Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on that? My DD really liked the coach and it seemed like all the girls who tried out were sooo good. I read about the club and they seem well run. Anything we should know? She tried out for MoCo, still waiting on that but I’d actually prefer a smaller club.

You probably know that not all the players who tried out will accept their offer. Academy has a short history and not a good track of success with their teams. There is a thread that compares the rankings of the few clubs in the region for each age group, where you can see that their teams are not doing that well. Let me know if you need help finding the thread - it should still be on the first page of the Volleyball forum. Even great coaches can't do much when their teams are not competitive. The teammates play a significant role in a player's development - you develop much faster in a competitive team compared to a non-competitive team. I suggest that you wait for an answer from Moco and dig a little deeper before you make a decision. You still have time to try out for other clubs - we are just two days in the tryout period.

To add some context, the last two years Academy had a lot of new players (new to club volleyball). I know at least a couple that are now pretty good are returning because they like the team and didn’t want to look elsewhere, so the team may do better this year. I think it’s a legit altetnative to a lower team at some of the other clubs. Especially if you live in bethesda, CC or Kensington — it is so much more convenient than going up 270. That’s a valid consideration.

Unless you live right next to the schools where they practice, you still have a 10-15 minutes drive. Would I add 10 minutes to that drive to get to a better club (even if it is higher up on 270)? You bet I would. Having two good players on the team will not make a difference, especially at older ages, where players can spot-serve. Once they figure out which players cannot serve-receive, the opposing teams will keep acing. You cannot make a good team with two excellent players, especially when you will be playing against teams where most players know what they are doing.

I can speak to this. Yes, it wouldn't be great. Our practice is less than 10 minutes from home, and our kid attends every single extra clinic and extra practice offered. If I had to drive to MVSA or Platform, it would add 1.5 hours round-trip, or I'd be sitting in my car until 10:00 p.m. several times a week. My child is not going to be a professional volleyball player. I'm happy to support their passion to an extent. We have other kids that need tending to and slogging up 270 in the evening is not something that I'm down to do.

Different poster and I slogged a non volleyball kid up 270 twice a week for a different sport and it was incredibly stressful. Particularly because it often rains and driving 270 and trying to do the local lane merge in the pouring rain in the dark is just miserable especially with the jerks cutting you off and driving 110 mph. 15 minutes on local roads is more than twice as good as 30 minutes up 270 and over. The 270 sports slog is like the secret hell that you didn’t count on when you bought a “close in” house in the suburbs to keep your commute down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do any clubs in the area ever not have enough girls to field a team for 11U?

looks like rva is still looking for 11U, well from 9U - 14U pretty much

Where do you see this? Their website says they are holding tryouts for 15s and older

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on that? My DD really liked the coach and it seemed like all the girls who tried out were sooo good. I read about the club and they seem well run. Anything we should know? She tried out for MoCo, still waiting on that but I’d actually prefer a smaller club.

You probably know that not all the players who tried out will accept their offer. Academy has a short history and not a good track of success with their teams. There is a thread that compares the rankings of the few clubs in the region for each age group, where you can see that their teams are not doing that well. Let me know if you need help finding the thread - it should still be on the first page of the Volleyball forum. Even great coaches can't do much when their teams are not competitive. The teammates play a significant role in a player's development - you develop much faster in a competitive team compared to a non-competitive team. I suggest that you wait for an answer from Moco and dig a little deeper before you make a decision. You still have time to try out for other clubs - we are just two days in the tryout period.

To add some context, the last two years Academy had a lot of new players (new to club volleyball). I know at least a couple that are now pretty good are returning because they like the team and didn’t want to look elsewhere, so the team may do better this year. I think it’s a legit altetnative to a lower team at some of the other clubs. Especially if you live in bethesda, CC or Kensington — it is so much more convenient than going up 270. That’s a valid consideration.

Unless you live right next to the schools where they practice, you still have a 10-15 minutes drive. Would I add 10 minutes to that drive to get to a better club (even if it is higher up on 270)? You bet I would. Having two good players on the team will not make a difference, especially at older ages, where players can spot-serve. Once they figure out which players cannot serve-receive, the opposing teams will keep acing. You cannot make a good team with two excellent players, especially when you will be playing against teams where most players know what they are doing.

I can speak to this. Yes, it wouldn't be great. Our practice is less than 10 minutes from home, and our kid attends every single extra clinic and extra practice offered. If I had to drive to MVSA or Platform, it would add 1.5 hours round-trip, or I'd be sitting in my car until 10:00 p.m. several times a week. My child is not going to be a professional volleyball player. I'm happy to support their passion to an extent. We have other kids that need tending to and slogging up 270 in the evening is not something that I'm down to do.

Anonymous wrote:Any teams looking for defensive 16U players?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on that? My DD really liked the coach and it seemed like all the girls who tried out were sooo good. I read about the club and they seem well run. Anything we should know? She tried out for MoCo, still waiting on that but I’d actually prefer a smaller club.

You probably know that not all the players who tried out will accept their offer. Academy has a short history and not a good track of success with their teams. There is a thread that compares the rankings of the few clubs in the region for each age group, where you can see that their teams are not doing that well. Let me know if you need help finding the thread - it should still be on the first page of the Volleyball forum. Even great coaches can't do much when their teams are not competitive. The teammates play a significant role in a player's development - you develop much faster in a competitive team compared to a non-competitive team. I suggest that you wait for an answer from Moco and dig a little deeper before you make a decision. You still have time to try out for other clubs - we are just two days in the tryout period.

To add some context, the last two years Academy had a lot of new players (new to club volleyball). I know at least a couple that are now pretty good are returning because they like the team and didn’t want to look elsewhere, so the team may do better this year. I think it’s a legit altetnative to a lower team at some of the other clubs. Especially if you live in bethesda, CC or Kensington — it is so much more convenient than going up 270. That’s a valid consideration.

Unless you live right next to the schools where they practice, you still have a 10-15 minutes drive. Would I add 10 minutes to that drive to get to a better club (even if it is higher up on 270)? You bet I would. Having two good players on the team will not make a difference, especially at older ages, where players can spot-serve. Once they figure out which players cannot serve-receive, the opposing teams will keep acing. You cannot make a good team with two excellent players, especially when you will be playing against teams where most players know what they are doing.

I can speak to this. Yes, it wouldn't be great. Our practice is less than 10 minutes from home, and our kid attends every single extra clinic and extra practice offered. If I had to drive to MVSA or Platform, it would add 1.5 hours round-trip, or I'd be sitting in my car until 10:00 p.m. several times a week. My child is not going to be a professional volleyball player. I'm happy to support their passion to an extent. We have other kids that need tending to and slogging up 270 in the evening is not something that I'm down to do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on that? My DD really liked the coach and it seemed like all the girls who tried out were sooo good. I read about the club and they seem well run. Anything we should know? She tried out for MoCo, still waiting on that but I’d actually prefer a smaller club.

You probably know that not all the players who tried out will accept their offer. Academy has a short history and not a good track of success with their teams. There is a thread that compares the rankings of the few clubs in the region for each age group, where you can see that their teams are not doing that well. Let me know if you need help finding the thread - it should still be on the first page of the Volleyball forum. Even great coaches can't do much when their teams are not competitive. The teammates play a significant role in a player's development - you develop much faster in a competitive team compared to a non-competitive team. I suggest that you wait for an answer from Moco and dig a little deeper before you make a decision. You still have time to try out for other clubs - we are just two days in the tryout period.

To add some context, the last two years Academy had a lot of new players (new to club volleyball). I know at least a couple that are now pretty good are returning because they like the team and didn’t want to look elsewhere, so the team may do better this year. I think it’s a legit altetnative to a lower team at some of the other clubs. Especially if you live in bethesda, CC or Kensington — it is so much more convenient than going up 270. That’s a valid consideration.

Unless you live right next to the schools where they practice, you still have a 10-15 minutes drive. Would I add 10 minutes to that drive to get to a better club (even if it is higher up on 270)? You bet I would. Having two good players on the team will not make a difference, especially at older ages, where players can spot-serve. Once they figure out which players cannot serve-receive, the opposing teams will keep acing. You cannot make a good team with two excellent players, especially when you will be playing against teams where most players know what they are doing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on that? My DD really liked the coach and it seemed like all the girls who tried out were sooo good. I read about the club and they seem well run. Anything we should know? She tried out for MoCo, still waiting on that but I’d actually prefer a smaller club.

You probably know that not all the players who tried out will accept their offer. Academy has a short history and not a good track of success with their teams. There is a thread that compares the rankings of the few clubs in the region for each age group, where you can see that their teams are not doing that well. Let me know if you need help finding the thread - it should still be on the first page of the Volleyball forum. Even great coaches can't do much when their teams are not competitive. The teammates play a significant role in a player's development - you develop much faster in a competitive team compared to a non-competitive team. I suggest that you wait for an answer from Moco and dig a little deeper before you make a decision. You still have time to try out for other clubs - we are just two days in the tryout period.

To add some context, the last two years Academy had a lot of new players (new to club volleyball). I know at least a couple that are now pretty good are returning because they like the team and didn’t want to look elsewhere, so the team may do better this year. I think it’s a legit altetnative to a lower team at some of the other clubs. Especially if you live in bethesda, CC or Kensington — it is so much more convenient than going up 270. That’s a valid consideration.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on that? My DD really liked the coach and it seemed like all the girls who tried out were sooo good. I read about the club and they seem well run. Anything we should know? She tried out for MoCo, still waiting on that but I’d actually prefer a smaller club.

You probably know that not all the players who tried out will accept their offer. Academy has a short history and not a good track of success with their teams. There is a thread that compares the rankings of the few clubs in the region for each age group, where you can see that their teams are not doing that well. Let me know if you need help finding the thread - it should still be on the first page of the Volleyball forum. Even great coaches can't do much when their teams are not competitive. The teammates play a significant role in a player's development - you develop much faster in a competitive team compared to a non-competitive team. I suggest that you wait for an answer from Moco and dig a little deeper before you make a decision. You still have time to try out for other clubs - we are just two days in the tryout period.

To add some context, the last two years Academy had a lot of new players (new to club volleyball). I know at least a couple that are now pretty good are returning because they like the team and didn’t want to look elsewhere, so the team may do better this year. I think it’s a legit altetnative to a lower team at some of the other clubs. Especially if you live in bethesda, CC or Kensington — it is so much more convenient than going up 270. That’s a valid consideration.

Unfortunately, based on our experience and talking to others a number of the better players on the team are looking elsewhere. Plus there are a lot of players being offered to play up on an older age team with Academy that aren't receiving offers for their actual age group teams at other clubs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on that? My DD really liked the coach and it seemed like all the girls who tried out were sooo good. I read about the club and they seem well run. Anything we should know? She tried out for MoCo, still waiting on that but I’d actually prefer a smaller club.

You probably know that not all the players who tried out will accept their offer. Academy has a short history and not a good track of success with their teams. There is a thread that compares the rankings of the few clubs in the region for each age group, where you can see that their teams are not doing that well. Let me know if you need help finding the thread - it should still be on the first page of the Volleyball forum. Even great coaches can't do much when their teams are not competitive. The teammates play a significant role in a player's development - you develop much faster in a competitive team compared to a non-competitive team. I suggest that you wait for an answer from Moco and dig a little deeper before you make a decision. You still have time to try out for other clubs - we are just two days in the tryout period.

To add some context, the last two years Academy had a lot of new players (new to club volleyball). I know at least a couple that are now pretty good are returning because they like the team and didn’t want to look elsewhere, so the team may do better this year. I think it’s a legit altetnative to a lower team at some of the other clubs. Especially if you live in bethesda, CC or Kensington — it is so much more convenient than going up 270. That’s a valid consideration.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on that? My DD really liked the coach and it seemed like all the girls who tried out were sooo good. I read about the club and they seem well run. Anything we should know? She tried out for MoCo, still waiting on that but I’d actually prefer a smaller club.

You probably know that not all the players who tried out will accept their offer. Academy has a short history and not a good track of success with their teams. There is a thread that compares the rankings of the few clubs in the region for each age group, where you can see that their teams are not doing that well. Let me know if you need help finding the thread - it should still be on the first page of the Volleyball forum. Even great coaches can't do much when their teams are not competitive. The teammates play a significant role in a player's development - you develop much faster in a competitive team compared to a non-competitive team. I suggest that you wait for an answer from Moco and dig a little deeper before you make a decision. You still have time to try out for other clubs - we are just two days in the tryout period.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do any clubs in the area ever not have enough girls to field a team for 11U?

looks like rva is still looking for 11U, well from 9U - 14U pretty much

Anonymous wrote:Do any clubs in the area ever not have enough girls to field a team for 11U?