Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club
Background Information
|
Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club |
Background Information |
| Welcome!
If you are reading this you probably are interested in or are playing volleyball. Excellent choice. It's the best sport in the world and it's a lifetime sport if you want it to be. In our part of North Carolina school volleyball happens in the fall, club volleyball in the late fall, winter, spring, and early summer, and there is outdoor volleyball throughout the summer. There are also various clinics, camps, and leagues throughout the year. It is possible for a junior player (high school age and younger) or an adult player (college age and older) to play year round and some people do. Don't let yourself get burned out though. I have met some former high school players who dropped the game after high school because they burned out. There is nothing wrong with finding some better way to spend your time but if you are getting burned out, take a break for six months or a year and then decide whether you can love the game again. The school season gets media coverage and seems to be the period when most bragging rights are established (conference championship, state tournament for high schools, NCAA tournament for colleges). For juniors, the club season can be a time to hone one's skills, an opportunity to be seen by college coaches in the hope of earning a scholarship or invitation, or a place where players who can not fit onto their high school or middle school teams can still learn and play this lifetime game. The summer outdoor season is largely doubles which is a form of the game that favors and forces all-around playing skills. For adults, the club season and outdoor play in the summer are the main playing venues although there are also local leagues of various kinds. Also, the local Recreation and Parks departments run some volleyball activities for both adults and juniors and in some areas there is YMCA volleyball activity. The links below will take you to more detailed background information. Use the links above to see dates, times and places. Club Ball (including age definitions)
|
| Club ball Club volleyball in North Carolina is available for players of all levels - from young or old beginners to the most committed and talented high school and older players. Most starters on competitive high school varsity teams (like those of CHHS and East) play club volleyball. The club teams compete in the Carolina Region of USAV. A "club" is a grouping of one or more teams. Region tournaments are all over the state on Saturdays from early January to late April. The region usually schedules two tournaments per month for all teams. Parents are responsible for transporting players to and from "in-region" tournaments. Some teams in some clubs also compete at tournaments outside the region. Those tournaments end in early July with the USAV junior nationals (in places like Atlanta, Houston, and Salt Lake City). Most juniors clubs are for girls only but there are a few that offer boys teams - CHAVC being one of them. Club ball for juniors is sometimes called "Junior Olympics" or "JO" volleyball. If you are 16 or so and have decided you love the sport and want to be as good as you can be at it and can afford it (and by "afford" I mean both money and time), play USAV in the most competitive juniors club you can qualify for. Be warned though, the most competitive clubs expect a very high level of commitment from players and their families and they play a nearly 7 month season. And they play to win so players must earn playing time. And remember volleyball is a lifetime sport. Don't let yourself be burned out or turned off before you turn 20. If you around 15 or younger and if you have not yet decided you want to dedicate yourself to volleyball, there are plenty of great opportunities for you too. Juniors club tryouts occur in late October and November and
usually
are
posted on the region USAV web site . See Notices
or Tournament
Schedule or check our CVAVC links page above. Clubs have many
different cultures and so look around until you find some that best
meet your
needs. Some are large with multiple teams for each age group
while some have no teams at some age groups. The number of
players
per team and playing time policies can be very different from club to
club. Costs vary widely too. We in CHAVC thnk we offer good
value in the sense of a good amount of training and playing time for
our cost. For older players, the most demanding clubs in this
area
at this time are Triangle Volleyball club, CCVC, NC Challengers, and
Piedmont Triad..
I think for players 15 years old and younger the choice of a
Platinum/Gold/Silver or
Bronze/Copper team (explained below) is more important than which club
they join. At roughly age 16 for girls it is time to have a
family discussion about a player's volleyball goals and how best to
achieve them. Also, be aware of the region's policy about
players being entitled to try out for and consider multiple
clubs. Click here
to jump to it. The tryout period is tense for both players and
coaches so it is tempting for coaches/clubs to put undue pressure on
players about decisions. Some clubs also offer Development teams, camps, or leagues. These teams travel little or not at all and can serve as a less time consuming introduction to the game - especially for younger or inexperienced players. Facts and Figures about clubs: CHHS volleyball teams practice in the fall for roughly 110 hours during the high school season. In addition, the varsity play roughly 110 games and the JV play roughly 50 games. Joining a team or club: As part of joining a team, the
player
and parents must fill out two forms - the Carolina
Region Membership Form and the Junior Medical Release Form. The
main membership form is an on-line form now. If you have some
trouble completing it, you will not be alone. Leave the team
information blank if you don't know it. You can choose
later.
Top CHAVC
Home Review the information about cuts and playing time in the school section above if you have not read it already. Club tryouts are often competitive and even though club teams generally carry fewer players than school teams, playing time can still be an issue. |
| School
ball The single most important fact about high school volleyball is that it starts before school starts. Important Tip: Don't
plan any vacation during August.
Middle school volleyball starts after school starts and college coaches
make sure their players know when their pre-season starts but for
players entering high school the early August tryout date can be an
unpleasant surprise.More formally, varsity and junior varsity high school tryouts start on the date set by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Typically, that's late July or early August a couple of weeks before the start of school. At CHHS, the jv team usually has only freshmen and sophomores and any player can compete for a spot on the varsity. Typically the coaches choose 12 varsity and 12 jv players. Warning: Tryouts are emotionally intense for the players and coaches. At the high schools, twice daily practices start immediately after tryouts. Tips: Have a completed
physical form either on file at the school or with you at the start of
tryouts. Contact your school for a copy of the form or
look in the "Opportunties" section above - free or scheduled
school physicals tend to be in July.
The high school season ends for the junior varsity in mid
October. The varsity continues with the conference tournament (if
there is one) and
then often the state tournament. The state finals are on a
Saturday near November 1. Middle school seasons don't have a well
defined end date and some extend right to and even beyond the high
school state finals.. Top CHAVC Home |
| Cuts and Playing Time A few words about cuts: Any player who does not make a team will probably be disappointed. Here in Chapel Hill the level of volleyball is high compared to some other areas of the state so the coaches regularly cut players who could be members of the varsity teams at many other North Carolina high schools or who would make club teams elsewhere in the state. Being cut does not mean you are a bad player and certainly does not mean there is anything wrong with you. Sometimes it can just be bad luck - for example if you are trying out for a varsity team after only two seniors have graduated or you are trying out for a club team in which most of the players have been playing together for five years. Also, the way the numbers work out can be bad luck too. If a coach is looking to carry 4 outside hitters, 4 middle hitters, 3 setters, and a defensive specialist, and if you are competing with three other players for that single DS spot, you might be very, very good and still not make the team. Remember though, there are other opportunities to learn and play volleyball. The Carolina Region for example has four to five different levels of play for each girl's age group and the region has a strong policy about players having time to try out for multiple teams. There is a section about other opportunities below and you can jump to some specifics by clicking here. Recently a player who was on her high school team her freshman and sophomore years was cut her junior year. She played club ball and tried out again her senior year. She made the team and ended that year with a state championship ring. I am quite certain she is glad she had the determination to keep playing and to try out her senior year. If you get cut and you have decided volleyball is important to you, ask the coach what you need to do to improve your chances of making the team next year. Coaches base their selection on athleticism, skill, attitude, and the needs of the team. Players have some control over three of those four factors. And some words about playing time: When a coach selects a player for a team, it is for a reason and hopefully the coach has a role in mind for that player. If there is good communication between the coach and player and hopefully from either player or coach to the player's parents, then the player and parents are aware of the coach's thinking and can choose whether to be on the team. Also, different organizations and coaches have different policies about playing time. If playing time is important to you, investigate. For CHAVC, our playing time policy is here. Many varsity school teams and highly competitive club teams play their best six or best seven or eight almost all the time. In most volleyball situations, playing time is earned and is not guaranteed. And since volleyball is to a large extent about instinct, reaction, and chemistry, there is sometimes a difference between the six best players and the best six players. The coach may experiment with various lineups to find the best six players to have on the court. Tip: It is always appropriate for a player to
ask a coach what he or she can do to
earn more playing time.
However, pay attention to the timing of
the question - just before, during, and just after a match are bad
times. Also, volleyball is a team sport. Any player who
puts herself ahead of the team should take up billiards or golf.Some advice for parents about playing time: When my daughter was a sophomore, there were two seniors who were setters on her school team. As the third setter on the team,, and a sophomore, she sat on the bench a lot that year. This was frustrating for me and my wife as spectators. There were times when a setter on the floor would make a mistake and I would be sure my daughter would have done better. Maybe so. But with age comes wisdom and I can offer the following observations: 1. High school varsity
teams
practice for roughly 110 hours during a season and they spend roughly
the same amount of time playing matches. Practice and match times
vary widely among club teams but a reasonable guess is that a club team
spends at least half its time practicing. A player who has a well
defined role and feels valuable to the team and who is being treated
evenly
in practice compared to the "starters" may not be bothered much by
bench time
during matches. I know two CHHS graduates who are getting a lot
of bench time at this point in their college careers and both are ok
with it. One says: "They don't need me on the floor this
year but I feel it is an honor to dress out for the matches."
Check with your daughter. If she does not feel too badly about
spending time on the bench, that may help you feel a bit better when
you see her there.
2. Volleyball is the densest of team sports - the six players on the court are closer together than during any of the other team sports. So, team chemistry and communication are even more important in volleyball than in other sports. When my daughter was riding the bench, one or both of those two senior setters was probably a team leader and thereby critical to the success of the team. Volleyball coaches have little opportunity to call plays or actively coach during a match so if a team has an effective floor leader, most coaches will value that characteristic at least has much as her technical skills. Top CHAVC Home |
| Summer
Camps and Other
Opportunities Playing on a team is one way to improve your volleyball skills but there are other ways too. The Chapel Hill YMCA has clinic and playing time every Sunday afternoon. The clinic portion is open to adults and juniors although most of the attendees are middle schoolers. They charge non-members a fee of roughly $4 per visit. The clinic and juniors playing time is on a women's height net. For adult playing time there, the net is split between women's and men's heights. The Carrboro Recreation and Parks departments has drop-in volleyball on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the spring and fall at Culbreth middle school (on a men's height net). Mostly adults play there but varsity level high school players can fit well too. It costs roughly $3 per visit. Carrboro Recreation and Parks has also had clinics and recently a league for 10-13 year old girls. Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation did open gyms for juniors last summer at Rashkis elementary school. Last but not least is Triangle Volleyball Club. They do numerous clinics throughout the year. And then there are the summer camps. Summer camps are mostly aimed at junior girls but some may accept boys. All the local colleges have overnght summer camps. In Chapel Hill, the very popular Lady Tiger Volleyball School is run by the CHHS and East coaches in a day camp format. Orange High School and Cedar Ridge High School have camps. An "invitation only" camp is part of the Carolina Region's High Performance program. To attend that camp, a player must be involved with the High Performance program during the club season. Camps give coaches and players a chance to get to know each other in addition to being timed to help knock the rust off players' skills before tryouts. Top CHAVC Home |
| Vocabulary: Like most sports,
volleyball has
its own jargon.
Top CHAVC
Home
|
| Volleyball
101 What follows is adapted from the June 2005 edition of the drill bulletin of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The author, Steven Heddlesten, gives an overview of five areas of the game sort of from a coach's point of view. I'm not in favor of parents spending much time critiquing their player's techniques - seems to me that's the job of the coaching staff. But Mr. Heddlesten makes some interesting points about how to watch the game. 1. The Serve Volleyball players are taught
there are
six serving zones starting with zone 1 in the right back of the court
(the old server's area) and proceeding counter-clockwise around the
court (zones 2, 3, and 4 are along the net). A varsity level high
school player should be able to serve consistently into any of those
zones. When coaches call the serve, they use a signal
to tell the server where they should serve. One might want to
serve to a weak passer, to a hole in the defense, to a new substitute
who may not be warmed up, to a front row player to keep her out of the
offense, or into the path of the setter as she moves to the net.
If a player can not place the ball in a good place when serving, a
coach might not let her serve.
2. PassingPassing, that is, serve
reception,
determines whether a team can be "in system", that is, can play their
preferred style of game, or whether a team plays "out of system".
One of the main reasons why coaches use a three or four person serve
receive pattern is because doing so allows them to have their best
passers receiving serves almost all the time. Ask your
player where the coach
wants the pass to be placed and how high he or she wants the pass to
be. Then watch how often your player and the team achieve
that perfect pass.
3. The AttackAlthough local newspapers show
only
"kills", a more valuable statistic is "Attack Efficiency" which is the
number of kills minus the number of attack errors divided by the total
number of attempts. Giving a lot of sets to a player who
will kill the ball successfully five times and who will also hit the
ball out of bounds three times and hit the ball into the net
twice does not help the team win a game. Ask your player what the
coach wants a spike approach and
spike to look like. Watch during a match to see whether your
player successfully moves away from the net to get ready to do a spike
approach. Does she use a three or four step approach in her
approach?
Is her elbow high when she hits the ball? Is her hand moving fast
when it contacts the ball and does she have follow-through to her side
or across her body? Does she hit the middle of the ball with an
open hand with her fingers spread? Does she land on both feet
usually well balanced?
4. The BlockAlso, at the high school level and above, when the passing is bad, most sets will go to a left front hitter. So, if your middle or right front player is not getting many sets, look at the team's passing as well as the effectiveness and technique of your player. For most
players,
blocking is a skill they start learning in high school since it is not
usually an important part of the middle school game. Does your
player move to block with her hands high? Does she land balanced
on both feet ready to continue playing? Parents may wonder
why their player does not play the front row. If a player can not
touch above 7' 4" with both hands during a standing jump, there is
little point having her play front row at the high school level since
she will be unable to close off a hitting direction when she attempts
to block.
5. DefenseMost defensive systems require
players
to be in
a "base" position while the opponents do their first touch of the ball
and then require the defenders to move to some other location as
the opponents finish developing their attack. Each player
is responsible for some area of the court and that area varies
depending on where along the net the attack is coming from.
Frequently players are required to find the opponent's hitting lane and
start their defense inside that lane. Ask your player where her
defensive areas are. Doing so is educational for you and helps
reinforce your player. If a player has a defined area to cover
and she is somewhere else when the ball is hit, perhaps because her
middle school reflexes took over, a coach might decide the team is
better off if she does not play back row.
Top CHAVC
Home
|
