What are Valley View VBC's Competitive Goals?  

It is our club's intention to field competitive teams in the 13s through 16s age groups (where age groups are defined by USA Volleyball here). Players will be evaluated by their skill level, not their age. We will field teams based on the number of competitive players who attend tryouts. While we can't guarantee that we will run teams at all age levels, we will do our best to operate as many competitive teams as possible. When 2 teams are formed at the same age division, we will form these teams by the coaches' discretion so they are as closely balanced as possible. 

What is your tryout process?   

At our tryouts, players will be asked to participate in individual and team game-situation drills, as well as in drills to ascertain athletic agility, volleyball skills and knowledge. Coaches will explain and model drills, then expect players to be able to actively participate and adjust play accordingly. As players finish with drills and game play, coaches will meet to determine outcomes. Players will receive a letter of commitment before they leave if the coaches want to offer a team spot. There may be a second tryout to fill any remaining open spots. If your player is asked to attend the second tryout after attending the first, there is no additional fee.

Please note that tryouts are held in a "closed gym"; no spectators are permitted.

How much does it cost? 

VVV works on an extremely tight budget. For 2024-25 our fees are:

U16 team: $2600
U15 teams: $2400
U14 teams: $2275
U13 teams: $1500

Dues may be paid upfront or through a defined payment plan, where payments are due soon after tryouts and continue through March:

Note: The dollar amounts for the U15 and U16 teams are a bit unusual as our payment system forces us to collect payments as exact percentages of the total.

Club fees include the entry fees for regional tournaments, (typically PSR Power League for all teams, plus one regional tournament for U13s, two regional tournaments for U14s, four regional tournaments for U15s, and five regional tournaments for U16s) as well as uniforms, practice court and facility rentals, equipment, coaches’ salaries and administration fees such as insurance. Uniforms include practice t-shirts, game jerseys, a warm-up hoodie and a backpack.

In addition to club fees, you should expect to purchase other items, such as a USAV membership for your player ($80), shoes,  spandex/shorts, knee pads, and travel expenses to regional tournaments.

Where and when do you hold practices?  

Practices are held at Carnation Elementary School (U13 teams) and Tolt Middle School (all other teams) in Carnation, Washington, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Our goal is to provide at least 90 minutes of practice each session for 13s and 14s teams and two hours of practice for the 15s and 16s. Exact times may be modified from time to time depending on facility availability; however, the club's goal is to provide consistent times for each team as much as possible. The latest schedule will always be posted to the website and app calendar as soon as it's available.

Practices begin in early December and continue through mid-May. 

Our practice facilities are operated by our local school districts. If school has to be canceled on a given day (for example, for bad weather), district policy requires that we also cancel or postpone our activity. When that happens, we will make announcements via our website and on social media as soon as possible.

If a player cannot make a given competition, how far in advance must notice be made (other than sickness or injury)?

This includes Spring Break!

We want to know about any conflicts as soon as you know. It is why we have try to have our schedule ready at tryouts.

Is there an emergency plan (in case of injury) in place?  

We always have a minimum of 2 adults at every event. Should an emergency arise we have at least one person to care for the emergency and one to attend to the players.  

What are the expectations of coaches?

Coaches for VVV are all IMPACT (Increased Master and Professional Application of Coaching Theory) and SafeSport trained and certified through the USA Volleyball/ Puget Sound Region. Our coaches will be continuously monitored and mentored. The VVV staff will design practice plans with purpose and the goal that each player will continue to grow and improve their skills throughout the season.

Who is allowed to attend practice?

Parents are welcome to attend practices as spectators; however, no active participation is allowed unless that person has been cleared by USA Volleyball.

What kind of play schedule will teams follow?

13s participate in the Puget Sound Region Power League, which consists of Seeding Day in early January then one weekend day per month, January through April. They also play in the PSR regional championships in Chehalis over two days in late April. 

14s participate in the PSR Power League, the Northwest Junior Jamboree in Yakima, in March, and the PSR regionals.

15s participate in the PSR Power League, the Reindeer Roundup in December, a Presidents' day tournament in February, the Northwest Junior Jamboree in Yakima, in March, and either the PSR regionals or the Willamette Classic to close out the season.

Finally, 16s participate in the PSR Power League, the Reindeer Roundup in December, a Presidents' day tournament in February, the Northwest Junior Jamboree in Yakima, in March, and both the PSR regionals and the Willamette Classic.

How do travel tournaments work?

Travel tournaments are a great way for players to build skills and foster team bonding.

Travel tournaments are either three days (Friday - Sunday) or two days (Saturday - Sunday) in duration. Three-day tournaments sometimes kick off with optional "Queen of the Court" matches on Friday evening. These are strictly for fun and often involve teams outfitting themselves in costumes representing a theme of their choice. The competitive tournament then takes place on Saturday and Sunday.

Matches on Saturday normally start early enough in the morning that consideration should be given to traveling on Friday.

When a team is scheduled to travel to an out-of-town tournament, Valley View will reserve a block of rooms at a nearby hotel. Once the block is reserved, we'll announce availability via the club website and newsletter. We'll also provide further instructions to tell parents how to register their room from the block (or how to inform the club that you don't require a room).

All players, of all ages, must be accompanied by a parent. By advance arrangement with the club, an adult guardian may be designated instead.

What happens when bad weather hits?

The Puget Sound Region (for Power League) or the tournament director will advise the club via email or social media as soon as a decision is made to play, postpone, or cancel a tournament. Valley View will post a notice on the front page of the website and will post in social media as soon as we receive each update.

I'm new to Club Volleyball. What do these terms mean?  

Great question! Check out our Helpful Links page for more generalized resources. 

Here are a few helpful Club Volleyball terms: 

Power League = conference play, consisting of Seeding Day and 4 one-day tournaments around the region. Teams are arranged into flights of 6 to 8, determined during Seeding Day. They then have a chance to move up a flight, stay in their current flight, or move down, according to their placement after each subsequent one-day tournament.

Flights = Sets of 6-8 teams, ranked from top to bottom within an age group, used to create Power League pool play. Flights are further split into 2 pools, ranked top to bottom within each.   

Pool play = morning (and sometimes afternoon) play in a predetermined order, based on seeding. Leads to crossover play in the afternoon (Power League) or bracket play next day (tournaments). 

Crossover play = used to determine movement up or down in Flights for teams in the middle of the rankings after Pool play.

Seeding Day = all teams participate in a one-day tournament in January. Seeding Day is designed to fine-tune the preseason seeding (ranking) of teams in an attempt to ensure equity in level of play as the season progresses. 

Tournament = 1, 2, or 3-day events, consisting of Pool play (sometimes 2 rounds) to determine rankings going into Bracket Play (for championships).

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