SCHOOL-SPONSORED VOLLEYBALL for girls are mainly in High Schools (grades 9th thru 12th).  It is a selective program run in the fall with tryouts in early August to fill two or three teams: Varsity, Junior Varsity (JV) and often Freshmen.  Immediately after tryouts, teams practice or play 4-6 times a week until school begins and continue after school all the way through playoffs in November.  Matches are typically scheduled twice per week against local schools.  For boys, volleyball is no longer a varsity sport or school-sponsored club.  Instead, it operates through the Northern Virginia High School Boys Volleyball League (NVHSBVL) during the fall season.  Most teams hold tryouts in late summer, practice 2 to 3 times each week after school, and play roughly 2 matches per week against other league teams between mid-September and early November.  For additional information, visit the High School page.

CLUB VOLLEYBALL, also known as Travel Volleyball, offers the most advanced and competitive youth volleyball in the area.  Most girls on high school varsity teams also play club volleyball.  Club teams are available for both girls and boys starting with Elementary School (U11, U12) going through Middle School (U13, U14) and High School (U15, U16, U17, U18).  In Northern Virginia, most clubs are members of the Chesapeake Region (CHRVA) of the USA Volleyball (USAV) governing organization.  Participants must be USAV members and coaches must be certified.  Some clubs are also members of the American Athletics Union (AAU) and/or the Junior Volleyball Association (JVA).

Club volleyball is a two-season commitment: winter and spring (6+ months).  Boy’s tryouts are always in October with girl's  tryouts always in early November.  Teams practice 2 - 3 times per week for about 2 hours in the evenings or on weekends.

The playing season starts in December for boys and January for girls and runs through May or June with teams competing in single-day or multi-day tournaments on weekends 1 - 3 times each month.  Single-day tournaments are usually local within a 1-hour drive.  Some multi-day tournaments are also local but many are outside the region requiring overnight stays.  Tournament days are LONG, running from 7 to 10 hours (no kidding) so this is a commitment for the whole family, not just the player.

Players are expected to attend all practices and tournaments.  Playing time is earned during practices and is never divided up evenly.  Some teams have “practice players” who do not attend matches in exchange for a reduced fee and a chance to attend practices to improve skills and experience.

Teams within clubs are broken down by age.  The table below lists the official CHRVA Junior Age Definitions for the 2020-2021 season.  A few exceptional athletes play up a level, but most stay with their age peers.

The CHRVA region has defined windows when club teams can hold tryouts -- however, for the 2020-2021 season, clubs are not obligated to hold tryouts.  Based on the CHRVA Recruiting Policy for the 2020-2021 season, clubs can make offers to players on the following dates.

• For Boys: Begins October 9, 2020
• For Girls U13 and under: Begins November 1, 2020
• For Girls U14 and over: Begins November 1, 2020

In addition to club websites, you can learn more about tryout dates and times by linking to CHRVA’s official club tryout date page.  Note that the weekend of the tryout period is packed.  Most candidates attend multiple tryouts, so you will need to plan accordingly.

Most teams begin practices as soon as the team is finalized.  For boys, practices begin in late October with tournaments starting after December 1.  For girls, practices begin in late November with tournaments starting after January 1.

There are over 30 volleyball clubs for girls in Northern Virginia, each with its own selection criteria, coaching philosophy, practice facilities and fees.  Some have only one team per age group while others are large enough to support multiple teams per age group.

There are two broad categories of club teams:

• Regional - More inclusive teams that primarily compete in CHRVA tournaments across Northern VA, MD, DE and DC.  The playing season usually ends in April or May shortly after the CHRVA regional tournament.
• Travel/National/Open - More selective teams that play a wider range of tournaments both within the CHRVA region and outside (involving car/bus/plane trips), and compete in Open-level events for a chance to attend the USAV or AAU national tournaments.  These teams generally require a higher level of commitment and have higher fees.  The competitive season typically ends in May or June, but can also stretch into July if attending national tournaments.

Some clubs have both regional and travel/national/open teams.

There are so many dimensions in determining the right club for an individual.  Key factors you may consider include:

• Coaches
• Competitive level
• Commitment
• Playing time
• Player development
• Location
• Cost
• Culture (fun vs serious)
• Recruitment exposure, if planning to play in college

In evaluating clubs, you’ll discover that there is a great deal of variety without easy standards to measure and compare.  Some clubs only target the most elite athletes and coaches, while others are more open to a variety of experiences and skills.  Some clubs  provide a consistent level of services from year-to-year, while others see fluctuation.  Without recommendations from insiders or an exhaustive review of information published on websites, it’s hard to know where to start.

To help you evaluate clubs in an unbiased manner, the next sections list club teams in Northern Virginia using the AES Power Ranking for comparisons.  The ranking indicates how well each club team did at competitive tournaments last season.  The information can help provide a sense of the caliber of players and coaches that may be attracted to the club during the 2019-2020 season.  Clubs with multiple entries in the same age group typically offer separate teams for top talent and emerging talent.

The list also includes the clubs primary practice location.  Although specific facilities are identified, there is a general shortage of available volleyball gyms in the area so teams may end up practicing at other facilities during the long season.

NOT UPDATED FOR 2019-2020 SEASON -- Many Practice Locations Have Changed

So what does "xx of yy" mean?  From the AES Power Ranking, "xx" is the ranking of an individual team based on tournament results and "yy" is the total number of regional teams ranked during the season.  Remember that CHRVA has teams in MD, DC & DE in addition to Northern VA.  Also, "Team Planned" means that the club is holding tryouts to form a possible team for that age group in the upcoming season.

Below are sample schedules for different club teams from the 2017 season.  It should provide a sense of the number and scale of events with corresponding time commitments.

As mentioned earlier, each tournament day can run 7 to 10 hours.  Some multi-day events even have morning and afternoon shifts to accommodate all teams.  For out-of-town tournaments, teams usually travel the day before and return home on the last day of the event.

Club fees vary widely from as low as $1,200 a season to $7,000+ for the most elite clubs.  While that might sound like a lot of money, if you divide that by the hundreds of hours of quality practice/tournament time experienced over the course of a 6+ month long season, it really is worth the investment. Here are some general guidelines to consider:

• Younger teams and regional teams tend to travel less and are less expensive
• Travel/National/Open teams tend to travel more and are more expensive

A majority of clubs are within a $2,000 to $4,000 range (boys are always less).  Club fees pay for uniforms, practice equipment, gym space, coaching expenses, tournament fees, and sometimes hotels for overnight stays.  In most cases at least one parent will accompany his/her player to out-of-town tournaments and those travel/lodging costs are not covered in the player fees.  You can find detailed information (costs and tournament schedules) on club websites.

There are some harsh realities about earning a spot on a club volleyball team:

• Demand is greater than supply.  There are generally not enough club teams to accommodate all the boys and girls interested in playing club volleyball.
• At U13 & U14 tryouts for girls, don’t be surprised to find 25+ candidates competing to fill the 10-12 spots on a team.
• At U15 & U16 tryouts for girls, you’ll likely see 35+ candidates competing to fill 10-12 spots. The higher numbers are due to so many girls coming out of high school Freshman and JV teams.
• There are really not 10-12 spots open on each team.  On average, more than half are already reserved for players returning from the previous season, so the number of openings for those competing at tryouts is actually smaller.
• For girls U12, it’s far less competitive.  There are fewer players attending tryouts (maybe 15+) and very few spots on the team are pre-claimed.
• Ideally, it’d be great to earn a spot on a club team close to home.  However, you should be prepared to travel to wherever the club practices.

Having said all that, if you’re committed, you can optimize your chances of making a team.  Here are some strategies to consider:

• Visit the websites of each local club to learn more about its coaches, coaching philosophy, selection criteria, player expectations, practice facilities and club fees.  Many of the clubs host a “Meet the Coaches” gathering where you can talk directly with club staff to learn more about the team and its coaches.
• Target 1 or 2 clubs, but attend as many tryouts as possible.  Best to have options and choose between multiple offers.
• Of your target clubs, attend as many of their fall leagues, tryout prep clinics and open gyms as you can (START NOW!!).  Get to know the coaches and let them get to know you -- many clubs use this as a way to meet and gain comfort with players before tryouts begin. 
• Attending 3 to 5 tryouts is not uncommon.  With the short tryout period, some clubs hold tryouts around the same time, so you may need to prepare a detailed schedule and drive quickly from one tryout to another.  Some clubs may offer make-up sessions.
• When putting together your tryout list, consider some of the larger clubs such as NVVA, Evolution and Arlington Elite.  With more teams available in each age group, your chances of making one of the teams is greatly increased.
• As the tryouts approach, re-visit club websites to review final details.  Most clubs require you to register in advance and pay a tryout fee.  There will also be forms to fill out and bring to tryouts.  Even before making a team, you’ll have to officially join CHRVA/USA Volleyball to attend tryouts.
• Don’t be intimidated by the number of players at each tryout.  Many are “shopping around” and may not accept offers if given.  So don’t be discouraged if you think you didn’t do as well as others during the tryout.
• During actual tryouts be ON.  Demonstrating strong skills are important, but don’t discount hard work and a positive attitude as influencing factors.  Many coaches are looking for potential and “coachability”, so always listen and do exactly as instructed.

Clubs usually communicate with candidates during the tryout, by email, or by posting tryout numbers on a website.  Candidates typically fall into three categories: (1) in, (2) out and (3) waitlisted.  Because so many players are shopping around clubs, teams usually keep some candidates on a rank-ordered waitlist while they wait to hear back on offers.  It can be a challenging time for those on the waitlist hoping for a chance to say yes.  The waitlist is released once all open spots are filled.

Finally, if you are fortunate enough to receive an offer, take the time to have a full conversation with the head coach to make sure all expectations are clearly communicated and understood.  Also review the CHRVA Juniors Recruiting Policy and FAQs on your rights to respond to an offer.  It’s a big investment of time and money so there’s no need to rush in unprepared.

Good luck!!