Club Volleyball: What you should know before choosing a club

Should my child do club ball? Which clubs should we try out for?

I get these questions regarding club volleyball all the time. So, I thought I’d share some of my opinions and experiences on the subject.

My opinion comes from personal athletic experience – as an athlete, I went through all the stages of athletic development; as a coach, I witness issues daily; and as a mother, I am always careful and do my research when I am making choices for my child.

The first question I ask parents and athletes is: What are you trying to get out of it?

I think this is a good place to start. Once you’ve got your answers down, see how a particular organization, schedule, coach, or team can help your goals.

Things to consider:

Coaching

Who is the coach? What is their experience or reputation? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does this coach or organization match my child's needs?

Longevity

How long does my child plan on playing volleyball? Many children start volleyball early in their life with a heavy schedule that leads to burn out by the time they're 15 - right when things get more competitive and they can get more exposure.

Mental  
How can a particular organization/coach/team contribute to the proper mental development of my child?

Social
How can a particular organization/coach/team contribute to the proper mental development of my child?

Physical

How can a particular organization/coach/team contribute to the proper physical development of my child?

Technical/Tactical

How can a particular organization/coach/team contribute to the proper technical/tactical development of my child?

Budget

What is our budget? This includes fees, travel, food, stay, gas, tickets, time off work etc.

Time commitment

How does this work with other sports my child is committed to, other extracurriculars, siblings, family schedule?

Environment/culture

Do your research on the environment in which your child will spend a lot of time.

Competition

What is the competition like? How does this match my child’s goals?

Which clubs would I recommend?

General recommendation

For younger athletes, get your skills (all of them) and footwork right first. Play multiple sports as long as you can and develop good motor function and different muscle groups. Work on your ability to move fast, react, and jump.

Many kids get into a single sport and specialize early and this often ends up with the opposite from the desired effect (burnout, injury, or an athlete who is only good at one skill). What I have witnessed over the years is that younger kids (6-8th grade) get exposed to passing or setting only (if they are short) or hitting only (if they are tall). This can be problematic.

For example, kids sign up for playing experience, but because everybody pays, everybody gets to play. So, we end up getting front-row or back-row players that get 2-3 rotations at a time at most, not the 6 rotations a well-rounded player should get.

Later, when their growth stops or accelerates, they find themselves in a situation where they’ve never played a certain position before, which is definitely a setback.

Make sure you are making decisions based on what your child needs, and not based on what the neighborhood thinks your child needs.

It’s hard to recommend a club, as no one shoe fits all. Additionally, what I find to be valuable may not be valuable to you. Lastly, I would hate to make a recommendation only to hear back one had a poor experience. Experiences will always vary from individual to individual and will be based on the goals of the athletes.