Anonymous
03/10/2026 15:53
Subject: Getting released from club?
Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone for posting your responses.
I’m going to try and answer some questions.
“It’s a cocktail of bad experiences in one team”
That quote sums it up. The club director, coach, other parents, most players have not seen anything like this…it’s a perfect storm that can’t be addressed (yet) no matter how hard anyone tries (in their own way). And we have tried. For months.
This isn’t our first experience w/ club volleyball, but we are new to this club.
I won’t name the club or age group.
There are more than 10 weeks left in the season. Can we power through? Sure. And I’m putting the “we” in there because practices, tournaments, outside training, etc are coordinated and funded by us parents…but DD has to deal with the nonsense in each interaction.
The point I struggle with is that there is equal value in knowing when to walk away as much as resilience can be taught through the adversity in staying. A major factor is thinking through the “what’s next” — which many of you helped clarify.
Sign ups for summer clinics, camps went in today. It’s kind of like planning a vacation; Gave us something to look forward to.
Thanks for your insights.
Not sure what kinds of problems you are encountering, but coaches must follow the USAV Coaches Code of Ethics and Conduct:
https://usavolleyball.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Coaches-Code-of-Ethics-and-Conduct.pdf
If there are violations, the club director must act.
Anonymous
03/10/2026 11:54
Subject: Getting released from club?
Did y’all talk to your club directors before bouncing for a bad coaching situation? I have to imagine that if literally half a team walked away, the director would be willing to listen to concerns about a bad coaching situation.
Anonymous
03/10/2026 05:54
Subject: Getting released from club?
And more to my post, my DD stayed all season and looking back, I wish we were more forceful and had her leave. It was a terrible situation. She was affected more than I realized and about half of her team dropped the sport completely. My DD is not playing club at all this year. She misses it and misses volleyball but it was that bad of a situation with the coach.
Anonymous
03/10/2026 05:51
Subject: Getting released from club?
We knew girls who quit last season and the season before that. Some were in a bad situation with a toxic coach. Others had personal problems. All could still play the following year somewhere, if they wanted to keep playing. Some did and some quit volleyball all together.
It will be almost impossible to join a different team mid season. Rosters are full. Teams are established. Do you remember how competitive it was at tryouts? No one is looking for another player in March.
It will be almost impossible to join a different team mid season. Rosters are full. Teams are established. Do you remember how competitive it was at tryouts? No one is looking for another player in March.
Anonymous
03/09/2026 21:44
Subject: Getting released from club?
Thanks everyone for posting your responses.
I’m going to try and answer some questions.
“It’s a cocktail of bad experiences in one team”
That quote sums it up. The club director, coach, other parents, most players have not seen anything like this…it’s a perfect storm that can’t be addressed (yet) no matter how hard anyone tries (in their own way). And we have tried. For months.
This isn’t our first experience w/ club volleyball, but we are new to this club.
I won’t name the club or age group.
There are more than 10 weeks left in the season. Can we power through? Sure. And I’m putting the “we” in there because practices, tournaments, outside training, etc are coordinated and funded by us parents…but DD has to deal with the nonsense in each interaction.
The point I struggle with is that there is equal value in knowing when to walk away as much as resilience can be taught through the adversity in staying. A major factor is thinking through the “what’s next” — which many of you helped clarify.
Sign ups for summer clinics, camps went in today. It’s kind of like planning a vacation; Gave us something to look forward to.
Thanks for your insights.
I’m going to try and answer some questions.
“It’s a cocktail of bad experiences in one team”
That quote sums it up. The club director, coach, other parents, most players have not seen anything like this…it’s a perfect storm that can’t be addressed (yet) no matter how hard anyone tries (in their own way). And we have tried. For months.
This isn’t our first experience w/ club volleyball, but we are new to this club.
I won’t name the club or age group.
There are more than 10 weeks left in the season. Can we power through? Sure. And I’m putting the “we” in there because practices, tournaments, outside training, etc are coordinated and funded by us parents…but DD has to deal with the nonsense in each interaction.
The point I struggle with is that there is equal value in knowing when to walk away as much as resilience can be taught through the adversity in staying. A major factor is thinking through the “what’s next” — which many of you helped clarify.
Sign ups for summer clinics, camps went in today. It’s kind of like planning a vacation; Gave us something to look forward to.
Thanks for your insights.
Anonymous
03/09/2026 21:19
Subject: Re:Getting released from club?
Anonymous wrote:Exiting in the middle of the season is pretty rare. Joining another club mid-season is very rare. It does happen but out of the thousands of players in the region it is a very small number. If you are a decent player on an above average or good team and you want to compete at that level again your players' (and your) reputation matters. Coaches at that level do more homework on players before they make offers and most coaches steer away from players that quit teams mid-season unless you have a very good explanation.
Be careful on how you exit. If you are creating tons of drama yourself or complaining vocally to the other parents you are likely to burn the bridge not just with the club you are leaving but with the other clubs in the same area. I'd also be careful about naming the club you are talking about in public forums like this one, it won't be anonymous and a simple search of club rosters across tournaments or the club website can expose the specific player who left. Remember your posts and the replies will be online forever. Check this board for other posts on how team rosters can be used to track players across clubs.
Regarding ramifications, if you do leave the team, be aware that talking to other clubs or coaches before you do it is against CHRVA rules and could subject the club and you to sanctions. Clubs and coaches aren't allowed to talk to other clubs players about coming to their teams during a club season. If you switch do it right. Tell your existing club you are leaving and have them release you from your contract. They need to contact CHRVA and have you removed from their club. Once they do, then talk to other clubs. If you do it the other way you open the new club and yourself up to a set of potentially tough conversations and word will definitely spread. Always assume that others will hear the worst parts of your story.
None of this means you shouldn't leave a situation you aren't comfortable with. Just plan ahead on the process. Leaving a club that you don't like usually creates a lot of emotions. Don't create a bigger problem than you already have. If your DD wants to play somewhere else next season (or this season) how you exit will be part of your DD history. Every club has players that leave due to club fit, drama, etc. You just want to blend in with those moves and everything will be OK.
This is the most helpful response. Thank you!
Anonymous
03/09/2026 20:25
Subject: Getting released from club?
What club has so much drama to make you want to quit mid season?!
Anonymous
03/09/2026 20:13
Subject: Getting released from club?
Fake a concussion and don’t come back.
Anonymous
03/09/2026 19:53
Subject: Getting released from club?
There's approx 6-8 weeks left (depending on your club) left and 1 one of those weeks is spring break.
You seriously can't power through it? Maybe start missing a few practices at the very end b/c DD is "sick " if you want to piecemeal trying to not to go.
What age group is this?
You seriously can't power through it? Maybe start missing a few practices at the very end b/c DD is "sick " if you want to piecemeal trying to not to go.
What age group is this?
Anonymous
03/09/2026 16:30
Subject: Getting released from club?
Suck it up and just deal with the next couple months. You’ll survive and so will your kid. Start going to different club camps or clinics this summer and move on at that point. I wouldn’t want to have to guess on behalf of my kid if pulling her now would have a ripple effect. But what I can say is the volleyball community is small. Expect that it will get out and come back around at some point. I’m not sure you want to deal with that if this is a sport your kid loves.
Anonymous
03/09/2026 13:37
Subject: Re:Getting released from club?
I am not sure what I would do. We never considered leaving the club because we paid too much to simply walk away. You will have a bad coach every once in a while. There will be some toxic players on some of your rosters. Some parents may not be friendly or they might be outright nasty. What you describe is a cocktail of bad experiences all in one team. Are the other teams in the club similarly bad or this is one off? Our first season was not great, but we pulled through. Second season (same club) was much better because the toxic group of players moved to a different club. I think I would try to make the most out of it and start fresh during the next season. But I cannot tell whether this is a good choice in your case because I am working with too little information. Based on what the PP wrote, you should probably not mention the club name on this thread because your DD might be too easy to identify.
Anonymous
03/09/2026 11:41
Subject: Re:Getting released from club?
Exiting in the middle of the season is pretty rare. Joining another club mid-season is very rare. It does happen but out of the thousands of players in the region it is a very small number. If you are a decent player on an above average or good team and you want to compete at that level again your players' (and your) reputation matters. Coaches at that level do more homework on players before they make offers and most coaches steer away from players that quit teams mid-season unless you have a very good explanation.
Be careful on how you exit. If you are creating tons of drama yourself or complaining vocally to the other parents you are likely to burn the bridge not just with the club you are leaving but with the other clubs in the same area. I'd also be careful about naming the club you are talking about in public forums like this one, it won't be anonymous and a simple search of club rosters across tournaments or the club website can expose the specific player who left. Remember your posts and the replies will be online forever. Check this board for other posts on how team rosters can be used to track players across clubs.
Regarding ramifications, if you do leave the team, be aware that talking to other clubs or coaches before you do it is against CHRVA rules and could subject the club and you to sanctions. Clubs and coaches aren't allowed to talk to other clubs players about coming to their teams during a club season. If you switch do it right. Tell your existing club you are leaving and have them release you from your contract. They need to contact CHRVA and have you removed from their club. Once they do, then talk to other clubs. If you do it the other way you open the new club and yourself up to a set of potentially tough conversations and word will definitely spread. Always assume that others will hear the worst parts of your story.
None of this means you shouldn't leave a situation you aren't comfortable with. Just plan ahead on the process. Leaving a club that you don't like usually creates a lot of emotions. Don't create a bigger problem than you already have. If your DD wants to play somewhere else next season (or this season) how you exit will be part of your DD history. Every club has players that leave due to club fit, drama, etc. You just want to blend in with those moves and everything will be OK.
Be careful on how you exit. If you are creating tons of drama yourself or complaining vocally to the other parents you are likely to burn the bridge not just with the club you are leaving but with the other clubs in the same area. I'd also be careful about naming the club you are talking about in public forums like this one, it won't be anonymous and a simple search of club rosters across tournaments or the club website can expose the specific player who left. Remember your posts and the replies will be online forever. Check this board for other posts on how team rosters can be used to track players across clubs.
Regarding ramifications, if you do leave the team, be aware that talking to other clubs or coaches before you do it is against CHRVA rules and could subject the club and you to sanctions. Clubs and coaches aren't allowed to talk to other clubs players about coming to their teams during a club season. If you switch do it right. Tell your existing club you are leaving and have them release you from your contract. They need to contact CHRVA and have you removed from their club. Once they do, then talk to other clubs. If you do it the other way you open the new club and yourself up to a set of potentially tough conversations and word will definitely spread. Always assume that others will hear the worst parts of your story.
None of this means you shouldn't leave a situation you aren't comfortable with. Just plan ahead on the process. Leaving a club that you don't like usually creates a lot of emotions. Don't create a bigger problem than you already have. If your DD wants to play somewhere else next season (or this season) how you exit will be part of your DD history. Every club has players that leave due to club fit, drama, etc. You just want to blend in with those moves and everything will be OK.
Anonymous
03/09/2026 10:43
Subject: Getting released from club?
Anonymous wrote:Top line: current club has lots of drama. Coaching, club administration, players and parents. Culture is awful.
What are the ramifications if you ask to be released from the club? We have already paid all applicable fees and the director has signaled that they are willing to do this.
1 - I’ve heard that you are “blacklisted” in future tryouts (eg this fall) and other teams won’t take your player
2 - Can you transfer to a different club mid season if they have an open spot?
Thanks for any insight.
Willing to share which club you are referring to?
Anonymous
03/09/2026 10:40
Subject: Getting released from club?
I've seen it before, i.e. transferring to another club mid-season, so it is definitely possible and more common than you think. But unfortunately, I don't have the insider-scoop because it didn't happen to my DD. I'd think that attending tryouts/camps of other clubs should be totally fine after the transfer.
Anonymous
03/09/2026 09:30
Subject: Getting released from club?
Top line: current club has lots of drama. Coaching, club administration, players and parents. Culture is awful.
What are the ramifications if you ask to be released from the club? We have already paid all applicable fees and the director has signaled that they are willing to do this.
1 - I’ve heard that you are “blacklisted” in future tryouts (eg this fall) and other teams won’t take your player
2 - Can you transfer to a different club mid season if they have an open spot?
Thanks for any insight.
What are the ramifications if you ask to be released from the club? We have already paid all applicable fees and the director has signaled that they are willing to do this.
1 - I’ve heard that you are “blacklisted” in future tryouts (eg this fall) and other teams won’t take your player
2 - Can you transfer to a different club mid season if they have an open spot?
Thanks for any insight.