Please recruit her.

Just kidding.

I'm actually looking for a way to support her best. She played on the "Go" team this year in seventh grade and was one of the better players, although "go" team is basically everyone who didn't make A or B team. She also takes it seriously and will practice on her own outside the house. We have started watching games on TV.

I know like most sports, volleyball is competitive and I'm trying to find a way to get her on a small club team or something where she can get more exposure and grow/develop. I don't want to put a lot of pressure on her but just want to support her interests so she know her dad has her back.

What is the best way for her to get better and learn more. I feel like the school teams isn't going to give you the best chance to grow.

We live in San Antonio by the way.

Howdy. I'm not an expert but she is young and this is the time to try various sports or drill team or others. Suggest to her to try several sports and if she is locked into one, then that's the time to join a club team and perhaps extra individual lessons. Most kids playing high school come up thru club training. Yes, I know that is very expensive and time consuming for parents. That's just how it is now. Good luck to you and your daughter.

PatB

depending where you live, your daughter could be way behind already. Certain middle schools near me in Round Rock girls have already been playing club ball for 2-3 years, some national travel ball. Basically if you aren't in club ball, you don't have a spot. It's an incredibly popular sport right now.

It doesn't mean your kid can't catch up but it will take some commitment in time and lots of money.

Several good clubs in San Antonio. If she is serious, don't go to any tiny club. There could be good coaches there but most are pretty terrible unless you are on the top team. It really depends how serious you want to get into it.

If she finds herself on a top team, start budgeting about $10k per year. . Actually probably more now. It's been a few years.

flintdragon said:

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depending where you live, your daughter could be way behind already. Certain middle schools near me in Round Rock girls have already been playing club ball for 2-3 years, some national travel ball. Basically if you aren't in club ball, you don't have a spot. It's an incredibly popular sport right now.

It doesn't mean your kid can't catch up but it will take some commitment in time and lots of money.

Several good clubs in San Antonio. If she is serious, don't go to any tiny club. There could be good coaches there but most are pretty terrible unless you are on the top team. It really depends how serious you want to get into it.

If she finds herself on a top team, start budgeting about $10k per year. . Actually probably more now. It's been a few years.

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Our dues alone are about $5k. Not including travel, food and hotels. We have tournaments in Indianapolis, Orlando, STL, KC and Memphis. Luckily, all are driveable for us besides Orlando.

yep. we were close to 6k dues when we stopped. one season had 23 hotel nights at pricey rates since we were part of a large club.

We're lucky to have friends and relatives in KC, STL and Memphis. We also have 2 tournaments in the city we live and 2 in the Little Rock area so no hotels will be required.

Familiarize yourself with the stay to play tournament rules.

My daughter is playing in college right now. I never added up the cost of her club seasons, but it was+/- $20k each year. Can be cheaper depending on travel (driving, both parents, available airlines, etc), activities at the location, etc.

In my experience, you can PLAY through high school without club if you are in a place with a mediocre program. My daughter's high school was all high level, one sport, club players. I believe anyone can even find a place to join a roster in college (lots of D3 and NAIA teams). But if your daughter wants to play good and competitive volleyball, highly unlikely without good club ball commitment. I have watched lots of very talented players riding the pine over the years, and it's only getting more competitive as popularity grows.

It's a fantastic sport, but make sure your commitment supports your goals. My assessment of current college volleyball.. D1 is a mixed bag regarding talent, but it starts with height and ends with talent, which declines rapidly from Texas a&m to Houston Christian (for example). D2 is height, with next tier talent (oftentimes low talent). D3 is vertically challenged, high talent players at the top... Shorter/average at best talent at the bottom.

NAIA and Juco are all over the place.

Good luck.. it's fun if you have success but it's eventually heart breaking to many. I've witnessed very few girls quit the sport on a high note.

Yup, need to assess what your daughter and family really want out of the sport. If she wants to just have fun, costs are ok. If she is good and internally competitive, have to factor in travel as well as private coaching. Good coaches are $150/hr.

As cjsag94 mentioned, my daughter is vertically challenged so D3 was the way to go. Since high academics are also very important to my family, our choice for D3 schools was very slim. Luckily we found a spot for her and I'm pretty sure the amount of academic scholarship was affected by her being on the team. We probably broke even in the end.

Some kids used sports to get into schools they probably couldn't get into, which is awesome for them. But others were so blinded that they went to crap schools just to play. There are really bad D3 schools and most D2 schools are terrible.

Every family is different so make wise decisions. In the end, enjoy the journey and find joy in watching your kid play. So many parents never found that which is sad.

Ha ha, I was about to say that if you have the funds to bankroll it, sign her up with a club team (several of them in SA). We spent tens of thousands of dollars on our two daughters playing club ball (for ten straight years). I never totaled up what we spent over all those years, I was always too scared to. Lots of great memories, though.

It's me again with another inside to girls' sports. My granddaughter played soccer from age 8 thru high school and club teams. When it came time for college she decided on a top college for education plus the opportunity to continue with soccer. Total package: D-3, college life, sport, fantastic education.