Fees cover coaches’ salaries and travel expenses (lodging, airfare, and parking), rental space at the Big House, tournament entry fees for athletes and coaches, player uniform packages, training equipment, AAU and USAV memberships, insurance, and administrative and office expenses.

Fees don’t cover additional athlete equipment (spandex, knee pads, shoes, socks).  Also, our fees don’t cover athlete travel and lodging, or any spectator fees like travel, lodging, or entry into tournaments.

All our communication is done through the BAND app.  If you are not on BAND, please reach out to your coach or the Director, Tom Wagenhauser.

Practices for our Blue and Black-level teams start mid-November.  Practices for our White-level teams start the beginning of December.  Practices will be twice a week.  We will NOT have practice during the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Spring Break (Observed by Lake County Schools)

Our practices combine athletic conditioning, individual skill development, positional play, and team development.  The concept is that we want to develop our players into more well-rounded athletes with higher-level volleyball IQ, and be able to compete at a higher level.

Our white level teams practice for 1.5 hours per session.  Our blue and black level teams practice for 2 hours per session.

Practices are open to spectators but we ask that you kindly obey the Big House rules, do not let children run around unattended, and no sideline coaching.

Yes, we will observe most national holidays.  We will have a week off for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Lake County schools’ spring break.  We will also follow any national holidays as it relates to any specific days that correspond with practice.  All of this will be communicated on the BAND app.

Practices are open to spectators but we ask that you kindly obey the Big House rules, do not let children run around unattended, and no sideline coaching.

The teams practice on Mondays and Wednesdays.  The practice schedule is below and also posted on the BAND app.  The schedule is subject to change.

We will get estimated wave times (either AM or PM waves) approximately 30 – 90 days before the tournament.  This is for informational purposes only and may be subject to change.  Schedules for actual play times are not released until the week of the tournament, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday evening.  All of this information will be posted on BAND as soon as it is available.

Blue and Black-level teams will start practices in November.  White-level teams will start practices in December.

White teams will have their first tournament in January and will have 2-3 tournaments a month, ending in late April.  Tournaments will range from 1-day to 2-day tournaments.

Blue teams will have their first tournament in December and will have 2-3 tournaments a month, ending with AAU Nationals in June or early July.  Tournaments will typically be 2-day events, with occasional 1-day tournaments.

Black teams will have their first tournament in December and will have 1-2 tournaments a month, ending in June with AAU and/or USAV Nationals.  Tournaments will be 2- to 3-day events, and several will be USAV qualifiers.

Not all teams will have AAU Nationals included in the season.  Blue and Black teams will have AAU Nationals included.  White teams do not have the option to go to AAU Nationals.  If a player on a Blue or Black team cannot continue into AAU Nationals, a roster spot will open up and tryouts will be held for that roster spot

We require all our athletes to have black spandex.  The color of knee pads will be determined by the coach.  However, most of the time, athletes prefer to wear white knee pads

We believe that all athletes are unique in their bodies, and the same should hold for shoes.  Not everyone likes the same brand of shoe.  Therefore, we do not require athletes to wear the same brand of shoes.  We do recommend the shoes be comfortable, athletic, and supportive, especially around the ankles.  Low-cut athletic shoes are NOT recommended due to the lack of ankle support.

Ankle injuries are among the most common injuries among volleyball athletes.  If your athlete is going to play in the front row, especially as they get older, they should probably wear some ankle supports.  We recommend that they wear these ONLY during matches and leave them off during practice so that the athlete can work on ankle strength.

I’m glad you asked…

Our white level teams are developmental and therefore, coaches work to get every athlete in to play.  However, play time is never equal (keep reading).

Our blue level teams are more competitive and therefore athletes must work for their spot and play time.  Coaches are encouraged to play all athletes during a tournament weekend.  However, play time is never equal (keep reading).

In either circumstance, when the game is close, or they are going for a championship medal, the coaches are encouraged to make game-time decisions to put their best team on the court.

Play time is never equal.  Play time is based on a bunch of factors, including, but not limited to, the player’s position, number of rotations they are in for, their attitude, effort, and energy, and how well they do both on and off the court.  Are they encouraging to their teammates?  Do they cheer and chant for their fellow teammates?  Or do they have an attitude every time they are pulled off court or make a mistake?  All of these are factors the coach considers when deciding who to put on the court.

If an athlete is unhappy with play time, we ask that the player address this directly with the coach to determine what, if anything, can be done to increase their play time.  Ultimately, it is the coaches decision.  Remember, it is our job as parents to prepare our child for the road, not the road for our child.

Parents, if you are unhappy with playtime, or anything else, we ask that you abide by the 24-hour rule.  Wait for 24-hours after the tournament is complete to communicate with the coach.  This is a strict rule and parents found to violate this rule may be subject to dismissal from the club.  We have zero tolerance for abusive or combative behavior.