What is club volleyball?

There are open tryouts for team selections after which teams will practice 2 times a week and play a tournament about 2 times a month for 5 - 6 months.

When does the season start?

The tryouts for the 2018 season will take place on October 29 ,2087 for ages U-14 and under and on November 19th for ages U-15 and older. Location is at Westwood Baptist, practices will start the in December.

Where and when are practices?

Most practices will be in our surrounding schools most in the North Thurston Public Schools and churches in Lacey and Olympia Our typical practice days are Monday thru Thursday.  All teams will practice 2x / week for 2 hours.   General practice times are 5:00-9:00pm.

How long does the season last?

The season lasts for 5-7 months. Some teams will  play through the regional championships in late April or  teams choose to finish their season at the Willamette Classic Tournament held over Mother's Day weekend in May.

What are the costs associated with EJVBC? 

EJVBC club costs changes every year depending on practice location and uniform costs. The fees are paid in installments with an initial payment prior to the season start, and several installment billing payments for the balance.  Parents sign a binding written contract between each participant and EJVBC  as well as a commitment letter from PSR.

What happens if I get hurt?

Unfortunately, like any sport, injuries do occur.  Your registration into USA volleyball does provide a secondary insurance coverage, so it is unlikely that there will be any out of pocket costs for medical attention that may be needed.  If you are unable to participate in practice due to your injury our club, policy is to still have you attend practice and be apart of your team.  Bring your books to study if needed!  Our team budget is based on a designated number of players so without being able to replace a player, it is difficult to refund money.  However, many circumstances (like injury) are out of our control and we will certainly do what we can to ease the financial burden on a case by case basis.

Are there any fundraisers offered by the club?

Once teams are formed, the individual teams may organize a fundraiser to help offset cost. All fundraisers must be approved by the Board of Directors, money from the fundraisers will be handled within the team and distributed as the team had agreed upon.  Club will give any support needed on teams or individuals who get sponsors.

What happens at tryouts?

Tryouts are divided by age divisions and they will go through a series of general drills while coaches are evaluating skills.  There will be a lot of live action balls during tryouts, some small group and team wave play.  Players will be moved to different courts during the tryout so that different coaches may evaluate the skills in our efforts to find the best fit and team environment.  In addition to skill evaluation, all staff will also evaluate how a player competes on the court, what type of teammate they are, and the ability to display a positive attitude.  We do make every effort to assist all the players to find a team to compete.  It doesn't make sense to keep more teams than we can facilitate with gyms and qualified coaches.  We will only keep between 9-12 players per team.  Ideally we like 12 but if the skill level cut off or coaches' comfort level varies we can be flexible.

What age group should I tryout for?

Players must attend the tryout for their age as defined by USAV Volleyball.  Age groups are determined by the month and year of the athlete's birth. You can look at the 2018 Season Age Classification Chart

How many tournaments are there?

Teams play approximately 1-2 tournaments a month that is held on a Saturday or Sunday. EJVBC has no control over if tournaments are held on Saturday or Sundays it is all depends on gym availability to the PSR, Our older teams may play in longer tournaments that last the both days.

Where are the tournaments held?

You can expect regional events to be anywhere from Mt. Baker/Bellingham to Kitsap/Olympia area.  The regional tournaments will most likely never have to have teams stay in a hotel (unless you prefer).  Some coaches prefer to play some new teams that are down in longview-kelso area. Inaddion at the end of the season teams that choose to travel to an out of region event and one out of state event like the Willamette Classic at Oregon State University.

How often do we play tournaments?

Teams usually participate in an average 2 tournament days per month over the course of a season -- with February, March, being the heaviest months.   The tournaments are typically played on either Saturday or Sunday, or both. Unfortunately, we cannot avoid Sunday participation.  We respect and appreciate your valued time with family and church but many tournaments and gyms are only available on Sundays. Ultimately, how often you will play in tournaments will depend upon which team you are on.

When will we get tournament playing site information?

The timing for receiving tournament information such as gym location and start times primarily depends upon the respective tournament director.  Due to team cancellations, the tourney schedule is typically not set until the week prior.  Most directors manage to inform the team coach by the Wednesday immediately preceding the weekend's tournament.

What can we expect at a tournament?

Many single day events will start early in the morning and last 8-12 hours.  There will usually be pools of 4 teams on one court for pool play and then bracket play (usually single elimination).  There will be many two day tournaments where a similar format is on the second day.  Players will be expected to come early to warm-up, play and/or officiate throughout the day.  Bringing stuff for the whole day is important as there is not always an opportunity to leave the facility.  Often there are concessions or vendors selling things at the bigger tournaments.  Players usually bring blankets to spread out, while spectators bring fold up chairs to have a place to sit.

IMPORTANT- Teams usually are required to officiate the game following a loss in the championship brackets and ALL team members are required to stay until ALL officiating duties are completed and until released by the coach of the team.  Please respect the gyms and facilities rules, as we are privileged to use them and gym space is very hard to come by.