Anyone's kids play volleyball?

[ChrisnSteph]

My DD12 wants to play volleyball. She can play on a team through her school during the fall, but if she wants to play year round then we have to put her in a club/league. I recently checked into it and OMG! I didn't realize it would be so expensive. The basic clinic classes, which consist of one practice a week plus 3 tourney a year, is $65 a month. If she advanced and wanted to play on a traveling team, it is $299 a month, plus $280 for the uniform package, plus $999 for the volleyball festival, and other misc. fees! How the heck can the average parents afford that?

She will be a 7th grader soon, and she wants to play volleyball in high school. I feel if we don't get her into a league now, she'll have a very difficult time getting on a team in high school. I had no idea getting on a volleyball team is almost as hard as getting on the cheerleading squad!

So do any of you have kids that play volleyball? Did they just play on a high school team, club, or both? Any advice?

 

[PatsMom]

DD plays volleyball. She started in middle school and played on the school team. She's played for three years in high school We never did any of the private clubs/travel teams because of the expense. She did do a volleyball camp last summer - that was pretty pricey. I think it was somewhere between 500 and 600 for a four day camp (including room and board). She met girls there who play travel and club volleyball and their families do spend big bucks. She wanted to do the club last year but even more than the money was the issue of travel. The practices were about 50 miles away.

 

[Doe]

We are a volleyball family! My husband coaches, refs and plays. My 11 year old is in her first season of club. My 13 yr old is in her 3rd season of club and has played 1 season of 7th grade volleyball. My 15 yr old played 5 yrs of club and 7-9 grade before deciding to focus on school and other activities.

We are very fortunate that where we live club prices pale in comparison to most other areas. For u12 we pay $185 a year which includes 2xweekly practices and 4 tournaments and uniform. Their season is Feb 1 thru April 12. Our U14 pay around $250 a year and includes 2x weekly practices, 6 tournaments, uniform and runs Feb 1 thru April 20. I know of teams just an hour or two away who pay upwards of $1000 to play club volleyball. My girls wouldn't be playing if that was the case here!

I think it is true that girls who play club have a bit of an advantage making the high school teams. The more touches to a volleyball the better a player can become. We've seen that here in our schools but there are usually about 3 players per jv/varsity that do not play club so it is possible.

I would look into your local parks & rec. Sometimes they offer volleyball for that age group without the ridiculous expense. Something my daughters do is we set up a volleyball net in the backyard and they practice with friends. My two like to set and pass back and forth and practice their serving. You could also look into paying a high school/local college player to help her.

Good luck. I think it's sad that some of these clubs are so expensive that it forces parents to go broke paying the fees or discourages girls who have the potential to give up.

 

[crzyred]

I played volleyball in middle school. And then played in High School. Being on a "league" does not guarantee you a spot on the High School team.

My friends and I played on a Saturday morning club league during the off season and that was just for us to keep playing and having fun.

 

[shirleyb]

My DD11 (5th grade, but 5'6") would like to play volleyball after attending a high school match last fall, but I honestly have no idea where to look to even sign her up for a rec league. It's not something they do in our school at the elementary age. She already plays basketball and softball, so if she could find a rec leagle to play in the fall, it would be great.

We don't belong to to the Y, I don't know if they have a league or not.

 

[Darcy03231]

DD# played volleyball at school both in middle and high schools. She went to a local volleyball camp each summer (2 weeks) at $80/wk. During the year after the school season was over she played through a private program that wasn't too expensive. It was $200 every six weeks. They only traveled locally and the $200 included her travel.

 

[castleview]

I had no idea getting on a volleyball team is almost as hard as getting on the cheerleading squad!

You do live in Southern California, don't you? I would imagine volleyball is EXTREMELY competitive there. I'm fortunate to live in area where volleyball is pretty welcoming to any level. Of course, the caliber of play is probably much less than where you are.

If you know anyone who has a child on the high school team, I would ask. I know some people push Pop Warner football around here and say you have to do it if you want to play high school. However, many parents on the high school team will tell you that's baloney.

Good luck with what you do!

 

[schmitty]

You live in Southern California, drop her off at the beach and let her play there. You can get really good at indoor play by playing beach volleyball.
Check out the AVP website for some organizations in your area that host camps if you want specific training.

 

[AprilShowers]

Youngest DD(12) plays club volleyball. This is her first year, and it has been a wonderful experience.
We paid $500 and that included tournament fees, uniform, and all coaches fees, etc.
She's played in 4 or 5 tournaments, and I can SEE her getting better. It's been fun watching them play.

That being said, there's NO WAY we would pay all the $$ you mentioned for her to play club ball. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of our family.

All of the travel is local. No more than 50 or so miles, and that was the farthest out.

She's played Rec League ball for the last 4 years. We have an extremely nice recreation league/center in our town and they have awesome programs for kids. I think it was $20 for her to play a season and that was 7 or 8 weeks.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

You live in Southern California, drop her off at the beach and let her play there. You can get really good at indoor play by playing beach volleyball.
Check out the AVP website for some organizations in your area that host camps if you want specific training.

LOL, if only! We live about an hour from the beach, that's not going to happen!

I had no clue volleyball was so expensive. The only local rec teams I can find are summer programs where it's co-ed, and only for a couple of weeks. I've only been able to find two local clubs/leagues, and both are around the same price ($65-$75 a month). It's crazy! We were told by another volleyball coach that many of the high school spots go to girls with at least a couple of years experience, which is why we're looking into it. It's so disappointing to know that most of spots on a high school sports team go to the kids whose parents can afford to shell out $$$$. We don't have a Y or a Boys and Girls Club (though we're supposed to be getting one in a couple of years).

 

[mylightshines]

My DD12 wants to play volleyball. She can play on a team through her school during the fall, but if she wants to play year round then we have to put her in a club/league. I recently checked into it and OMG! I didn't realize it would be so expensive. The basic clinic classes, which consist of one practice a week plus 3 tourney a year, is $65 a month. If she advanced and wanted to play on a traveling team, it is $299 a month, plus $280 for the uniform package, plus $999 for the volleyball festival, and other misc. fees! How the heck can the average parents afford that?

She will be a 7th grader soon, and she wants to play volleyball in high school. I feel if we don't get her into a league now, she'll have a very difficult time getting on a team in high school. I had no idea getting on a volleyball team is almost as hard as getting on the cheerleading squad!

So do any of you have kids that play volleyball? Did they just play on a high school team, club, or both? Any advice?

My 8th grader does. She played for the middle school during the Fall of her 7th and 8th grade and she plays "club" ball this Spring. Most girls start at 5th or 6th grade playing club ball.

Yes, it is very expensive. We paid $1600 just for her to play (which included uniforms, tournaments, paying the two Varsity coaches and renting the gym for practices). She plays from late January to early May. That doesn't include travel expenses.

Around here, you pretty much have to play club ball (volleyball or softball or even basketball) to even be noticed by college recruits during high school.

My daughter was not a starter for the school this Fall. Tryouts for the high school are in May. Only her and two other girls in her grade are playing club ball. Which means come May, the girls who were the "A" players back in the Fall haven't touched a ball since early October while she's continued playing and getting better and better. Her middle school coach has told us that she expects she'll make the JV team and skip the freshmen team passing over the "starters."