Club Volleyball FAQs

Club volleyball is a competitive program where players train and compete outside of school teams, often at the highest levels available for juniors volleyball. It provides athletes with opportunities for skill development, tournament play, and exposure to college recruitment. Clubs teams organized by age groups and skill levels, offering structured coaching and travel competition over a 6-7 month season.  

You will be given directions on how to affiliate with SYA Sports, and additional tasks and forms. You will be required to read, agree to terms, and sign and return a contract along with the first payment to lock-in your offer. You will then start receiving various emails regarding club information, as well as team-specific information, such as practice and tournament details. From this point forward both players and parents should carefully read all emails from both the club director and coach right away, as some may be time-sensitive.

No. For every player we offer a place, several others were turned down. Once you accept an offer for one of our teams, you are making a financial commitment. Players will be required to register with SYA and make an initial payment within a designated period of time. If you fail to do this, you risk forfeiting your offer.

Yes. When a player and her parents accept an offer to join a team, they are making a commitment not only to the club and the coach, but also to the other players on the team. Players should take this responsibility seriously and make every effort to attend all practices and tournaments. They will be asked to sign a contract and return with their first payment reflecting their commitment. For a player to develop individually, and for a team to develop as a unit, all players should come to practices and tournaments with a positive attitude and willingness to learn and give their best effort.

Every team is required to provide work teams throughout the day during tournaments. Viewing these tasks in a positive manner, and taking note of the benefits from them, can make a big difference in the time spent performing the duties. As a referee, scorer, or line judge, you have a close-up view of the teams against which you will be competing. You will also be reinforcing your knowledge of the game and, by extension, improving your own skills by observation of both the good and the bad. Players will be assigned to rotate through the duties as long as they have the required certification. Therefore, all players are expected to complete on-line referee and scorer training, and will receive training & information on doing so from the coaches.

Each team’s practice schedule will be posted in the fall, approximately two weeks before the start of the season.

Fairfax County issues permits to SYA to use facilities in the Centreville/Clifton area. Typically a team will practice at the same facility each week with varying locations for weekend games.

Notification of schedules/locations/times will be sent out 1-2 weeks prior to the start of the season (as determined by when we receive permits).

Mobile app, email, etc.

Coaches will determine which tournaments they would like to attend. That decision will also be based upon player availability and tournament availability. As SYA Volleyball Club is accepted into specific tournaments, our web page will be updated.

SYA requires players, parents, and volunteers to complete a Concussion Training program (offered by INOVA) each year. Each player and at least one of her/his parents will be required to complete the training before being allowed to tryout for a travel team. For parents who volunteer as a coach, their Coach Concussion Training will meet the requirement for the parent (parents will not have to complete both the parental Concussion Training and the coach Concussion Training).

For any club team to be successful, it requires the support and engagement of our athletes parents.  Besides just helping transport your child (and/or their teammates) to/from practices and tournaments, there will be volunteer opportunities for a “team parent” to assist the coaching staff with communicating key information, and helping to facilitate team events. Most importantly, your job is to be their biggest cheerleader.  No matter what the scoreboard says, support and encouragement from a parent is one of the most powerful motivators any young athlete can have.  The SYA coaching staff will handle coaching and volleyball instruction…you just need to focus on cheering them on!

For more information on SYA Club Volleyball, please contact our volleyball commissioner, Meet Gill.