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FAQ's and Documents

Where are practices held

HOV Facility: 2183 Sunnymeade Road, Rustburg VA 24588

When does season start and how long does it run?

National and Navy practices will start November 28, 2021

Red and White practices will start December 5, 2021

10’s practices will start January 2, 2022

Regional and Club teams conclude March/April, National teams typically continue into late May/June

How often do you practice and when are the practice times?

National: 2-4 times/week

Regional: 2-3 times/week

Club and 10's: 1-2 times/week

How frequent are tournaments?

Tournaments USUALLY occur about 2 times a month on Saturdays. Tournaments are decided upon by the coach and will vary team by team.

Does my child have to plan on the team for which they are selected?

It should be a mutual decision among the parents, the child and the coach. If your child is selected to play on a higher-level travel team, and you don’t wish to make the time and financial commitment, you can elect to have your child play on a lower-level team (with less time and financial commitments) that may be a better fit. However, placement on a lower-level team is not guaranteed.

Can my child tryout for a higher age group?

If a player is interested in trying out for a team one age group higher than their age group, they must meet the eligibility requirements.  In addition, the player is required to attend all sessions of both age groups. See HOV Juniors Tryout Schedule for dates and times. National teams are selected first, followed Regional and then club.

In all cases, requests to try out for a higher age group must be approve by Juniors Travel Director. 

Players may not participate on a team two age groups higher than their playing age.

Exceptions:

Solely at the discretion of HOV, players may be asked to play up one age group in certain situations if their experience allows. For example, HOV may request players to play up to fill out a team roster.

Players 13 and younger may play up more than one age group if selected to participate on a 14-and-under travel team.

Should my child play on a 2's team at HOV or a 1's team at another club?

Each year after tryouts, some athletes may be disappointed when they aren’t selected for the top team in their age group. At HOV, some players view their selection to the second team as a failure. This is not how the coaches see it nor intend it. There are many benefits to playing on the 2’s team — or as we call it “Regional” here at HOV. The benefits of a Regional team may outweigh the benefits of being a part of a National team. Sometimes, the Regional team is a better fit because you can play a larger role. Of course, we think you’ll benefit more from your association with HOV: our coaching reputation, value for your money, college connections, and level of competition just to mention a few. But, don’t take our word for it. The article below does a great job explaining the differences in 1’s and 2’s teams at big competitive clubs. It points out key factors to help you decide what’s best for an athlete looking to advance their skills and play at the next level. HOV is committed to the development of every athlete that plays for us no matter their team level. 

https://jvavolleyball.org/could-playing-2rsquos-team-be-better-fit/

What age group should my child tryout for?

See the age definition chart for which age group your child should try out for.

Is there help with transportation?

Carpools are encouraged with the teams. Parents will generally work together to help get players to practice and tournaments.

Are there any hidden fees or costs that we need to expect?

HOV will provide you with an itemized billing statement of all costs incurred. The estimated season cost includes all the coaching fees, administrative fees, and facility fees. Additional costs that are not included are travel to the tournament city, food, hotel, HOV branded apparel or gear not required and part of the uniform package, and late charges that might be applied to your account when necessary. Other costs that you should consider would be parents’ personal expenses for gas (driving to tournaments) or food for the player to eat, etc. These minimal costs happen in any activity.

Are there payment plans or fundraising opportunities?

As with virtually all youth sports programs, HOV athletes have fundraising requirements when participating in our travel and Youth Volleyball League. Please keep in mind we are a private, nonprofit organization and do not receive any facility support from surrounding municipalities as do many other local youth groups. Additional fundraising may be held on a team-by-team basis. HOV encourages team fundraising to help with costs. Parents interested in fundraising should work with the team parent to discuss team fundraising opportunities.  Fundraising activities must be approved by HOV travel director to ensure they align with our values and do not impact pre-existing sponsor agreements we may have. Parents and older children can also work at HOV to help offset costs. We frequently need staff to work in our concessions or as referees or parent coaches for our leagues.  Check with us to see what opportunities are available.  HOV is happy to work with parents on payment plans when the need arises. Contact prgrams@cvvb.org for assistance.  In addition, we request you apply for financial aid through https://allkidsplay.org/youth-sports-grants/ and then HOV will proceed with their financial review.

How do personal commitments such as church, school and other sports coincide with travel volleyball?

We understand there can be a lot of commitments with a limited amount of time. Depending upon the level being played, it can be tough to do volleyball combined with other activities. The best thing for you to do is to communicate up front with the coaches during tryouts and let them know about any potential conflicts. For our top-level teams (National, Navy) the expectation is that the team comes first above your other activities. For lower level teams (Red, White and 10's) coaches may be more flexible, but missing practices may affect a player’s playing time during tournaments.  If your child is participating in other activities, he or she may want to consider playing on a team with a lower time commitment.

What should I expect from a typical tournament?

Tournaments are held on weekends from January into May (July for National and some Regional teams). Most events begin around 9 A.M. and may finish as late as 9 P.M. Tournament pools and schedules are generally posted on the tournaments’ website or Old Dominion Region website  1-2 days prior to the tournament. On tournament days, players should arrive 1 hour before the first match and should be at the court at least 45 minutes prior to a match. About 30 minutes before game time, the team should be warming up indoors with a volleyball (if space and tournament rules permit).

During the day, each team should stay together and must notify their coach if players leave the site to obtain food. Be aware of the match schedules (i.e. when your team plays, referees/works or rests). The schedule is available at the tournament site. Sometimes, after the last match of pool play, a team which has not qualified for playoffs at a tournament may need to stay and referee one match. Those teams with the least distance traveled to the tournament site will generally officiate. Before leaving the tournament, each team should be considerate and properly dispose of its own trash.

There should be no high school paraphernalia worn at any time. One other note: players are not allowed to wear watches or jewelry during tournaments and will not be allowed to wear them during practice. Further, the club strongly recommends that every player wear knee pads during practices and tournaments.

How do I know if HOV is the right club for me?

Here is an article from Junior Volleyball Association with tips for choosing the right club: Junior Volleyball Association How to Choose a Club

Additionally, when comparing clubs we know that the overall cost is especially concerning. Be sure to consider the education and support provided to coaches as well as the overall volleyball experience for your player.  Not only do our coaches receive coaching education but we also provide training and resources on a number of other topics we believe are important – inclusivity, nutrition, leadership, and more.

When comparing, be sure to also note how many tournaments your child will participate in. Traveling to tournaments is the most expensive part of playing on a travel team. While our overall costs may appear higher on the surface, HOV generally participates in more tournaments than other local clubs. We are always mindful of the cost to parents and make every effort to keep costs as low as possible while allowing your player the opportunity to play lots of competitive volleyball. 

Our philosophy is that every child that wants to play should have that opportunity regardless of family income. We encourage families to seek out All Kids Play sports grant as well as our Juniors Volunteers Program. Additionally, every team has the opportunity to participate in fundraising to help offset the cost for the travel season.

 

 

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