Club Tryouts (577)

One of my favorite times of the year is club volleyball season, and to start this, there are club tryouts. These can be stressful for some, and not for others. It can be stressful for players to be trying out for a position on a team they would really like to play for, especially I might it is their top pick. A lot of players who tryout will tryout for multiple teams, just in case they don't make their top pick. Personally, I do not get very nervous about things like tryouts and tests. My thinking is that I will give my best effort and not worry about it. 

The first thing a player needs to do is decide which clubs they would consider playing for, and decide which ones they want to try out for. You can either pre-register or be a "walk up" and sign up the day of the tryout. At tryouts you get a preview of the players you are competing with, how the coaches are, and a feel for the gym atmosphere and intensity. The coaches are evaluating you as a player in different ways. They will evaluate your skills, attitude, court IQ, how you connect with the other players, effort level, and anything else they are looking for in a player. 

One of the most stressful, hard decisions in this process is choosing where to play. This is a big decision because where you choose to play includes the players you play with, the coaches who coach you, and the tournaments you go to. These things can affect how you will grow as a player. For example, if you get good coaching, that will improve your skills, and if you go to bigger tournaments and play in harder divisions that will improve your team and give you more exposure to college coaches. Another aspect is recruiting for college. Which club coaches will work the hardest to help you get recruited? Some clubs will even try to convince you to choose them by telling you what players have already committed to that team. 

There are some rules with these tryouts. Some coaches like to get a head start and secure spots for the players they are 100% sure they want to take on their team again, so they ask them to commit early. If you say yes and commit early, then you can only go to that club's tryout, and no one else's. For some, it feels like a weight is lifted off their shoulders since they made the decision early and got it out of the way. If you don't want to commit early, you can say no and you are not completely off the list. If you tryout, you could still make the team and decide then that you want to commit. Another rule with tryouts deals with the overlap of high school volleyball. The rule is that you cannot do any club tryouts until your high school season is over, so if your team qualifies for the state tournament, then those players can't participate in any tryouts until they are done at state. Because of this rule, many clubs offer a third tryout date specifically for the varsity players who make it to state and can't go to the normal tryout dates. 

For many people this is a stressful time where they need to make and important decision, but for others it is and exciting start to club season!