DAA SKILLS N' DRILLS CLINICS

The goal of the clinics is to learn skills and practice them, and have as many touches on the ball as possible. They’re run by our league directors and assorted local high school coaches and players. Clinics are held at Tohickon Middle School weekly on Tuesday nights with 4 age groups.  Please check the League Information tab for details.  

Clinics are Co-Ed. Dress comfortably in sports clothes and bring/wear knee pads. If you don't have knee pads, they can be purchased at most sporting goods stores for between $8.00-$15.00.  No worries if you don't have them for a couple of weeks or forget them.  It's just a safer way to play and good to protect the knees.   A water bottle is always helpful. 

To register:  There are two links to the registrations, one for the Nov-Dec session and one for the Jan-March session.  Please go to League Information tab for more info and the links to register.

The “In’s” and “Out’s” about Club Volleyball

What is Club Volleyball?  Club volleyball is a volleyball club where you pay to join that club and the team has organized coaches and practices/training and enters to compete in tournaments.  Teams are typically broken out by age groupings. You will need to tryout for the team and receive an invitation to join the team. To find out when tryouts are, you need to monitor clubs websites and/or the KRVA (Keystone Region Volleyball Association) website (www.krva.org).   Club websites for the PA region can be found on https://www.krva.org/clubs/.

My child is only in middle school (or younger).  Should we consider club now or wait until high school?     It's up to each family to make the decision that’s right for them.  However, volleyball is becoming more and more competitive in this area.  Players are picking up the sport as early as grade school (5th and 6th grades) and will typically have a huge advantage over their peers who do not pick up the sport until later.  The sooner you start playing club, the more the skills get developed and that gives an advantage over peers.

When is the club season and how long does it last?    For Boys, tryouts are usually at the end of September and the season runs through the end of February.  March typically defines the start of boy’s high school season so club is usually done by then. Sometimes clubs go to Nationals, which runs into early summer, so the team could get back together after high school season in preparation for Nationals.  

For girls tryouts are usually  after the high school season. The official practices usually start in December.  The season can run as long as the club determines it to run. Usually, most end in late April or early May.  Sometimes teams will run to the end of May. If the team makes it to Junior Nationals, that can run into the summer months.  Often the club will give you that information on their website or if you inquire with them.

Why play club volleyball?    The main reason is to become a better volleyball player.  The extended season offered by club volleyball gives players a chance to get thousands of valuable reps that will help improve skills and fitness.  Many of the best volleyball minds choose to coach at the club level. Club volleyball brings like-minded athletes with similar goals and helps form friendships that can last a long time.  There is a wide range of competition levels. Club volleyball tournaments are some of the largest, most competitive and fun sporting events out there. Depending on the club and the tournaments that they enter, you can test yourself against players and teams from all over the region and possibly the nation.  Large tournaments provide athlete’s exposure to college coaches. Many of these coaches recruit exclusively through club volleyball since this is their off season time. Of the high school athletes that get scholarships for volleyball, an extremely large percentage (well above 90%) of them played club volleyball.  However, it is important to note that only a small percentage of athletes get full scholarships to play volleyball in college. However, if you want to play in college, club volleyball is the stepping stone to get there, whether it’s a full, partial or non-scholarship position. Club volleyball is the primary method by which college coaches recruit high school players. 

How do I pick a club?  Are they all similar? What do I need to look for when picking a club?     Clubs are all different in their own ways.  When searching for a club, the things to look for are the following:

• Who are the directors?  Are they experienced in coaching volleyball?

• Who are the coaches?  Are they just kids learning to coach or seasoned coaches with experience and/or certifications?

• How many practices do they have in a week?  Where do they practice?

• What's their philosophy?

• How expensive is it to join the team my child is trying out for? (see later for expense questions)

You are encouraged to ask a lot of questions so that you can make informed decisions when choosing the club that’s right for you.  KRVA has a listing of all the clubs, their director contact information and the clubs websites (https://www.krva.org/clubs/). 

How expensive is it to play club volleyball?   Club volleyball can be costly so it is important to determine if it’s the right fit for your child.  If your child is looking to play for fun and to be with friends, there are less expensive alternatives.  Athletes that come to the club volleyball program are looking for better competition and to elevate their game.  However, the cost to play club will vary by a number of items including:

• Number of practices a week:  The more practices, the higher the cost, but typically, the means your child will get more reps.  Court cost is one of the biggest reasons why club volleyball can be expensive.

• How long is the season:  If the season ends in April, then the costs should be a little lower, however if they go until the end of May or into June, the costs will be more to cover the practice facility.  So, this is related to the number of practices in total.

• Level of training in addition to practice:  The more training that is done, either internally or using an external trainer, the more expensive the club can be.

• Number and quality of tournaments:   The more tournaments, the higher the cost.  Additionally, if there are multi day tournaments, they are more expensive than single day tournaments.  The more widely traveled tournaments gives more exposure to various college coaches. Also, note that you are typically responsible for travel.  That is not a cost that is part of the cost to join the club, so please keep that in mind.

• Quality of the coaching staff:  This can be hard to determine.  You may want to ask how many of them are certified coaches.  There are various levels of certification, but knowing that the coaches keep up their own training, can be helpful in determining the quality of the coaching staff.  The other method is to just ask around to see where the coaching quality exists.

• Practice Facility:  Where is the practice facility and will you be practicing in a nice facility or one that’s not so great.  

• Gear:  What gear do the athletes get?  Each will get a uniform (or 2 or 3), but what other things do they get?

It is not unusual for costs to range from $1,000 to $3,500 depending on the team and the level of the team.  In addition, you may need to travel to a sleep away tournament and the hotel and travel costs are in addition to the fees that are required to join the club.  If this will create a financial burden, you can often contact the club directors to see if they accept some payment system.

What are other things I should consider about the club?   You should ask the following things before tryouts:

• How many tryouts is the club holding?   The club will usually have a main tryout and then a day for call backs.  Try to make the main tryout for the club you want to be a part of.

• How many players (and by position) are you looking for and on which team(s)?  The club may carry multiple teams per age group. Sometimes they will define the “ones” team to have less kids (like 10) but will make room for more on the 2nd or 3rd teams.  Clubs are not required to post how many players and positions they are looking for, but it’s worthwhile to ask.

Before accepting the offer, know these things:

• How much does the club cost?

• When are payments due?

• What does the cost include?

• Are there other fees that may be required?  Sometimes if playing in tournaments that are governed by organizations other than USA Volleyball (AAU, JVA, etc) that could require membership fees to those organizations.  These are not typically large dollars, but you should be aware of them. Also there could be various other types of fees not in the club cost.

• Which team will my child be on?  This includes age group and level.  The age requirements define the lowest age you can play.  For example, an athlete that falls in the U15 age group can play for U15 or any higher age level.  Level refers to the first team, second team, national or regional teams, etc.

• Who is the coach and how many coaches?  Perhaps the most important thing to make sure of is the level and quality of the coaching that your child will receive.

• How many players will be on the roster?

• How much travel is involved, how many tournaments, what level of tournaments will the team participate in?

• What are the dates and times of practices and where are they held?

How are the teams determined?   Each club holds tryouts for specific age groups (see “what age group does my child qualify for” below).  In the KRVA region, once tryouts are completed, the clubs will contact you to let you know if you made the team and which team you made.  Each team within an age group may go to different tournaments. If you make the first team, you may travel more nationally (or extended regionally) than if you make the second team which may only do one or 2 regional tournaments and the rest more local one day tournaments.  Once you get an official offer (written offers emailed to the family of the player with offers@krva.org CC’d), you will have a limited time to accept the offer.  Once you accept the offer it is binding, unless the club releases your acceptance.

What age group does my child qualify for?   The age groups are defined in the attached document.  Find the birth month in the left column then find the birth year in the top row, then where 2 intersect, will tell you the lowest age group you can play.  Most clubs will have one or multiple teams for each age group. Note this document is updated each year and to find the most current document, look on www.krva.org

 When are tryouts?    Tryouts for boys are usually at the end of September (although it changes from year to year so please check club websites).  For girls, the younger age groups (14 and under based on the age definitions above) tryout towards the end of October.  The older girls (15 & older) are usually in early November and are usually on Saturdays or Sundays.  Check Club websites for confirmation.  You can find some of this information on the www.krva.org website (https://www.krva.org/sanctioned-tryouts/)

I’ve heard nightmares about the tryout and offer process, why?   The tryout/offer process is not a great process.  First you must determine how many different clubs you want to try out for.  Then you will need to be able to get to each tryout (most will be the same day).   Most kids want to be with their friends, which really makes it a difficult process.  I would try to avoid trying to keep friends together and focus more on the club that would be the best fit for the growth of your child.  You are spending a lot of money to get trained, not to just be with friends. That being said, most times you will land with a great group of kids and have a good experience.

OK, I have decided that club volleyball is right for me, what now?

Here's the next steps:

• Open gyms:  Typically, there will be a number of open gyms leading up to tryouts.  Each club will post them on their website. These are typically free, however you may need to register for them so they will know how many kids to expect.  Attend as many open gyms as you can for as many clubs as you like.

• Register for KRVA:  You will need to register for KRVA (see www.krva.org).  There is a cheap version of the registration that you can use for tryouts.  If you make a team, then you will need to upgrade the version to a full KRVA membership.  Most recent costs can be found at https://www.krva.org/memberregistration/

• Fill out required medical forms:  You can find this on https://www.krva.org/documents/  Look for “Player Medical Release Form”

• Register for tryouts:  There is a registration process and fee for the tryout in addition to the registration for KRVA.

• Show up for tryouts:   If tryouts start at 9:00 am, they make sure you show up at least 40 minutes ahead of time.  You will need to check in, get a shirt, hand in your medical forms and show your KRVA membership.  Then you can go get comfortable warming up. Lines can get very long for people that come later, so better to be early.

• Tryout and do your best:  Not everyone has the same level of talent.  However, if you show that you can be a great teammate by shagging balls, encouraging and congratulating others (by saying “nice pass” or “nice hit”), that can go a long way and make coaches notice you over other kids.  Don’t react badly when you make a bad hit on the ball. Show the coach that you are eager for another chance to correct your error. Bad body language is not a good signal to send at tryouts.

I did everything but did not make the team I wanted to make, now what?

You need to have some backup plans if you don't make the team you thought you wanted to make.   First, tryout at multiple clubs. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Second, inquire with the club that you wanted to make to see if there are other options at different age groups or with other clubs that they are aware of.  The club directors often talk and will try to find a spot for every girl that wants to play club. All of us want to increase the level of volleyball in this area so we want to make sure everyone has a spot.  If it doesn't work this year, keep playing local rec league programs such as Daa (Doylestown Athletic Association), go to Skills n Drills clinics or check out other local options and try again next year.  A year can make a difference in maturity, coordination, understanding the game and practice so don't give up.  It's a great sport!

Joel King, CAP III

Email: Jkingpa@yahoo.com
Central Bucks West High School Coach