Brazos Valley Juniors Lone Star Region USA Volleyball

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1 ! Brazos Valley Juniors Lone Star Region USA Volleyball Mailing Address: P.O. Box College Station, TX Physical Address: 4600 Double Eagle College Station, TX Phone: or Website:

2 Welcome! We hope that the information offered in our Handbook will answer any questions you may have about Brazos Valley Juniors and your daughter s desire to develop her volleyball skills. Please keep the handbook for reference and feel free to share it with your friends that may have an interest in competitive volleyball. Important Dates Date Event October 22 October 29 November 12 November 15 Tryouts for 11 s and 12 s begin Tryouts for 13 s and 14 s begin 1 st practice and Team Meeting for 11 s, 12 s, and 13 s Tryouts for 15 s, 16 s, 17 s begin November 29 Brazos Valley Juniors Board of Directors First practice for 15 s-17 s Teams and practice for all other teams TITLE PERSON PHONE President Stacy Herron stacyherron@aggienetwork.com Vice President Kelly Kelby kkelby@cstx.gov Secretary Lisa Pahl pahl.lisa@gmail.com Treasurer Danny Hancock dehancock.91@gmail.com Parent Rep Mandy Howell mandyhowell00@gmail.com Operations Liaison Jacky Pence brazosvalleyjuniors@gmail.com Staff & Tryout Director Patrick Hazlett aph4yourhealth@verizon.net brazosvalleyjuniors@gmail.com What is Brazos Valley Juniors? Brazos Valley Juniors (BVJ) is a volleyball club that competes in the Lone Star Region of the United States Volleyball Association (USAV). Brazos Valley Juniors is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization as designated by the IRS. Brazos Valley Juniors forms its teams by selecting girls from a tryout process each year to represent the club in tournaments throughout the Lone Star Region, and in some cases, National Qualifiers held outside of our region. Brazos Valley Juniors seeks to improve each player s individual and team volleyball skills while challenging them both mentally and physically. How long has Brazos Valley Juniors been in existence? Junior Olympic volleyball has been in existence in the Brazos Valley for many years as Brazos Valley Juniors began its first season in 1995 under the name Brazos Valley Junior Volleyball Association. In the 2002 season we shortened our name to Brazos Valley Juniors (BVJ). The club had 16 teams in the 2017 season and plans to field teams in the 2018 season. (1)

3 Who can play for Brazos Valley Juniors? Any girl from the ages of 9-18 who has an interest in pursuing volleyball in order to improve her own athletic skills, and thereby improving her chances to contribute significantly on her school team, is welcome to try out for BVJ. In addition, any player that has aspirations to play college volleyball is strongly encouraged to try out for Brazos Valley Juniors. USAV Age Breakdowns for the Season Are As FollowsONS FOR USAV JR VOLLEYBALL 11 and Under born on or after 9/1/ and Under born on or after 9/1/05 and on or before 8/31/06 13 and Under born on or after 9/1/04 and on or before 8/31/05 14 and Under born on or after 9/1/03 and on or before 8/31/04 15 and Under born on or after 9/1/02 and on or before 8/31/03 16 and Under born on or after 9/1/01 and on or before 8/31/02 17 and Under born on or after 9/1/00 and on or before 8/31/01 18 and Under born on or after 9/1/99 and on or before 8/31/00 Can I play other sports while playing for Brazos Valley Juniors? Athletes and their families all have different amounts of scheduling that they can handle comfortably. We can tell you that it is challenging to play 2 or more club sports at the same time. Although practice times may not conflict, there will likely be tournament conflicts sometimes during the spring. Our volleyball players playing school basketball or soccer are normally able to complete those seasons while playing club volleyball without much conflict. High School softball and track are a little tougher to work around, (as many meets/tournaments are on weekends), but we do have athletes in our club that play spring sports for their high school. Please consider this carefully and let your BVJ coach know immediately if you will miss any tournaments. As our teams are purposely not large, we must know if we are going to be short any players. You are making a significant financial and time commitment to Brazos Valley Juniors. We want your daughter and her teammates to get the most possible out of the total experience. How many teams will Brazos Valley Juniors have? We plan to field teams this season. BVJ will select the most competitive teams possible in 11 s-17 s without moving players up. There will be rare instances where a player will play up an age group, but this will not be a standard practice. We have learned that it is better for girls to succeed and lead their own age group, than to be an average player in an older age group. USAV provides tournaments with one-year increments because volleyball players develop so significantly from year to year. We enter quality tournaments that provide strong competition, which will challenge each of our teams. Ultimately, numbers of teams per age group will depend on the numbers of athletes that attend the tryouts. It is in our players best interest for them to play at the highest level, as a team, that they can achieve in their age group. Do Brazos Valley Juniors players from prior years automatically make the team? NO! Each player must tryout each year to earn a spot on a BVJ team. Volleyball continues to grow in popularity and therefore tryouts continue to become more and more competitive. Also, athletes develop differently depending on how hard they work on a sport, the experience they may have gained during their school season, and where they decide to focus their athletic interests. (2)

4 How many players are on a team? For all our teams, our target number is 9-10 players per team. We will have no fewer than 8 and no more than 11 players on each of our teams. If a team begins the season with a different number of players than originally budgeted for, the cost per player will be adjusted to cover club expenses. How are the teams selected? Tryouts are held to determine the skill level of each individual athlete. Whenever more than one team is formed in a specific age level, the teams will be separated by skill level. Regretfully, in most age groups, there may be potential players cut as they did not execute the skills to the level of the girls chosen for the team. Athletes will be selected based on individual skill evaluations, athletic potential, and game-play by Brazos Valley Juniors coaches, based on combined evaluations. Therefore, each athlete must attend a try-out session. Athletes will be evaluated on their performance during the tryouts and how they play with and against others. The decision on team formation is final. Teams will be announced within 24 hours of the conclusion of the final tryout day. In 11 s-14 s, each athlete and her family will have appx. 3 days to pay her deposit on line to accept her spot on the team. If the deposit is not paid by the specified date, the first alternate in that age group will be offered the spot on that team. For 15 s-17 s, the deposit must be paid before the athlete is allowed to tryout. If the athlete is not offered a spot on a BVJ team, then the deposit will be refunded. If a player participates in the tryout, is named to a team and then declines her spot, she will forfeit the deposit. (This policy has been implemented in the best interest of all girls that come to tryout, and to hopefully eliminate the player(s) that just wants to tryout with no intention of accepting a spot on a team.) Once a player commits to participate with Brazos Valley Juniors, she will be responsible for all fees for the entire season. Those players who do not make a Brazos Valley Juniors team will be considered alternates. Alternates will be notified of an available spot only in the event that a player initially selected, chooses not to play and/or does not send in their acceptance deposit within the required timeframe. For a player to be added to a team in need after the season has begun, the player must have attended a tryout, and therefore be an alternate. In the case where there are no alternates available, a player that did not attend the tryout may be eligible to join the lowest level team in that age group. How do tryouts work? Tryouts are structured in a format that allows the evaluators to observe each athlete s current skill level as well as their potential. Almost every activity at the tryouts will be some sort of game-like drill. Athletes will be mixed with different combinations of players and will all have the opportunity for many, many touches. Evaluators will also observe the athlete s court awareness, court movement and their execution of the game skills. After observing all the girls in the same environment playing with and against many different combinations of players, there are things that will definitely stand out and allow the evaluators to place athletes on the team that is best suited to their skill level. There will be 3-5 evaluators per age group, depending on the number of girls trying out. All evaluators input is equal. For 11 s, 12 s and 13 s, the position that the athlete tries out for is not necessarily relevant. Evaluators are looking for overall athleticism, game play, and potential. For 14 s and 15 s, evaluators look for athleticism, game play, potential to improve, and more weight is given to position preference. For 16 s and up, athletes will try out in a certain position, but will also be evaluated in overall game play and performance in addition to athleticism and court IQ. (3)

5 How do Tryouts Work (cont.) Each evaluating coach will have a standard evaluation sheet and will evaluate, based on his or her own ability to measure skill level, using the standards that are listed in the paragraph above. At the conclusion of the first session, the evaluation sheets are turned in to the Staff & Tryout Director. He will then compile the scores, and reissue the evaluation sheets to the evaluators on the second night along with a sheet that shows a compilation of the first night s work of the evaluators. This provides an overview which begins to separate the player s skills and talent according to the combined evaluations. During the second session, the evaluators will observe all the athletes again, and work to place each girl on the appropriate team based on the observations. As the tryouts are concluding, the evaluators may or may not discuss athletes on a bubble from one team to another or being listed as an alternate. Evaluators may also ask the court coaches to see one or more specific athletes versus another athlete as they make their final decisions of team placement. No evaluator s opinion has any more weight than any other evaluator. However, in some instances, the coach of the top team in each age group is permitted to choose the tenth player on their roster as there are often 2 or 3 girls that are fairly equal and the evaluators may be split on that last roster spot. The Staff & Tryout Director may ask the coach to select between those players to finalize their roster. Players in the 15 s-18 s age groups are sometimes asked at tryouts, if they would like to be considered for a position different than what they have indicated during the tryout process. They are asked this question because an athlete (for example) that wants to try out as a setter, may be evaluated as a second or third team setter, but as a first team libero. In those cases, we will ask the player if they would rather make a higher team in any position or a second or third team in their preferred position. While positions are never locked in on a team, the older the team, the more likely the player will play the position that they make the team as, especially on a first or second team. How are Brazos Valley Juniors coaches selected? The Board of Directors recognizes that hiring the right people to coach our players is a top priority in the success of our club and helping junior players in their development. Coaches are chosen based on positive attitude, ability to be a positive role model, playing and coaching background, and ability to interact effectively with others as well as a personal interview. Many of our past coaches are now high school or college coaches in different parts of the country. How long is the BVJ season? Regular season practices will begin in late November/early December and conclude with the Lone Star Regional Championships in late April (12 s-14 s) or the first weekend in May (11 s, 15 s-17 s). Our teams will participate in approximately 2 tournaments per month from January-April with one in December. Should a 11 s-13 s or 17 s National team qualify for the USA Junior National Championships (held in late June/early July), the entry fees and additional expenses of the extended season will be the responsibility of that individual team. 14 National, 15 National and 16 National will attend the USAV National Championships in either a qualified division or in the Patriot Division. The final monthly payment will be on May 1st and all players that commit to the team are expected to participate. When are practices? Brazos Valley Juniors practices are on Sunday afternoons (usually 2-4 or 4-6) and Wednesday evenings (6:30-8:00 and 8:00-9:30). Normally, our younger teams practice first followed by our older teams, however gym space availability can change this. Practice times will be posted on our website for each team. Actual times will be assigned after team formation. When your team has a tournament on Saturday, you normally will not practice on Sunday. (4)

6 Is playing time guaranteed? Players on all teams will be allotted playing time according to the discretion of their coaches. Factors that will be considered are the level of competition, the ability of the athlete, the need of the team, and the importance of the match or tournament. Since we are playing to win during tournaments, an individual s court time may be limited. In practice, playing time in all drills and game-like situations should be equal. When is the best time to talk to my daughter s coach? Please do not engage any coach in conversation during their team s practice time. All our coaches will be glad to come early or stay late to meet with you and/or your daughter for any questions or concerns you may have. Court time is valuable training time that you have paid for and we don t want to reduce that time unnecessarily. Please feel free to call or your coach at any time. Please do not talk to your daughter s coaches about any issues of concern at tournaments. How much does it cost to play for Brazos Valley Juniors? Fees are based on the age level and team as defined in the chart on the last page of this document. Fees for BVJ members can either be paid up front or a payment plan can be used. Fees will be paid through our website by credit card or debit card from your bank account. For any family not paying the fees in full before the season begins, a payment plan can be set up through the website. The payment processor will handle all monthly payments of fees. For a player to be eligible to participate in the first practice, all required player forms and required payments must be complete! When and how do we pay the Fees? The deposit for 11 s-14 s and uniform costs must be paid by the date specified in the invitation . For 15 s-18's the deposit must be paid at time of tryout. If your player makes a team, then the deposit will be credited to your overall fees. If your player does not make a team, then the deposit will be returned to you. If the player makes a team, but declines her spot, then the deposit will not be refunded. All BVJ fees must be paid by the first of the month by credit card or EFT according to the payment schedule set up by the payment processor and the BVJ participant. Fees not paid by the 5th of the month will result in suspension of the player s participation in practices and tournaments until the fees are current. All fees not received by the 5th of the month (by 5:00 pm) that the fees are due will be charged a $50.00 late payment fee. All BVJ members that do not pay in full will be required to turn in a planned payment form notifying us of your intent to pay online via monthly payments. The uniform order and payment must then be received by the date specified in the invitation . After that, there will be a payment due on January 1, February 1, March 1 and April 1. 14, 15, and 16 National will have an additional payment on May 1. (Any 18 s team will have their last payment on March 1). There is a discount for paying in full when you pay all fees with the deposit. Coaches have been instructed not to accept player payments. What happens if we don t pay the fees? If a fee is not collected by the 5th of the month, a late payment fee of $50.00 is added to the outstanding monthly total and the player is suspended from participating in practice or tournaments until the monthly fee and the late payment fee is collected in full. If a player decides to leave her team during the season, then the monthly fees are still due in full. BVJ is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Coaches pay, coaches travel expenses, and tournament fees are divided out equally among the players of each team; therefore, each player is responsible for their full portion once the player accepts their roster spot at the beginning of the season. (5)

7 What about uniforms? Our uniform costs are not built into the fees. We try to use the same uniforms for more than one season (this is the third year for the navy jersey, second year for the red and first year for the white jersey. All players will need a new white jersey.). All returning players will be allowed to keep their same jersey number if they return to the same core team. If they move to a different core team, they may have to choose a new number, if their uniform number is already taken from a prior year player. A complete set of required uniforms plus a backpack for a brand new BVJ player, is approximately $275. All BVJ teams will wear white socks, white kneepads and white shoelaces or black shoelaces in black shoes). Uniform fees will be due with the first deposit for 11 s-14 s and by the date specified for 15 s-18 s in the team announcement info. Please note that the 11 National team will only have two jerseys, the navy and the white, so a full set of required items will cost about $225. We do not require matching shoes on our teams, but do ask that each player wears shoes that are of neutral color. Are there Practice Uniforms? BVJ does not have specific practice uniforms; however our dress code for practices are that each player must wear a shirt with sleeves (no tanks or sleeveless), and spandex or athletic shorts. A team s coach may have additional requirements for their team. What other expenses do we need to consider? Travel to and from practices and tournaments are not covered in your fees. Also, before you can compete in your first tournament, you must go online and register with USAV. The 2018 fee is $45. The majority of our tournaments are in Houston, Austin or Dallas. Some tournaments will require overnight stay. Also, most tournaments charge admission for the spectators over the age of 6. Each player will need her own kneepads. Also, court shoes as opposed to running shoes are highly recommended. Court shoes will provide additional stability for lateral movement that running shoes do not provide. How can I reduce the cost of playing? UIL rules allow any athlete to receive donations from businesses or other contacts. If a player s family does not have the financial means to pay the fees, some hard work asking for sponsors to provide all or part of the fees for a player is encouraged. Any sponsors that the operations liaison is made aware of can be acknowledged on our website. If a company/individual would like to donate to the club or to a particular team, player fees will be reduced proportionately. Any donations made to BVJ by individuals or businesses are tax-deductible as we are a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization. Can I just be a practice player? If you were a prior year BVJ player and have an injury that prevents you from participating in tryouts and/or will prevent you from being able to play the full season, you may be considered as a practice only player. The other option to be a practice only player would be for a player that can t commit to the competitive tournament schedule but would like to participate with a team. In both situations, the player would indicate her interest to the Staff & Tryout Director. The player can then be assigned to a team that matches her skill level (may need to be determined, based on a practice evaluation) and would pay a one-time fee of $475 that would cover her cost to attend practices for the season. This player would not be eligible to compete at tournaments before any player that was initially selected to the team. What is the best way to get information about upcoming tournaments? Brazos Valley Juniors has its own website. It is We will keep it updated with any practice schedule changes and tournament results. Maps/schedules to many of the tournaments will be posted late in the week of the tournament on the hosting club s website. Please utilize the websites provided as we will not provide handouts that may or may not make it home from practice. (6)

8 Do BVJ board members receive payment or any financial benefits? Our Board President, Vice President, Secretary, and Parent Rep are volunteers and receive no compensation for their service. Our Treasurer, Operations Liaison, our Staff and Tryout Director receive a nominal amount for their ongoing, year-round work of managing the club s administrative responsibilities. How can I be more involved in Brazos Valley Juniors? Brazos Valley Juniors board meetings will be held as needed. Parents are welcome to attend these meetings. If you would like to be a Brazos Valley Juniors officer, please let a Board member know of your interest. Board member elections will be held annually at the summer meeting. Stay to Play Almost every multi-day tournament has a Stay to Play policy. As a team and a club, we must participate in this hotel policy to participate in the tournament. Most times, the hotel rates and locations that the tournament has contracted with are very fair and adequate. BVJ has obtained room blocks for most of the tournaments and this will be communicated to each team after team selection. It is highly recommended that you act on this information immediately as the room blocks have early drop dates for any rooms that are not claimed. Player Evaluations In the middle of the season, each Brazos Valley Junior player will receive a written evaluation from their coach that will provide specific feedback regarding the player s strengths and weaknesses. The evaluation will be constructive, but encouraging, and is a definite added bonus to playing with BVJ. Patriot Developmental League BVJ will offer an 8-week Developmental league, called the Patriot League beginning in late January It will be targeted towards 3rd through 5th graders. There will be no tryouts for this league and the format will include approximately an hour of group instruction and approximately an hour of game play each week. The sessions will be held on Monday nights. Registration for this league will open on December 15th. Additional information can be found on our website in December. Social Media We encourage you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Brazos Valley Juniors Feel free to post info and pictures about your team on these sites! We have added a Social Media Coordinator for the 2018 season to help publicize and communicate all the great aspects of BVJ. Why Brazos Valley Juniors? Brazos Valley Juniors is an established, well respected volleyball program in the local community and across the state of Texas. From the success that our teams have had in recent seasons, we have also achieved National recognition for the quality of teams and athletes that wear our uniform. We often have teams qualify for the USA Junior National Championships and in 2016 and 2013, we had teams earn bronze medals on the national stage. Many of our teams each season win tournaments and/or finish in the Gold Bracket of National Qualifiers, Lone Star Regionals, Cross Court Classic, Tour of Texas, and Houston Power League. Brazos Valley Juniors teams play a very competitive, quality Tournament schedule with the goal of every player improving her individual skills. We have had players selected for USA National Training Camps and named to the All - American teams at Nationals. We have also been represented at the USA High Performance Championships by Brazos Valley Juniors players and coaches who were selected to the Lone Star Region All-Star Teams. There are many past BVJ players that have played or are playing in college, and many that received full or partial athletic scholarships. Brazos Valley Juniors is run by a full Advisory Board, so all actions and direction of the club are done in the best interest of each of our players. Brazos Valley Juniors players and staff love the game of volleyball and work hard to provide the best club volleyball opportunities possible for every athlete that proudly wears a Brazos Valley Juniors uniform! (7)

9 Fee Table for 2018 BVJ Season TEAM Number of Tournam ents Target # of players Paying in Full Discounted 2018 Fees If paid in FULL by due date Uniforms must be ordered separately Paying Monthly 2018 Fees If paying Monthly, (by credit card or draft Deposit Due with uniform payment by due date if paying monthly Payment due on first day of Jan. Feb. March, April (and May(14N, 15N, and 16N only). 11 National $1275 $1350 $400 $ National $1775 $1850 $400 $ Mizuno 9 10 $1400 $1475 $400 $ Premier 9 10 $1225 $1300 $400 $ National $1825 $1900 $400 $ Mizuno $1425 $1500 $400 $ Premier $1425 $1500 $400 $ National 13* 10 $2275 $2350 $400 $ Mizuno 11/12 10 $1825 $1900 $400 $ Premier $1375 $1450 $400 $ National 13* 10 $2275 $2350 $400 $ Mizuno $1375 $1450 $400 $ Premier $1375 $1450 $400 $ National 10* 10 $2225 $2300 $400 $ Mizuno 9 10 $1575 $1650 $400 $ National 9 10 $1750 $1825 $400 $356 There are NO Credit card fees added to your transactions. * Players on 14 National, 15 National, and 16 National will be expected to participate at the USAV Junior National Tournament, either qualified, or in the Patriot Division. The fees in the chart INCLUDE Post Season play. * If a team ends up with more or less players than indicated in the chart, price will be adjusted accordingly. * $50.00 late fee will be applied to any payment not received by the 5th of the month that the money is due.