Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Q: What is Club volleyball?
A: Club volleyball is an opportunity for volleyball players of varying abilities to continue their development past the spring high school boys season and fall high school girls season.
Within the Gateway Region website there are many Clubs each consisting of teams of varying age groups. All said, there are at least 5 boys junior club programs within the region. Club Vertical Volleyball is one of three junior boys Clubs in the region that field teams in multiple age divisions ranging between 10-under thru 18-under.
Q: What is Club Vertical Volleyball (CV)?
A: Club Vertical Volleyball (CV) is a junior national club volleyball program for boys and girls that offers programs for Elite/High Ability and Beginning/Developmental players. CV is among the leaders in the St. Louis volleyball community and beyond, with satellite brother and sister programs across the country, as service providers for volleyball development and life enhancement. One of our missions is to create and provide volleyball training and playing opportunities for players of all ages and skill levels. Additionally, we attempt to provide opportunities in geographic areas that are in need of those programs.
Policies set forth by the program's Board of Trustees govern all satellite CV brother and sister programs across the country.
In 2007, CV saw growth for our Club as we provided playing opportunities for over 80 junior male volleyball players ranging in age from 9 to 18 years old. Tryouts are typically in September (15-under, 16-under, 17-under, and 18-under) and October (10-under, 12-under, 13-under, and 14-under). Training camps and Club meetings usually begin in October. High school-age teams (15-under, 16-under, 17-under, and 18-under) teams compete in tournaments from November thru February. They begin skill and team training in October. Grade school to middle school-age teams (10-under thru 14-under) teams compete in tournaments from January through June. They begin skill and team training in November.
Our teams are separated into three (3) categories: National Teams, Regional Teams, and Area County Teams. National Teams are our most talented teams at each age group and they travel extensively throughout the season -- ending their season with either the USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships (JOVC) or similar championship level tournament. The balance of our teams are Regional teams -- they range in skill level from beginner to advanced, compete primarily within the Gateway Region and are the largest part of our Club. For the 2009-2010 junior Club season, CV plans to form multiple National teams, and Regional teams. There will also be Area County teams – both developmental and competitive teams that practice primarily in their County – that comprise teams in the Club.
Q: How do you train skills?
We have divided the age groups into two (2) divisions: The Academy serves 15-under, 16-under, 17-under and 18-under Club members; The Junior School serves 10- and 11-under, 12-under, 13-under, and 14-under Club members. Each division is divided into training Units of equal skill ability to ensure consistency of our training curriculum from one age division to the next: 18’s and 17’s is Unit A; 16’s and 15’s is Unit B; 14’s and 13’s is Unit C; and 10’s and 11’s is Unit D. A training curriculum is implemented to ensure consistency and continuity of skill development, playing, and competition skills from one level and age division to the next.
Q: When will tryouts be held?
A: Tryouts usually take place during the following periods:
· Boys tryouts (high school age athletes) 15-under, 16-under, 17-under, and 18-under age division teams: last weekend of September;
· Boys and Girls (grade school and middle school/junior high school age athletes) tryouts 10-under, 11-under, 12-under, 13-under, and 14-under age division teams: last weekend of October;
Girls (high school age athletes) tryouts 15-under, 16-under, 17-under, and 18-under: weekend prior to Thanksgiving.
Dates and times for tryouts for National Travel teams, Regional Travel teams, and Area County teams are listed on our Tryout Page.
Q: What are the tryouts like?
A: The tryouts for the National Teams and the Regional teams are slightly different. Tryouts for the National teams are more competitive and rigorous, as we are trying to select the best players at each age group.
Tryouts for the Regional teams, while still rigorous, take a little longer -- with so many teams to select. There are more positions available for Regional teams, thus more opportunities for players to find a place within the Club. We typically do volleyball skill-related drills to assess each player's skill level then begin selecting players for teams with multiple game-like drills.
The best way to assess playing skill is through observing and evaluating players in a game-playing environment. Team selection is done by the coach who will coach the team. Players usually get the opportunity to interact and meet the coach that will be coaching them during the season at tryouts.
Throughout the tryout process, the Club Vertical Volleyball (CV) coaching staff performs on-court evaluations of such things as learning attitude, learning curve, effort, ability to communicate, social maturity, competitiveness, potential, and desire.
Q: What are the age group definitions?
A: In a nutshell, it is based on how old your child will be on August 31st of the following year (the calendar year of the Club season). That is the youngest age group players can compete in. Here are the USA Volleyball age definition definitions for 2010-2011.
As a guide, the 18-U division typically contains high school seniors and juniors, the 17-U division is juniors only, the 16-U division consists of high school sophomores and freshmen, the 15-U division consists of freshmen only, the 14-U division is made up of 8th and 7th grade [middle school] students, the 13-U division consists of 7th graders only, the 12-U division contains 6th and 5th grade, Our 10/11-U League will consist of 4th and 5th grade students. The exception will be those students who are young for their grade level, and due to their birth date, can play at a younger division level.
For those that are "old for their grade" or just miss the date as defined by their age group definitions, they must play at AGE level, not at GRADE level. There are very few, if any, exceptions made for those in this category.
Q: How does a player get picked for a particular team?
A: Club Vertical Volleyball assigns players to teams based on a combination of tryout results and team composition needs. The tryout results are determined from the volleyball game competition and also by on-court evaluations by the coaching staff of attitude, effort, ability to communicate, competitiveness, and desire. The team composition needs are determined by each individual coach’s decision as to how many players are needed at each position (setter, middle blocker, outside hitter, libero, etc) with additional consideration given to such factors as physical height, if they are returners to the Club, and where they go to school.
The goal is to assign players to teams where they will have the best chance of individual success and be most capable of making a significant contribution to the team’s success, as well as to meet the needs of the teams to allow for the strongest possible lineup in competition.
Q: How many players are on a team?
A: The number of players on a team ranges from 8 minimum to 10 maximum. The exact number is dependent upon several factors including team composition needs, ability level of players, and number of athletes participating in tryouts. During tryouts, we would typically pick 12 players and one alternate at every position for every team. Once selected, players are asked to make a verbal commitment by Monday at 7:00 PM pursuant to USAV region rules. Once signed, players are committed to the Club for the season and the Club registration process begins.
Q: Who do I contact for questions?
A: For general questions regarding Club Vertical Volleyball, e-mail info@clubverticalvolleyball.org or go to the Contact Us page on our website.
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