© Little Rock Juniors Volleyball Club 2011 Frequently Asked Questions What is Little Rock Juniors Volleyball Club? What is club volleyball? Why Play Junior Olympic Volleyball? How long is the club season? Do you have a program for those new to club volleyball? When, Where, and How often are practices? When and Where are tournaments held? When are tryouts and how is team placement handled? Will I play the same position that I play in school? How is tournament play time handled? Why do I have to join USA Volleyball before I make a team?  What is Little Rock Juniors Volleyball Club? We are a non profit Junior Olympic organization dedicated to the growth of volleyball in the Central Arkansas area. Developing young athletes ages 9-18 yrs old, to the peak of their ability. Our club is part of the national volleyball program administered by USA Volleyball Association; we participate in local, state and national competitions. Back to Top What is club volleyball?  USA Junior Olympic (JO) Volleyball or Club Volleyball offers athletes the opportunity to play volleyball after their school season. Club Volleyball is an avenue for girls 10 to 18 to play in competitive tournaments and get advanced training. Most JO Club seasons run from November or December until April. A few clubs continue training with their top teams until the National Championships, held in June. Club volleyball provides additional training, knowledge, and tournament play. Players will be placed on a team based on their age and skill level. Most tournaments offer age group divisions 12 - 18. This allows girls to compete against each other in their same age group. Younger players may play up in an older age group, but players are not allowed to play in a younger age group. Each player has a different experience as a club member. Naturally, some players are more successful than are others. Players who put more effort into the program get more out of it. The following are some of the benefits of JO: FITNESS & IMPROVEMENT You will get better! That is a guarantee. Every time you touch the volleyball makes you better than your competition. NEW FRIENDSHIPS  Bringing girls together with similar goals from various schools makes friendships. The relationships that have been formed through practice and team play will be friendships that last a lifetime. EXPOSURE TO COLLEGE RECRUITERS College coaches regularly attend JO tournaments. The majority of colleges now recruit directly from club programs. Remember, if you want to play in college, plan to play club! TOURNAMENT PLAY  JO Tournaments are where the hard practice pays off and many favorable memories are made. Understand that practice and training is where you receive the most instruction and experience. Tournament play is only a supplement to participating in Club. Club tournaments are usually far more competitive and more physically demanding than high school matches. Back to Top Why Play Junior Olympic Volleyball?  Junior Olympic (JO) volleyball programs have exploded all across the country. So successful are JO programs that most college coaches recruit from the JO program ranks. The fact is that if you plan to play in college, club is a MUST! We find that most girls have several goals. Some players want to learn more about the sport, improve their skill level, and get playing time in tournaments. For others, it's simply to extend their school season by 6 months. For others, it may be to challenge starters on their school team for playing time next season. For a few, it will be the exposure needed to compete for future college scholarship opportunities. Today you will find that literally all athletes who play in college participated in club volleyball during high school. All participants enjoy competitive tournament play. Many successful high school coaches are encouraging their athletes to play club volleyball for the experience, instruction, and additional training time. Also, where you find successful high school programs, you will find players who participate in club volleyball. That is a fact! Is JO volleyball only for the college bound athlete? Certainly not! We are interested in building teams in the younger age divisions, as young as 12 and under (ages 10 and 11 and younger are encouraged), athletes who are just beginning their volleyball experience. For most players, JO volleyball is simply another challenging experience that should lead to a lot more fun on the court as playing skills improve. Many girls find that club ball is “their volleyball season” due to the fact that some experience more playing time than during their school season and they find tournament play is very rewarding. It is our firm belief that enrolling your daughter in club will give her the edge she needs to succeed in volleyball in the future. The sport of volleyball is growing in popularity and expanding in its number of players each year. If your daughter is planning on playing volleyball in college or thinks that she might like to play volleyball at the collegiate level, then it is imperative that she plays club, now. We cannot stress this enough! Even if she can only play for one season, that alone will improve her game tremendously. Your daughter might be the best player at her school. If that's true, then great. The unfortunate thing is she always plays with and against people that are not as good as her. She may never be challenged or, even worse, play at a level that is below her potential. If she plays club, she will be playing with girls that are equal to or better than her. This will push her and make her the best player she can be. Back to Top How long is the club season? The USAV season lasts from Nov to July, however most teams conclude their seasons in March or April if they don’t qualify for additional tournaments such as Nationals. Back to Top Do you have a program for those new to volleyball? The Metro team was developed as a concept to reach players that were interested in playing competitive volleyball but want a slightly different program from the “full blown” club program.   The Metro program provides a competitive program at a reduced cost and allows parents to determine their child’s interest level before pursing a club team.  Metro teams are available for age divisions 10 - 15 and formation of teams will depend on the participation and interest level within each age group. There must be at least eight players (of comparable skill level) within the same age division to form a team.  When, Where, and How often are practices? Metro teams practice 2 times a week for 1 1/2 hours each session. Club teams practice 2 times a week for 2 hours each session. Practices are mostly scheduled 5:00 - 9:00 PM, Monday - Friday and may also be scheduled on Saturdays between 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and on Sundays 2:00 - 6:00 PM. Our usual practice locations are the UALR Fieldhouse;  Philander Smith College; and Hall High School, although other facilities may be used. Back to Top When and Where are tournaments held? Metro teams will go to three tournaments in a season and which may include overnight travel to Fort Smith or Memphis for at least one tournament.  Club teams will go to a minimum of five tournaments in a season inside and outside the Delta Region area. Some Club teams may attend more tournaments than others. The Delta Region consists of Arkansas,Tennessee, and Mississippi and while most tournaments are in the Delta region, coaches may want to travel to surrounding areas to be exposed to different regions and better competition. Places we have traveled to in the past are Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida. Coaches will work with parents and the club director to determine a season schedule that suits everyone. Most teams will stay local for half of the tournaments and travel to the other half. Back to Top When are Try-outs and How is team placement handled?  Try-outs are usually held the first week of November at the conclusion of the High School season.  Our coaching staff evaluates each player and makes placement decisions. Teams from previous years are not necessarily kept together, each year talent is re-evaluated. Back to Top Will I play the same position that I play in school? Not always. We may move and train a player to play a different position than they played in school based on the need of the team. On our top teams, you must be willing to play any position. Back to Top How is tournament play time handled? Most parents want or expect their child to play all the time during tournament play. This is the number one problem of clubs throughout the United States. We hope the following will resolve most concerns.  All players should get equal practice time. LRJVC will give NO guarantee of playing time for players on teams. We will offer fair playing time to each team player. Fair is not equal, we will play your daughter as much as possible taking into consideration skill level, competition, position, and attitude. The player and only the player can discuss playing time with a Coach. Do not discuss playing time at a tournament. The time to discuss playing time is at the practice following the tournament. Back to Top Why do I have to join USA Volleyball before I make a team? All USA Volleyball teams in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi are members of the Delta Region of USA Volleyball.  It is a requirement of USA Volleyball and the Delta Region that only players that have registered with USA Volleyball are allowed to participate in any USAV event which includes tryout and evaluation sessions.  Currently the Delta Region USAV membership fee is $50.00 for players completing the on-line registration and $60.00 for players completing a manual paper registration.  For 11 and under the fee is $15.00 and for 8 and under it is FREE.  This fee is paid to the Delta Region and NOT Little Rock Juniors.  Tryout or Evaluation fees paid to LRJ are paid to cover the cost of gym rental and coaching fees.  If you are not selected for a club team, we do not refund any fees associated with joining the USAV.  Players must contact the Delta Region office directly to request any refund for USAV registraton fees.