Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First things first, what’s the actual market for something like this? You need data beyond dcum and a few people around town.

I could start a team tomorrow if I had the legal framework. DD has a bunch of friends who are staying in rec because club is either too demanding, too far, or too expensive. They would want something above rec, closer to home, less demanding and cheaper than club.

Many players feel pressured to join a club to keep alive their hope of making a high school team. They fall in love with volleyball, but - after a couple of seasons - they realize that they are far behind the varsity players and will never catch up. They become disillusioned with club volleyball, especially if they end up on bottom teams, spending a ton of money on with poor coaching and meaningless travel. By the time they turn 16 and cannot make their varsity team, they cannot justify wasting more of their time and money. Some of them might be willing to take it slower if they had an option that better fits their schedule and family budget. Some families who are more realistic about their kids abilities would turn to this option before their kid turns 16. This option may not guarantee much better coaching, but at least would be more affordable.

I’m not sure where you’re located, but SYA has this. They have “travel” teams which you do need to tryout for, it’s way more experienced parent coaching, and the travel is all local (centreville, Fairfax, Chantilly, Vienna, etc). It’s the same cost as rec, and my 13yo DD really thrived on it. We decided not to do club bc of the price and commitment (although SYA also started a new club team this year that is more affordable), and will tryout for Travel again in the spring and do winter clinics. Might be worth reaching out to SYA or some of the other travel teams to see how they got setup! I love this idea, and absolutely see the need. Club is far too expensive for kids who just want to play competitively, but are not trying to get scholarships. If they don’t make the HS team, it would be nice if they could have something like this to fall back on. Good luck and I hope you can make it happen! It would benefit a lot of kids!

FPYCparent wrote:Another option could be simply volunteering with an existing local organization (like FPYC ... which I do not represent).

FPYC is trying to rebuild its volleyball program and may be already past some of the start-up hurdles. I think they just need people willing to do the work.

https://fpycsports.com/sports/volleyball

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm exploring the possibility of starting a volleyball non-profit to fill a gap: affordable, quality programming between rec and club volleyball. Ideally through teams that offer solid coaching and competitive play through local tournaments, without the extensive travel and high costs of club volleyball. To keep fees manageable, the practices would be led by qualified coaches with assistance from parent volunteers.

Before anything could happen, there are significant roadblocks: registering as a non-profit, then with CHRVA, and navigating all the legal requirements (including insurance). Most critically, success would depend on finding qualified coaches (including parents) willing to volunteer their time. I am being realistic that this could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, but anything in between is also possible.

This might be a really good option for families who are realistic about their kids chances of pursuing college volleyball, but want them to be part of a team, develop skills beyond rec level, and are fine with local competition rather than spending weekends in hotels. For families looking for the full club experience with extensive travel, traditional clubs remain a better fit. The best start would be at the 13, 14, 15, and 16 level, when we see most of the demand.

Does this concept resonate with anyone else? Am I identifying a real gap, or am I missing something that's already available? I am genuinely interested in hearing perspectives (both supportive and skeptical) before deciding whether to pursue the legal groundwork.

Sounds a lot like Starlings https://www.starlings.org/

Perhaps you could start a local Starlings club taking advantage of their infrastructure. I think there used to be a Starlings club in Baltimore, but I don’t see it listed so perhaps it’s no longer active.

Also, while it’s not always widely advertised, many clubs offer scholarships or reduced/waived fees in cases of demonstrated financial need.

Starlings' mission is linked to impacting the lives of at-risk girls. I don't think the risk they are talking about is related to girls who cannot or don't want to commit to the existing volleyball infrastructure.

That’s fair, although the OP described the idea as a non-profit which at least suggests there would some public-serving purpose that could justify being tax-exempt.

Anonymous wrote:I would consider forgoing CHRVA and really looking between rec and club. That would mean following the setup of Fairfax County Youth Travel (or Select) Basketball or Flagstar Football Elite or maybe one of the club soccer’s developmental leagues (in Arlington, that’s ADP). These are tryout-based teams that play other teams, all within the same umbrella. In FCYBL, they are zip code based and in Flagstar, they are loosely neighborhood based. ADP has enough kids to field 4-6 ADP teams between rec and travel for each age group! It’s basically pool play each weekend with a tourney at the end.

Anonymous wrote:As I am reading this thread, I thought there would be more excitement for this idea, especially in Virginia. Less so in Maryland because the prices are a bit more reasonable. OP, do you know how to start a non-profit? That might be the easiest step. I have no idea how you would deal with CHRVA - the decision makers might be involved in club one way or another. You may have the snobs who will tell you that only coaches should be allowed to coach teams, even though clubs frequently use parents.

Even though I live in Maryland, I would be game for next year. This club grind takes too much of our time and something more relaxed would be welcome during the last years of high school. We are doing club this year, but I would be open to switch to a team with other players that have some club experience. I cannot coach, but I can throw some balls in the air during practice. Signing up on a team of beginners would be a non-starter though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First things first, what’s the actual market for something like this? You need data beyond dcum and a few people around town.

I could start a team tomorrow if I had the legal framework. DD has a bunch of friends who are staying in rec because club is either too demanding, too far, or too expensive. They would want something above rec, closer to home, less demanding and cheaper than club.

Many players feel pressured to join a club to keep alive their hope of making a high school team. They fall in love with volleyball, but - after a couple of seasons - they realize that they are far behind the varsity players and will never catch up. They become disillusioned with club volleyball, especially if they end up on bottom teams, spending a ton of money on with poor coaching and meaningless travel. By the time they turn 16 and cannot make their varsity team, they cannot justify wasting more of their time and money. Some of them might be willing to take it slower if they had an option that better fits their schedule and family budget. Some families who are more realistic about their kids abilities would turn to this option before their kid turns 16. This option may not guarantee much better coaching, but at least would be more affordable.

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a need. My daughter is 16 and decided not to play club this year. She played on a travel team last year but didn’t want the schedule this year. She still loves volleyball and wants to play competitively and was going to look into adult open gyms or leagues, if that’s even possible. Rec wouldn’t be fun for her anymore.

There are plenty in HS who don’t want the commitment of club who love the sport and want to continue playing and parents that would help. We are in VA.

Anonymous wrote:I do always wish everyone luck if they see something they want to pursue, but it is hard to see this working out too well.

Anonymous wrote:First things first, what’s the actual market for something like this? You need data beyond dcum and a few people around town.

Anonymous wrote:You could follow the model of MSI soccer’s Classic league but you’d need scale to have enough competition. I kind of love any effort to drive a take into the heart of the sports industrial complex.