FPYCparent
Post 10/19/2023 11:43     Subject: Re:Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
So, with my 10th grade/varsity VB kid considering new clubs for the upcoming season, I'm wondering what questions I should have that could only be answered by other parents.

For example,

Which parents are totally nuts?
What if I'm the parent that's totally nuts?
How are families with younger, non-VB kids balancing things out?
Are there parents that volunteer to handle the video recording/streaming/sharing? ... And are they any good?
Any carpooling to practices?
Who manages the wine sign-up list for tournaments? :p
How serious are players and parents about getting recruited to college? (On a scale from "If it happens, it happens" to "My kid will start at Nebraska on Day 1.")
How would you rate the club's resources for the college recruiting process?

Having only completed one club season, what questions should I be considering?
Anonymous
Post 10/17/2023 15:47     Subject: Re:Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
We were with ECP last year and will be going with Mojo this year. The coaches were very clear on the zoom earlier this fall that they are going back their roots, and only promising what they could deliver (limited teams per age group; dedicated coaches). I was impressed. (This is for an age group under U-14.)
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2023 23:45     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is mojo likely to be any better that ECP? Aren’t they the same people?


Yep, SAME people.


I don't think that's accurate or fair.

Mojo coaches and leadership were established and well-respected in the DC area long before ECP came into the picture. ECPDC coaches that came from Arlington Elite and The St. James were solid as well.

The major issues with ECPDC began last year during the 2022-23 season. From the volleyball gossip mill, the problems are attributed to either A) 3 Step Sports National corporate leadership or B) the influx of Delaware coaches and director (Chris Smith) just not meshing with the local group. Either way, the merger between corporate franchise, Delaware, and DC local coaches did not work out. The DC local coaches are now back with Mojo. Former Delaware coaches seem to be with Renaissance.

Being a DC volleyball parent with older kids, I know the Mojo/St James coaches and hate to see them smeared. My kids owe a lot of their skills and confidence to Mojo.

I'm inclined to give the Renaissance coaches the benefit of the doubt as well. Unlike 3 Step Sports, the coaches do not profit personally from clinic or registration fees that are not refunded.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2023 19:27     Subject: Re:Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Anonymous wrote:Anyone here know anything about VAVA?


Club was started by coaches that left VA Jrs. Focus on fundamentals and development of players. VAVA practiced at Cassel's so not sure where the club will practice or if they will have the same number of teams.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2023 13:26     Subject: Re:Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Anyone here know anything about VAVA?
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2023 10:17     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Has anyone received a refund yet?
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2023 06:52     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Anonymous wrote:Is mojo likely to be any better that ECP? Aren’t they the same people?


Yep, SAME people.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2023 06:16     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Is mojo likely to be any better that ECP? Aren’t they the same people?
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2023 20:59     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Anonymous wrote:SOP when these places go under is to promise refunds and then the people just stop responding and disappear. Don't waste time, reverse the charges with your credit card.


+1. Don't wait for a refund while they clear out the bank account and go under.
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2023 18:55     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Anonymous wrote:For everyone who is looking for a refund for the cancelled ECP clinics- the following email was sent out today:

“Hi everyone,



Thank you all for signing up for the fall clinic series. Due to recent leadership changes in the DC division, we unfortunately will have to cancel the remaining sessions of this program.

We are working to issue refunds to you all this week. Very sorry for any inconveniences caused here.



Thank you again for signing up, we hope to see you back in the gym in the near future.

~ The ECP Leadership Team“


Too little too late. There has been major push back against what ECP did. I’ll believe it when I actually have my money back.
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2023 16:42     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
SOP when these places go under is to promise refunds and then the people just stop responding and disappear. Don't waste time, reverse the charges with your credit card.
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2023 15:07     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
For everyone who is looking for a refund for the cancelled ECP clinics- the following email was sent out today:

“Hi everyone,



Thank you all for signing up for the fall clinic series. Due to recent leadership changes in the DC division, we unfortunately will have to cancel the remaining sessions of this program.

We are working to issue refunds to you all this week. Very sorry for any inconveniences caused here.



Thank you again for signing up, we hope to see you back in the gym in the near future.

~ The ECP Leadership Team“
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2023 14:12     Subject: Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
We were new to ECP and their fall league this year so we don’t have any prior experience. After seeing the first group of coaches leave before the league started but after summer clinics, the complete disorganization of the start of the fall league, the short responses from Chris when emails were sent and then his departure…my kid doesn’t want to try out for Mojo or his new league. The entire experience this fall with these coaches has been so bad from the tryouts to now.
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2023 11:57     Subject: Re:Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Somebody from Renaissance is doing a lot of PR work here (maybe the club director himself). I’m interested to see how this announcement of ECP’s shuttering of its Chesapeake chapter will impact the #’s at clinics these last three weeks before tryouts. Paramount’s clinics have been huge in terms of the # and quality of kids, so I’m wondering if they will become even more crowded now. Metro’s clinics have been super crowded too, but they have clinics at many different locations due to the different chapters they have (East, North, South, etc.).
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2023 11:38     Subject: Re:Volleyball club- recap and thoughts
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Agree with prior posters - Moco, Mojo, Vienna, Paramount 2s will likely benefit from ECP closure.

it sure looks like ECP DC folded bc no coaches were left

Almost all of the ECP DC head coaches (U13, U14, U16 and many assistants) went back to Mojo. U18 retired mid season last year.

So the big question is why —-
Why did all the former ECP DC coaches choose Mojo?


Here's my question: How many of the former ECP coaches and club staff reached out to specific players BEFORE the announcement, with the intent of convincing the best players to leave and come with them? And how many players did they not talk to -- leaving them to scramble at the last minute to search for other places to play?

We know this happened, because a PP talks about how the ECP invite only clinic numbers declined drastically. Thats not a random thing. There's also a new club (headed by the former ECP club director) posting in this thread about how they will have teams, have already registered for tournaments, etc. There's no way they didn't talk to their "chosen" players ahead of the announcement today and tell them they had a place to play with them at the new club.

As a coach, how in the world do you justify that behavior? If you just coached a club team for more than 6 months, how can you be so callous as to tell some players and not tell the others? How does a club director let that happen? We could never trust that director or coach again, no matter how good a coach they were, how good a director they are or how much my DD loved playing for them.



Re “Chosen players” hypothesis above. I’m not sure that had anything to do with ECP invite clinic numbers dropping off. At least with my kid, who played for an ECP1 team and did not come off the floor. She preferred the coaches who went to Mojo and did not enjoy the clinic when it was run by Chris and the remaining coaches (now ? moved onto Renaissance).

I have heard that Renaissance has been reaching out to certain players, but my kid is not one of them — we haven’t spoken with Chris since he left ECP. If there is an invite clinic for Renaissance then we certainly don’t know about it. I reached out to Mojo myself and will take her to those clinics and tryouts.

Renaissance seems to be using this DCUM thread to get info out instead of having an actual webpage. Super unprofessional.


My kid wasn’t told either (no one had reached out). She said they told her at the last clinic last Sunday that there would be news coming this week so these people knew, took our money for that and other future clinics. It’s despicable, dishonest and illegal if refunds for those future clinics aren’t given.