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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Club Volleyball

The Arizona Region adds clubs each year. The 2023 season we registered 20 boys clubs and 114 girls clubs that range in size from one - thirty six teams. The clubs are located across the state from the Four Corners area to Yuma with the majority (approx 80%) of them located in the Phoenix metro area. There is a club out there that is right for your son/daughter it is just a matter of finding out which one that is. Before you attend any tryouts, you should do a little homework and find out about several clubs and ask lots of questions. The Region Staff cannot recommend a club for you - nor should we because we don't know everything you are looking for in a club. Listed below are some questions to think about when shopping for a club.

Club Directory by area

What age Division am I in?

USA Volleyball has strict guidelines concerning age. Click the Age Definitions link, plug in your birth date and it will tell you what age division you must play in.

Length of Season

The USA Volleyball annual membership begins on Sept 1 and ends Aug 31. Boys tryouts may begin the 2nd Saturday in August with registration taking place Sept 1 or later. Girls' tryouts may begin in November - the 1st Saturday in November for girls 14 and younger; the 3rd Saturday in November for those in high school. Typically, the clubs will start practicing soon after their tryouts are complete to prepare for the tournament season.  

Boys Tournaments start in September and end in December in the Arizona Region. The teams may travel to qualifying tournaments (Nov - Jan) and end of season tournaments or Junior Nationals (June or July). The high school age boys will break during the HS season and pick up again when school is out if they are going to a season ending tournament. Boys in 8th grade or younger may compete in the AZ Region Boys 14U Spring Season which takes place from March - May.

Girls Tournaments start in January and end in May in the Arizona Region. Season ending tournaments or Junior Nationals will take place in June or July for those teams that extend their season beyond the Arizona Region tournaments. 

What Clubs are out there?

Click on Club Directory for a complete list of all the clubs in the state.

  • Ask several people that play for the school team what club they attended. Were they happy there?
  • Do you want a club that is the closest to your house? Are you willing to travel 30 minutes or more to attend practice - possibly 3 times a week - with a certain club?
  • Does the club offer a team in my age division?

Questions to ask yourself and prospective clubs

Philosophy

  • Know what YOUR philosophy is...what do you want from a club during this season?
  • Are you determined to attend Nationals? Persistent for a club to help you get a scholarship? Are you looking to get better for high school? Are you wanting to play with your friends on a team? You need to know what you are looking for.
  • Ask the Club what THEIR philosophy is. Playing time, travel team, non-travel teams

Cost

  • How much do tryouts cost? Do I have to pay for each tryout or does one fee cover all tryout sessions?
  • How much is due up front once I commit to the club?
  • How is it paid - monthly payments, 1 or 2 installments?
  • Are travel expenses included in the payments or are they separate?
  • Are Nationals or Post-season included? If not, when is that due? Is that refundable if the team does not make it to Post-Season play?
  • What if my son/daughter gets hurt during the season?
  • Is Fundraising available to offset the cost?
  • What player equipment is covered in the cost? shoes? kneepads? socks? jerseys? warm ups? bags?

Members on the team

  • How many players are kept on the team?
  • Is playing time guaranteed?
  • When will the final roster for each team be determined?
  • If the coach and/or team is not consistent with what our family was told before we signed the contract, will we be granted a release and allowed to go to a different club?

Level of Commitment

  • Many players are active in other sports or activities. Try to have a feel for what your schedule might be like in your other activities so you will know if there are any or many conflicts. Always check with the club to see what is tolerated.
  • Very Cooperative - they will work around anything and everything
  • Cooperative within reason - there are a few instances that the club may excuse your for being late or absent.
  • Full Commitment - some clubs expect some or all of their teams to put club volleyball first. They expect you at every practice and every tournament.

Practices

  • How many practices per week? Will this number change preceding a tournament?
  • How long is each practice?
  • Where are the practices located?

Tournaments

  • How many tournaments will we play in each month?
  • How many are in-state tournaments?
  • How many are out-of-state tournaments?

Travel

  • How many "travel" tournaments will the team be attending? Travel most likely means out of state or multi-day tournaments in another part of the state where overnight stay is required
  • How are travel arrangements handled?
  • Does the club offer parent travel?

Coaches

  • How many coaches are staffed per team?
  • What are their qualifications?
  • What happens if my child does not get along with their coach?

Communications

  • How does the club communicate with the Parents/Members? Do they have a web site? Monthly meetings? Newsletters? Handbook?
  • What is the chain of command should my child have an issue? Many clubs want the child to talk to the coach before the parent gets involved. This develops the maturity of the child in dealing with their coaches or teachers.

Other Perks

  • Car Pooling?
  • Club/Team outings throughout the year?
  • Clinics/camps throughout the year?
  • College Recruiting help?
  • Have their own facility?

Attend Club Parent Meetings

These meetings allow the club to present to you what they are all about. It can also give you the opportunity to meet the club director and possibly your son/daughter's potential coach. Here is where you want to ask lots of questions. Some clubs hold meetings before any of their tryouts, some will hold meetings for the parents during the tryouts. If you still have questions, please email or call the directors. They should be happy to answer your questions.

Open House Periods - The AZ Region established a 10 day period prior to tryouts for players to check out different clubs and find the right fit for them prior to tryouts.  The clubs may offer a maximum of 3 sessions in each age group during those 10 days.  The clubs may evaluate the athletes and offer where they think the athlete will fit into their team structure. 

During the Open House Sessions, a club MAY NOT ask or require that you commit to their club, ask for or accept a down payment to hold a spot on their team, prohibit any player from attending another club's Open House session.  

Please realize that any offer prior to the tryout date is non-binding.  They may tell the athlete anything but they don't have to back it up come tryouts.  The same goes for any commitments by a player prior to tryouts - it is non-binding.  If a commitment is offered, it is invalid and should be rejected.

The Open House Period is your time to find the right fit for your athlete.  When the tryout date arrives, most clubs have their tryouts at the same time so you really need to find the club you want to play with regardless of the team offered.

Tryouts

Tryouts for boys' teams may begin the 2nd Saturday of August.  

Tryouts for girls' 14 and younger teams may begin the 1st Saturday in November.

Tryouts for girls 15 and older may begin the 3rd Saturday of November.

Committing to a Club

The AZ Region and USA Volleyball considers a commitment to a club for the entire season. That means that you cannot change clubs in mid season.

The business relationship between a club and a player is outside the purview of the Arizona Region of USA Volleyball. Each club is an independent business whose business arrangements are outside of the Arizona Region. Financial issues between a player and club are to be handled as any other business arrangement - in the Courts. The Arizona Region cannot legally enter into this business arrangement. The Arizona Region does have some regulation as to what clubs can do but not in regards to their business operations with their players.

Please do your homework before committing to a club.

Know the Rules

  • No club director, coach, parent representative may contact a player or their parents a minimum of 8 hours prior to and the duration of a school practice, match or tournament. They are to leave the parents and players alone so that they can concentrate on their school event until after the event is over. Regarding tournaments, that means the entire tournament - not just the play for the day.
  • No club director, coach, parent representative may contact a player or their parents during the High School Quiet Period, which begins with the last day of the AIA regular season and expires when the athlete's team is eliminated from the state tournament.  
  • No club director, coach, parent representative may offer private lessons during the applicable age group's Open House period. By extension during the days where the Open House periods overlap, no private lessons for any age group may be offered.  The “private lessons” were being abused by the clubs to organize teams before tryouts and were also keeping kids from being able to attend other Open House sessions.  Any coach found in violation will result in the affiliated club being fined $300 per person per event.  If the coach is unaffiliated at the time, the club that hires them will be fined.
  • No club may ask anyone to commit to their club before the established tryout dates of the respective club season. Anyone signing a commitment, exchanging money or verbally committing prior to those dates may be sanctioned for the current season - including but not limited to suspension for the entire year. Verbal commitments are not binding before the start dates either.
  • Do not sign a commitment to a club that is longer than one season in duration. USA Volleyball releases all players from their club after the last day of the Junior National Championships each year.
  • Club and/or high school coaches do not all know or understand the rules and regulations of the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) that governs high school sports in Arizona nor the NCAA which governs collegiate sports in the US. They may offer advice that could jeopardize eligibility for further participation in high school or collegiate volleyball teams. Know the recruiting and participation rules of these two very important organizations to avoid any situations.

Summary
No matter if a club has been around for 20 years or just 2 years...no matter if they have 20 teams or just one, there are quality clubs throughout the Region and they all have something to offer. You need to take the time to investigate several clubs to find the right club for your son/daughter.

Discount the badmouthing of one club by another. If one club has to badmouth another club to convince you to join their club, what does that tell you about that club? Is that the type of people that you want to deal with all season?

Beware of clubs promising starting positions, college scholarships or other flattering come-on's. All players in the 12's & 14's should be developed in all positions and not concerned with scholarships. Find out if the club will develop your son/daughter to their potential no matter what their place on the team. Some offers of camp scholarships or other financial arrangements can be a violation of the NCAA or AIA Paid Athlete Policies and would jeopardize your child's status for school or collegiate play.