Post by rtpvolleyparent on Jan 23, 2013 9:27:27 GMT -5
This is my last club season as my last daughter is a senior and moving on to play in college so I have had years to stew over various things that I like and dislike about club volleyball. Since this forum has been created I just want to say my piece and get some things off my chest. I am a long time volleyball parent with four daughters who have played club/beach in the region for the last seven years at various clubs at various levels. We live in Central NC and have played in just about every venue in the State and have traveled up to six hours to play in state. In our area clubs are plentiful and club fees can range from $800 - $8,000 per season. On paper we are a six figure family (barely) but we also have seven children and college tuition to pay so we have always needed assistance in order for our children to play and we’ve tried to keep them all at one club which has limited our options. That said here are my comments on the various issues currently posted and a few that aren’t -
Tournament Format:
1. Based on past experience I strongly advocate for the four team pool structure. It is simple to understand and makes it easier to determine who should move on to later rounds. It also allows for every team to play at least three games, have a break during the day (1-1.5 hours) and play is finished at a decent hour. While I realize the goal is to allow as many teams to play as possible, I do wish that entries would be accepted in multiples of four and that teams would have the option of playing up or down to balance the numbers. No doubt 1 or 2 teams would not be able to play on a given weekend but overall I think it would eliminate a lot of confusion and frustration.
2. With respect to the East and West divisions, I think this is a great idea and one I actually have suggested in the past. I think the current issue is that the divider is too far East and should be moved to Greensboro.
3. I would also suggest that the Open division be changed to have only one grouping and only include 16s-18s teams. I think that 15s teams aren’t quite at this level but the strongest 16s teams are. I also think this division should be limited to no more than 16 teams but some multiple of 4 in any case. I do agree that this division should combine East and West but I also think that additional tournaments should be available for the lower Pods because many of the 2 teams end up in the lower Pod and they do not always have the heavy schedule that the 1 teams have. My last word on this is that the tournaments should be played at the Sportsplex or other central location because these are the teams that attract the most coaches and it would benefit the players to be able to tell coaches in advance where they will be playing and it would allow coaches to get more bang for their buck by having all the teams in one central location.
4. Schedule wise I am fine with Saturday or Sunday tournaments but wish the region would not schedule tournaments for the higher divisions on MLK day or President’s Day since so many of the teams play in larger tournaments on these weekends.
Club Policies:
1. The number one issue I’ve seen for most clubs is playing time. I think the region could help with this issue by eliminating all the confusing terms used to classify teams and come up with some standards so parents have an idea of what they are getting into. I also think some rule regarding playing time for the various levels would be helpful. Given the cost of club I personally believe that all players should get to play at least 50% of the time up to the 15s level. This is the most crucial time for skill development and they are still growing and learning. I do think coaches should be able to limit playing time for players who do not attend practices/tournaments or have attitude issues but those who do what they should should get to play. Once you hit 16s I think the playing field changes. Most girls are now at the varsity level and understand the goal of the higher level teams is to win and that often requires putting the best players on the floor. I do think that all players following the rules should get some playing time but I also think that coaches should not be allowed to promise playing time to players prior to try outs and once practices has started players and their parents should be informed of where their player stands in the depth chart.
2. Position switching. From what I’ve seen most teams at the high age groups tend to struggle at certain positions as players start to drop out or realize they aren’t recruitable at the position they’ve been playing. As a result you see a lot of teams where half the players are DSs or OHs which obviously doesn’t work out when it comes time to play. In a perfect world players would be able to play their preferred position but this is not a perfect world so in the real world I think clubs should be required to let players know what position they will be playing (assign each player 2 roles) and set up some type of rotation in situations where there are several players who prefer the same position. Although this won’t eliminate all issues it would at least allow players to know what they are getting into going in.
3. Schedule changes – I’ve heard and experienced this first hand, where you are given a schedule at the beginning of the season that quickly evaporates until you are barely playing once a month and then the fee stays the same. While I am well aware that entry into most tournaments is not guaranteed, I think that any decision by a club to drop a significant number of tournaments or the inability to attend more than one major tournament or to add on additional tournaments, should be discussed with parents and fees should be adjusted accordingly. This is one of several issues that arise during a season where the decision was made based on information presented at the beginning of the season and then there are no remedies to families when these promises don’t pan out.
4. Tryouts – this is just a pipe dream I have but since this board is for discussion purposes it would be wonderful if tryouts could be combined by area so players didn’t have to run from place to place. In this dream scenario players would wear numbers and have some type of color coding to show which clubs they were interested in. Clubs could then evaluate them and then post their offers in a central location. There would also be some way for the club to communicate to parents who want aid what their cost would be if they accept that club’s offer. This would allow for a shorter decision period and would hopefully allow all players to make an informed decision and clubs to finalize their rosters sooner.
5. Practice players – practice players seem to fall into a number of categories but I think the number of practice players in younger age groups in larger areas has been decreased by the growth of developmental and local leagues. For older players there just don’t seem to be the same opportunities, at least in NC. I think it would be great if local leagues were expanded to include older players or if practice players could register as “unaffiliated” which would allow them to work out with different clubs and step in when they were needed. This would be especially helpful to clubs that lose players mid-season due to injury or drop outs.
6. Feedback - It would be wonderful to have some type of forum where parents/players could evaluate the clubs in the region at the end of the season to help newbies in making decisions. I have seen numerous clubs that provide misleading information to potential players that preys on their lack of knowledge about the club system then they end up disappointed or jaded by the experience. This would also force clubs to be more transparent and improve the reputation of club overall.
Tournament Format:
1. Based on past experience I strongly advocate for the four team pool structure. It is simple to understand and makes it easier to determine who should move on to later rounds. It also allows for every team to play at least three games, have a break during the day (1-1.5 hours) and play is finished at a decent hour. While I realize the goal is to allow as many teams to play as possible, I do wish that entries would be accepted in multiples of four and that teams would have the option of playing up or down to balance the numbers. No doubt 1 or 2 teams would not be able to play on a given weekend but overall I think it would eliminate a lot of confusion and frustration.
2. With respect to the East and West divisions, I think this is a great idea and one I actually have suggested in the past. I think the current issue is that the divider is too far East and should be moved to Greensboro.
3. I would also suggest that the Open division be changed to have only one grouping and only include 16s-18s teams. I think that 15s teams aren’t quite at this level but the strongest 16s teams are. I also think this division should be limited to no more than 16 teams but some multiple of 4 in any case. I do agree that this division should combine East and West but I also think that additional tournaments should be available for the lower Pods because many of the 2 teams end up in the lower Pod and they do not always have the heavy schedule that the 1 teams have. My last word on this is that the tournaments should be played at the Sportsplex or other central location because these are the teams that attract the most coaches and it would benefit the players to be able to tell coaches in advance where they will be playing and it would allow coaches to get more bang for their buck by having all the teams in one central location.
4. Schedule wise I am fine with Saturday or Sunday tournaments but wish the region would not schedule tournaments for the higher divisions on MLK day or President’s Day since so many of the teams play in larger tournaments on these weekends.
Club Policies:
1. The number one issue I’ve seen for most clubs is playing time. I think the region could help with this issue by eliminating all the confusing terms used to classify teams and come up with some standards so parents have an idea of what they are getting into. I also think some rule regarding playing time for the various levels would be helpful. Given the cost of club I personally believe that all players should get to play at least 50% of the time up to the 15s level. This is the most crucial time for skill development and they are still growing and learning. I do think coaches should be able to limit playing time for players who do not attend practices/tournaments or have attitude issues but those who do what they should should get to play. Once you hit 16s I think the playing field changes. Most girls are now at the varsity level and understand the goal of the higher level teams is to win and that often requires putting the best players on the floor. I do think that all players following the rules should get some playing time but I also think that coaches should not be allowed to promise playing time to players prior to try outs and once practices has started players and their parents should be informed of where their player stands in the depth chart.
2. Position switching. From what I’ve seen most teams at the high age groups tend to struggle at certain positions as players start to drop out or realize they aren’t recruitable at the position they’ve been playing. As a result you see a lot of teams where half the players are DSs or OHs which obviously doesn’t work out when it comes time to play. In a perfect world players would be able to play their preferred position but this is not a perfect world so in the real world I think clubs should be required to let players know what position they will be playing (assign each player 2 roles) and set up some type of rotation in situations where there are several players who prefer the same position. Although this won’t eliminate all issues it would at least allow players to know what they are getting into going in.
3. Schedule changes – I’ve heard and experienced this first hand, where you are given a schedule at the beginning of the season that quickly evaporates until you are barely playing once a month and then the fee stays the same. While I am well aware that entry into most tournaments is not guaranteed, I think that any decision by a club to drop a significant number of tournaments or the inability to attend more than one major tournament or to add on additional tournaments, should be discussed with parents and fees should be adjusted accordingly. This is one of several issues that arise during a season where the decision was made based on information presented at the beginning of the season and then there are no remedies to families when these promises don’t pan out.
4. Tryouts – this is just a pipe dream I have but since this board is for discussion purposes it would be wonderful if tryouts could be combined by area so players didn’t have to run from place to place. In this dream scenario players would wear numbers and have some type of color coding to show which clubs they were interested in. Clubs could then evaluate them and then post their offers in a central location. There would also be some way for the club to communicate to parents who want aid what their cost would be if they accept that club’s offer. This would allow for a shorter decision period and would hopefully allow all players to make an informed decision and clubs to finalize their rosters sooner.
5. Practice players – practice players seem to fall into a number of categories but I think the number of practice players in younger age groups in larger areas has been decreased by the growth of developmental and local leagues. For older players there just don’t seem to be the same opportunities, at least in NC. I think it would be great if local leagues were expanded to include older players or if practice players could register as “unaffiliated” which would allow them to work out with different clubs and step in when they were needed. This would be especially helpful to clubs that lose players mid-season due to injury or drop outs.
6. Feedback - It would be wonderful to have some type of forum where parents/players could evaluate the clubs in the region at the end of the season to help newbies in making decisions. I have seen numerous clubs that provide misleading information to potential players that preys on their lack of knowledge about the club system then they end up disappointed or jaded by the experience. This would also force clubs to be more transparent and improve the reputation of club overall.