A friend runs with these folks:

https://www.catalystvolleyball.org/home


We are a baseball/softball fam so i have nothing to add other than I would absolutely trust these people with my daughter regardless of skill level.

I only have boys but from what I have seen/heard that girls competitive sports (soccer, SB, cheer, dance, VB, etc.) may actually be worse than boys.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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Buford T. Justice said:

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I had a conversation with a parent of a juco baseball player yesterday that will be moving to a Big 12 team next year. He said, "looking back, all of the time and money spent, it wasn't worth it. I wish that he had just gone to college and not played baseball."

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I've heard from college soccer coaches that they'll have scholarship players begging to be cut because they don't want to play anymore. They won't quit because they feel like or have been told that they owe their parents for all the money spent on club/travel soccer.

That is insane.

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That's been my experience, too. Those girls are completely burned out by the time they reach high school graduation. They've been playing soccer since they were 5 or 6, and the last four years were chock-full of club and high school soccer (and conflicts between the two).

All the fun is gone.

ETA: The sad part is that it WAS fun for much of their young careers. They enjoyed it and liked being a part of a team. It just gets to be too much at the end, and many kids -- not all, of course -- decide they want something different.

Its a Ponzi scheme, but what can you do?

Premise: Girl is athletic, and I would like her to play High School Volleyball. In our area, (just like baseball), with competition V-ball club are basically mandatory to make Varsity or JV teams at High School. Competition is tough and you always have to get better, you also have a lot of transfers from other High Schools.

My advice is not important if you have the time and money to support competitive Volleyball. Have fun.

Looking back you should go into it with one of these mindsets:

1) My girl is the best player and will probably play on the Olympic teams. Go all in on the Competitive V-Ball, IF she is that good. It would be fun for her to play and you to watch. However, if her peers start to pass her, or if she stops growing and is really not that tall, or she shows lack of interest to practice on V-Ball (not spend a few hours every day with her friends near a volleyball court), cut back to the non-travel teams or stop competition completely.

2) My girl wants to play High School sports, be part of a team, but I know she is not one of the best 5 players at the school. Join one of the local Competitive teams that do not travel. Saves you time and money and your kid may get to play. Top Travel "national" teams do not guarantee playing time. Nothing like a trip across the country to watch your daughter not play all weekend (flying different from traveling across town to not play). Each tournament also turns into a cry fest for different girls. No one is happy, unless they all get to play.

MAS444 said:

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I just think it's really sad that kids that want to play varsity sports at big high schools absolutely have to take this path. It ain't like it used to be.

I guess the good news for me is neither of my kids are athletic so I don't have to worry about it. But neither was I at the same point in my life...something clicked for me in middle school and I went from "B teams" to A teams and ultimately a varsity starter/captain at a 5A school (back then the highest/biggest level). But sounds like that's impossible now outside of athletic freaks. Sucks.

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It's not usually football where this is the case but in basketball, baseball, volleyball, and softball because they're smaller teams and there's more technical skill required. In football, as long as you're some combination of big enough, strong enough, fast enough, and willing to sacrifice your body with reckless abandon you can be successful.

I know at one HS in our district, you can't even try out for the basketball team unless you run a 5:40 mile. That's the pre-tryout test before you even set foot on the court.

Back in the early 90's in SE Texas, there was a really good high school basketball program that required the completion of a timed five mile run to earn your spot on the team.

Exceptions starting at 6'9"?

bigjag19 said:

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Exceptions starting at 6'9"?

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According to the coach who told me, nope no exceptions.

He said he looks at it as a test of "want to" more than anything. Even former Aggie OL and current Houston Texan, Kenyon Green, who was a 300#, all-district forward had to make the 5:40 mile.

I played basketball. We had to run a sub 6:00 mile at the start of the school year to be on varsity. But the bigger/taller dudes (who were any good anyway) who couldn't do it the first week got to keep trying at increasing :15 intervals every day.

TarponChaser said:

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bigjag19 said:

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Exceptions starting at 6'9"?

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According to the coach who told me, nope no exceptions.

He said he looks at it as a test of "want to" more than anything. Even former Aggie OL and current Houston Texan, Kenyon Green, who was a 300#, all-district forward had to make the 5:40 mile.

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No he didn't. I'm not saying it's impossible. But there's no way.

There are so many positives that come from participating in club sports, especially for girls.

Teamwork, discipline, overcoming disappointments, goal-setting, respect for authority. The biggest one might be a lifetime commitment to fitness, since they learn early on they can run, lift, etc.

If your daughter shows an interest, and you can afford it, I say give it a go.

NoahAg said:

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TarponChaser said:

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bigjag19 said:

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Exceptions starting at 6'9"?

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According to the coach who told me, nope no exceptions.

He said he looks at it as a test of "want to" more than anything. Even former Aggie OL and current Houston Texan, Kenyon Green, who was a 300#, all-district forward had to make the 5:40 mile.

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No he didn't. I'm not saying it's impossible. But there's no way.

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Well, it's what the coach told me and he's the one coaching the team.

Lots of great points here. We have a daughter on a 13u team for a smaller club in north Houston. The coaching comment is 100% valid. She was offered a spot on a lower tier team for a large club and he passed for a spot on higher tier team for a smaller club. With that came more attention and a much better coach. We played the team she passed on and destroyed them. They were clearly not as well coached.

The time and monetary commitment is real but my daughter loves being part of the team/competing, it's a very supportive environment, and her confidence has soared. The travel element has allowed us to take some unique family trips and honestly all the parents hang out so there is a social aspect we have enjoyed.

It's not for everyone but as long as it remains a supportive environment and she's enjoying it the time and cost is worth it.

NoahAg said:

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TarponChaser said:

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bigjag19 said:

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Exceptions starting at 6'9"?

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According to the coach who told me, nope no exceptions.

He said he looks at it as a test of "want to" more than anything. Even former Aggie OL and current Houston Texan, Kenyon Green, who was a 300#, all-district forward had to make the 5:40 mile.

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No he didn't. I'm not saying it's impossible. But there's no way.

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Yeah, seems like an urban legend. And if a 300 lb dude really did it, it had to be some historically great athlete like Larry Allen or Green. I ran a 5:54 in HS at 5'8" 135 lb, because the coach said we had to run under 6 to make the team. So I trained for it over Xmas break. Turns out he was just BSing us and never actually timed it. Stupid me for trusting my coach. Anyway, I ran a 5:49 in my mid-20's, and a 5:54 2 years ago at age 50 after training for 3 years.

So, ain't no 300# kids running 5:40 miles.

Just a bunch of fat tub coaches browsing the internet who have no clue how impossible that is for someone that size.

And I have a college middle distance runner and a HS XC boy in my house. He's been working his butt off for 3 years and still hasn't broken 5. He's built more like a 400/800 runner, like 135 kbs with muscle. 5:40 is a very pedestrian mile for a HS runner, but it's a massive achievement that takes a lot of training for non-runner athletes.

Surely there are some good travel v-ball stories where the moms turn into raging sloots. That's the part of the this thread I'm interested in.

Al Bula said:

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Surely there are some good travel v-ball stories where the moms turn into raging sloots. That's the part of the this thread I'm interested in.

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So, we talkin' dance mom level here, but maybe like 5'9" tall? Yeah, that seems interesting.

Al Bula said:

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Surely there are some good travel v-ball stories where the moms turn into raging sloots. That's the part of the this thread I'm interested in.

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There's a massive tournament at the GRB every year. Post up at the marquis or Hilton and you'll see it.