white so I’m assuming not an alternate. The other club is Xperience in Clarksburg. Many haven’t seem to hear of it so I didn’t think it mattered to mention it.

Even if you are not listed as an alternate, you might be pulled up to Purple if the initial offers are turned down (and many will be). Don't accept any offer until you hear more about how the teams shape up. You will likely have a lot of beginner players on both teams and the level of play will be very similar. If everything else is about the same, consider the cost and the distance to home.

I know a player who moved from Xperience to Platform, but made it into the Black team. You should ask Platform to give you information about the 14 white coach before you accept the offer. Some of the Platform coaches are not that experienced, even if they were with the club for a couple of years. They have their best coaches assigned to their black teams. The exception might be coach Jackie who is very good at working with very unexperienced players and creating a fun atmosphere.

The offer just mentioned white so I’m assuming not an alternate. The other club is Xperience in Clarksburg. Many haven’t seem to hear of it so I didn’t think it mattered to mention it.

Are you an alternate for 14 Purple? If you get coach Jackie you may want to consider. The bottom Platform teams don't usually get good coaches. Do you know and trust the current coach on your current club?

Can you tell us the name and team level of your club? It is difficult to offer advice without knowing the other option.

Does anyone have any feedback on Platform? My DD was made an offer for 14U White. We also have an offer from another club (played for last year) and just trying to decide what is the best option for her. She’s only been playing for a year so we know the two options we have are realistic for her. Just looking for feedback on the club in general. Thanks!