Volleyball Club Commitment

Volleyball Club Commitment

Club Volleyball Commitment on the

National and Regional Level . . . The

Parent’s . . . Not the Kid’s!

By: Krystal W. Abbott

Does your daughter want to play club volleyball on a national or regional level (i.e., travel)? Before you insist on your daughter being committed to the activity sport, you need to ask yourself as the parent: "am I committed?" Club volleyball is not a recreational, a couple of one hour practices a week, games located up the street, situation. This is a serious time and financial commitment that you as parents MUST be COMPLETELY COMMITTED to seeing through:

* volleyball equipment expense;

* uniform expense;
* travel expense to practice;
* travel expense to tournaments;
* additional semi-private, private and group session practices;

* 5 - 8 hours per week practices, conditioning, and skills training;

* 2 -3 day out of town tournaments 2 - 3 times per month;
* meal expense;
* lodging expense; 
* volleyball tuition expense . . .

Are you tired and broke yet? Can you hang with the volleyball club agenda at the national or regional level? Are you on board? It is not for everyone; and if you as parents cannot support your volleyball player through this journey, don’t do it! If you don’t have the financial resources and the availability to make sure your volleyball player is an active participant on her team, don’t do it! Otherwise, everyone will be stressed out, broke and unhappy and it will be a miserable experience for everyone.

EXCEPTION - There is always an exception, isn’t it!! If your volleyball player has collegiate level potential and she loves the game, you as her parent need to find a way to make this volleyball experience happen for her. You can only do what you can do, but more of an effort needs to be made to make her volleyball dreams a reality. If volleyball is your child’s ticket to getting into college, the time and financial commitment is worth trying to work out (i.e., fund raise, car pool, get other friends and family involved). It takes a village right? Have no shame! It is your child’s future after all . . . So side out for village volleyball and the rewards for you and your volleyball player will be plentiful!