I signed up for your class / clinic / tryout, but haven’t received an invoice. Am I signed up?
After you fill out a registration form, we need some time to invoice every registration manually. Please allow us a couple of days to process the first set of invoices after we open registration. Once you receive the invoice, you can consider that a confirmation that your registration form was received. And once you pay your invoice, you can consider your registration complete and your spot in our class reserved. If there is an issue with your registration (i.e. the class you signed up for is full), we will email you.
The FAQ section below is mostly for those wanting more information on trying out for our club teams (aka Flash) this season.
What can you tell me about your club? Is Flash a good fit for my daughter? How competitive is your club? I thought you only taught classes?
ABV has been teaching volleyball classes in the east bay since 2014. In 2019, we started our first competitive club team (13u) as an extension of the education we had been providing. What better way to motivate students to learn than to have them compete! In 2021, we recruited more excellent coaches and were able to host a 12u and a 14u team in the NCVA premier league. In 2022, we expanded to 3 teams and competed in both the Premier and Power leagues.
For the 2023-2024 season, we need to scale back a bit to deal with some changes in operations that I discuss on the Director’s Blog. As a result, we are offering 2 teams in the Premier League for girls in the 14u and 13u age division.
We still plan to offer classes throughout the year, but we also see value in providing competitive experiences for our students. We’ve really enjoyed building a fun, positive experience for our community and we are happy to have you consider trying out for Flash in the 2023-2024 season.
Is there a fee for the tryout? What do I need to pay before I tryout?
Note that all tryouts are NCVA events and you will need to register with NCVA and purchase either a tryout pass or a full membership in order to participate in a tryout. The membership is what you pay for when you know you will be participating in the NCVA club season (i.e. committed to a club team). The tryout fee is for participating in tryouts only, so if you make a team after that, you will need to purchase a membership. You only need to purchase one membership or tryout pass for the season. They are good for all clubs you are trying out for!
In addition to paying for the tryout pass, ABV will invoice you $20 (via PayPal) to cover the cost of facility rental and coaching for 2 hours.
What is your tryout process?
We plan on having tryouts the weekend of October 13 - 15, 2023 for girls 14 and under. At tryouts, we sort participants into teams that match their skill level + age eligibility. Then we’ll make offers to players within 24-48 hours after tryouts to confirm your spot on one of our teams.
How do I know what age group my daughter is eligible for? Can she try out for a team that’s above her age?
Please use this chart to determine the teams your daughter is eligible to join.
You are welcome to try out for a team that is above your age definition, but not for one that is below.
How many players will be on a team?
We plan to select between 10 - 14 players for a team.
What is the start and end date of the season?
The club team season will start practices in November then end after the last tournament in May.
How often will practices be?
Currently, we’re looking at having the club teams practice once a week in November - December, then twice a week from January - May. Practices will be 2 hours long.
What days are the games/tournaments?
Tournaments are always on the weekends. One day tournaments usually start at 8am and can end as late as 5pm. Two day tournaments may be broken up into half days starting in the morning or afternoon. Some event tournaments last 2 or 3 days and require some travel. Accommodations will be included in the cost of your club fees for those events.
What is the estimated cost of joining your club team?
This will be determined after we see how many players we have on a team and what level they wish to compete in. In 2021, the cost of our 12u and 14u premier teams were about $1,300 per player. The 12u team added a travel tournament in May, bringing their total cost to $1,700. We are adding more gym time, apparel, and event tournaments this year, so the cost is expected to go up. Competing in the Power league also adds some additional costs (i.e. registration, travel). For the 2022-2023 season, the premier league team cost about $2,500 including travel for the regional finals. The power league team cost around $4,000, which included travel for Far Westerns and Bay View Classic.
For the 2023-2024 season, the premier league teams will cost about $2,400 per person (NOT including travel, which may be an additional cost depending on the location of the multi-day event tournaments).
Is financial assistance available?
Yes, we can try to help reduce the cost of classes and/or club fees. Please use our CONTACT form to let us know more about how we might help you.
What age teams will you have this season? Are you having try outs for girls 15 and over?
The TWO teams we will host for 2023-2024 will both be a mix of 14u and 13u and will compete in the NCVA premier league.
We’re currently focusing on recruiting girls 14 and under because that’s the age of our target audience for classes (based on the class rosters from the spring and summer). For girls 15 and over, tryouts need to be the last weekend of July in order to recruit competitively, and we’re not ready to make a commitment to teams at that time. Please see our links to other local clubs who may have a team for you if you have a daughter looking to compete in one of the 15 and over age groups.
What is the difference between Power League, Premier League, and Non-League?
From another club website:
Power League comprises a series of seven days of tournament plays; a two-day qualifier, three league tournaments, and a two-day end-of-season Regional Championships. Points are awarded based on your team's performance in each tournament, and a running total is maintained for the entire season. For each tournament, the top 12 teams based on their finish in the previous tournament play together in the Gold division, then the second 12 in the Silver division, and so on. Because teams are grouped based on performance, there is usually more travel involved since some teams in each division may be farther away geographically, so the NCVA tries to make it as equitable for everyone as possible. Many times, Power League tournaments will require one to three hour travel by car.
Premier (Area) League comprises a series of seven days of tournament plays; a one-day qualifier, four league tournaments, and a two-day end-of-season Regional Championships. Points are awarded for your team's performance in each tournament, and a running total is kept for the entire season. The main difference between Premier (Area) League and Power League is that Premiere teams are grouped based on geographical preference, not by performance. This means that while Power League teams might see the same teams several times because of similar skill level, Premier (Area) League teams might see each other multiple times based on geographical proximity, regardless of skill level. In general, Premier (Area) League tournaments will not require more than 90 minutes of travel by car.
Non-League tournaments may contain any combination of Power, Premier (Area), and Developmental teams. There’s no consistent pattern of participating teams. This is usually an extra court time for club teams to workout their team’s kink prior to their league tournament.
So in other words, Power league is meant to have your team eventually compete against teams of similar skill and often require a little bit more travel. Premier teams often face teams that are within a certain region and are supposed to be less travel intensive. Nonleague has a different schedule from the other two leagues that starts in December and ends in April and you can face a mix of skill levels depending on what teams sign up each tournament.
What if my son / daughter is interested in volleyball but does not want to participate in or makes it onto the club team?
We plan to have weekly classes for those who are not participating on the competitive teams but still wish to develop their volleyball skills. These classes are open to boys and girls.
Why are there no offerings to make a boys team? Can we do a coed team?
We do not currently have any coaches who are available to coach a boys team nor are we currently able to focus on a co-ed team. Please contact Coach Dave if you’re interested in becoming our Boys Volleyball Coach.