How to Choose the Right Team — Not Just the Biggest Club

# How to Choose the Right Team — Not Just the Biggest Club

Tryout season creates a powerful temptation.

Your athlete receives an offer from a recognizable club.

Maybe the club has nationally ranked teams.

Maybe its social media is filled with championships and college commitments.

Maybe everyone in your volleyball community knows the name.

Suddenly, the decision feels easy.

**Take the offer.**

But before you do, there is an important distinction every family should understand:

**Choosing a club and choosing a team are not always the same decision.**

Your athlete isn't going to spend the next six months practicing with a club logo.

She is going to practice with a specific **coach, roster, team, training environment, role, and schedule.**

That is the opportunity you need to evaluate.

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# THE CLUB NAME MATTERS — BUT IT DOESN'T TELL YOU EVERYTHING

Strong volleyball clubs earn their reputations for a reason.

They may have:

• Excellent coaching staffs
• Strong training systems
• Successful teams
• College recruiting connections
• Quality facilities
• Experienced leadership
• Competitive tournament schedules
• Long histories of player development

Those things absolutely matter.

But large clubs can also have many teams within the same age group.

A club might have:

• 15-1
• 15-2
• 15-3
• 15-4
• Regional teams
• Local teams
• Developmental teams

The experience on each one can be completely different.

Different coach.

Different roster.

Different travel.

Different competition.

Different role.

Different developmental opportunities.

So don't stop your evaluation at:

**"She made XYZ Volleyball Club."**

Ask:

**"What exactly did she make at XYZ Volleyball Club?"**

That is a much more useful question.

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# 1. EVALUATE THE ACTUAL COACH

If I could convince families to investigate one thing more carefully during tryout season, it would be this.

**Learn about the coach your athlete will actually play for.**

Not only the club director.

Not only the coach of the top team.

Not only the person running the tryout.

The actual coach.

Your athlete may spend hundreds of hours with this person.

That coach may influence:

• Technique
• Volleyball IQ
• Confidence
• Communication
• Position development
• Role
• Leadership
• Competitive mentality
• Enjoyment of the sport

Ask questions.

What is the coach's background?

How does the coach teach?

How does the coach communicate?

What is the coach's philosophy?

How does the coach handle mistakes?

How does the coach develop players who aren't currently starters?

How does the coach handle conflict?

How does the coach give feedback?

A famous club with the wrong coach for your athlete may not be the best opportunity.

A less recognizable club with an outstanding teacher might be.

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# 2. UNDERSTAND THE ROSTER

The roster matters more than many families realize.

Imagine your athlete is a setter.

**Team A** carries two setters.

**Team B** carries three.

Or perhaps your athlete is an outside hitter.

One team carries four athletes competing primarily at that position.

Another carries three.

That doesn't automatically tell you which team to choose.

But it changes the opportunity.

Ask:

• How many athletes will be on the roster?
• How many athletes are at my player's position?
• Are positions fixed or flexible?
• Will some athletes play multiple positions?
• Are there practice-only players?
• How does the coach typically manage the roster?

You are not asking for guaranteed playing time.

You are trying to understand the environment your athlete is entering.

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# 3. DON'T ASSUME THE HIGHEST TEAM IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT TEAM

Athletes understandably want to make the highest team possible.

There is pride in it.

There is competition in it.

And there can be tremendous developmental value in training every day against athletes who challenge you.

But team number alone doesn't determine development.

Consider this situation.

Your athlete has two opportunities:

OPTION A

A higher team where she may be one of the final players selected at her position.

OPTION B

A slightly lower team where the coach sees her taking on a larger competitive role.

Which should she choose?

There is no automatic answer.

Option A might expose her to better practice competition and push her tremendously.

Option B might provide more game responsibility, leadership opportunities, and repetitions in important moments.

Either could be the better developmental environment.

The key is understanding **what your athlete needs next.**

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# 4. DON'T BE AFRAID OF COMPETITION

There is another side to this conversation.

Families sometimes become so focused on finding playing time that they avoid healthy competition.

That can also limit development.

Your athlete should not necessarily choose the easiest roster.

Being challenged for a position can be valuable.

Competition can teach athletes to:

• Prepare
• Respond to feedback
• Improve weaknesses
• Handle disappointment
• Compete every day
• Earn opportunities
• Stay ready
• Support teammates while competing with them

You don't need to find a team where your athlete is guaranteed to be the best player.

You want an environment where she has a **realistic opportunity to develop and compete.**

There is an important difference between being challenged and being buried.

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# 5. ASK WHAT YOUR ATHLETE WILL ACTUALLY BE LEARNING

Parents understandably look at tournament schedules.

But look at the practice schedule too.

That is where most development happens.

Ask:

What will this team be teaching?

How often will they practice?

How much position training will occur?

Will athletes receive technical feedback?

Will the coach teach volleyball IQ and decision-making?

Will practice progress beyond simply playing six-on-six?

Will athletes learn why things happen?

Will fundamentals continue to be developed?

A strong tournament schedule is valuable.

But tournaments primarily reveal what players can currently do.

**Practice is where coaches help them become capable of doing more.**

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# 6. LOOK AT THE LEVEL OF PRACTICE COMPETITION

Playing time gets most of the attention.

Practice competition deserves more.

Who will your athlete train against several times each week?

For some athletes, joining a stronger roster creates enormous developmental value because every practice requires them to:

• Read faster
• Move faster
• Communicate better
• Execute more precisely
• Compete harder
• Solve more difficult volleyball problems

That matters.

But practice competition only becomes development when it is paired with teaching.

Simply being surrounded by better players does not guarantee improvement.

The environment should both **challenge and teach** your athlete.

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# 7. UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROLE AND VALUE

One of the hardest lessons in competitive sports is that role and value are not always the same thing.

Your athlete may not start.

She may serve.

She may play back row.

She may enter in certain rotations.

She may provide depth.

She may be developing behind an older or more experienced player.

That does not automatically mean the season has no value.

But the athlete should understand:

**What is my role right now?**

And eventually:

**What do I need to improve to earn more responsibility?**

Roles can change.

Players improve.

Lineups evolve.

The important question is whether the environment provides a pathway for growth.

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# 8. LOOK FOR A COACH WHO DEVELOPS THE ENTIRE ROSTER

Watch carefully here.

Some coaches are excellent at coaching their starting lineup.

Great developmental coaches understand that their responsibility extends beyond the six athletes currently on the court.

Ask yourself:

Does this coach continue teaching players who aren't starting?

Do substitutes receive meaningful practice repetitions?

Are developmental players corrected and coached?

Are athletes given opportunities to improve?

Does the coach communicate what players need to work on?

A player cannot be promised equal playing time.

But every athlete should have an opportunity to be **coached.**

Those are not the same thing.

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# 9. CONSIDER THE COMPETITION SCHEDULE

Team designation matters because it often determines where and against whom the team competes.

Understand whether the team will play:

• Local tournaments
• Regional events
• National qualifiers
• Multi-day travel tournaments
• Power leagues
• National championships

Then ask whether that level matches your athlete's current development and goals.

Higher competition can expose weaknesses faster.

That's useful.

But simply entering stronger tournaments does not automatically create development.

The athlete still needs the training necessary to learn from those experiences.

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# 10. DON'T UNDERVALUE RESPONSIBILITY

There is developmental value in being trusted.

An athlete who receives meaningful responsibility may learn things that are difficult to reproduce in drills.

Serving at 14-14.

Passing in a difficult rotation.

Taking an important swing.

Running the offense.

Being responsible for blocking a strong attacker.

Entering after sitting for a set.

Helping the team recover after losing momentum.

Leadership.

Decision-making.

Pressure.

Responsibility creates learning opportunities.

When comparing teams, consider where your athlete might have opportunities to **do difficult things that matter.**

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# 11. BUT DON'T CHASE PLAYING TIME AT ALL COSTS

This is where balance matters.

Choosing a weaker environment solely because an athlete expects to play every point isn't automatically the best developmental decision either.

Development comes from a combination of:

**TRAINING + TEACHING + COMPETITION + OPPORTUNITY + RESPONSIBILITY**

Families should evaluate all five.

A player can develop tremendously while fighting for playing time in a strong environment.

Another player may need more game repetitions and responsibility.

Different athletes need different things at different stages.

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# 12. CONSIDER YOUR ATHLETE'S PERSONALITY

The same coaching environment can affect two athletes differently.

One athlete may thrive with a demanding coach who communicates very directly.

Another may respond better to a coach who teaches with more conversation and explanation.

That does not necessarily make one athlete tougher than the other.

It means athletes are human beings.

Consider:

• How does my athlete respond to correction?
• Does she ask questions?
• Does she need encouragement?
• Is she comfortable competing for a role?
• Does she need more independence?
• Does she need an environment that challenges her confidence?
• How does she respond to pressure?

Good coaching should adapt communication when appropriate while maintaining meaningful standards.

Fit includes the relationship between **how a coach teaches and how an athlete learns.**

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# 13. THINK ABOUT THE ENTIRE SEASON — NOT JUST TRYOUT NIGHT

Tryouts create urgency.

Offers may have deadlines.

Athletes are emotional.

Parents are nervous.

Everyone wants certainty.

But try to imagine February.

March.

April.

You have been driving to practice for months.

Tournament weekends are piling up.

Your athlete has experienced success and disappointment.

Now ask:

Will this still feel like the right environment?

Consider:

• Commute
• Practice schedule
• Travel
• Cost
• School
• Recovery
• Family responsibilities
• Coaching
• Team culture
• Competition

You are not choosing a team for one exciting evening.

You are choosing an environment your family may live inside for much of the year.

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# 14. DON'T LET OTHER FAMILIES MAKE THE DECISION FOR YOU

Tryout season creates comparison.

"Where did she make?"

"What team did they offer her?"

"Everyone is going to this club."

"That player made the 1s."

"Her friend got a national offer."

Be careful.

Another athlete's opportunity tells you very little about what your athlete needs.

Different athletes have different:

• Goals
• Positions
• Skill levels
• Financial situations
• Family schedules
• Coaching needs
• Personalities
• Developmental timelines

The best decision for another family may be completely wrong for yours.

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# 15. ASK THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION

After gathering all the information, come back to one question:

WHERE IS MY ATHLETE MOST LIKELY TO GROW?

Not:

Where will the jersey look most impressive?

Not:

Which team sounds best when someone asks?

Not:

Which club has the most followers?

Not even:

Which team is ranked highest today?

Ask where your athlete can become better.

Better technically.

Better tactically.

Better competitively.

Better emotionally.

Better at communicating.

Better at handling adversity.

Better at taking responsibility.

Better at understanding the game.

That is development.

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# FROM THE SIDELINE

I've seen athletes develop in almost every type of volleyball environment.

I've seen players flourish on nationally competitive teams.

I've also seen athletes make enormous jumps on second and third teams because they found the right coach, received meaningful responsibility, and were challenged in exactly the areas they needed.

And I've seen families chase a team designation or club reputation only to discover that the actual experience wasn't what they expected.

That doesn't mean the club was bad.

Sometimes it simply wasn't the right fit.

**The logo can open the conversation. The actual team should determine the decision.**

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# COACH MIKE DZ'S ADVICE

If your athlete receives multiple offers, compare the opportunities without looking at the club names.

Write down:

**Coach**

Who will actually teach her?

**Roster**

Who is she competing with and how is the team constructed?

**Training**

What will she learn during the week?

**Competition**

What level of volleyball will challenge her?

**Opportunity**

Will she have realistic chances to apply what she is learning?

**Responsibility**

Will she have opportunities to make decisions and compete in meaningful moments?

**Culture**

What kind of teammate and person is this environment encouraging her to become?

**Family Fit**

Can your family realistically sustain the cost, travel, commute, and schedule?

Then put the club names back on the page.

You may see the decision differently.

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# YOUR FAMILY CHALLENGE

If your athlete is considering two or more teams, create a simple comparison.

For each opportunity, answer:

1. Who is the coach?
2. What will my athlete learn?
3. Who is competing at her position?
4. What might her role look like initially?
5. What opportunities exist for that role to grow?
6. How strong will the practice environment be?
7. What competition will the team face?
8. Will the coach develop the entire roster?
9. What responsibilities might my athlete earn?
10. Which environment best matches what she needs **next**?

Then ask your athlete:

**"Where do YOU believe you will become a better volleyball player?"**

Listen carefully to the answer.

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# KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Choosing a club and choosing a team are not always the same decision.
• Evaluate the actual coach your athlete will spend the season with.
• Understand roster size and competition at your athlete's position.
• The highest team is not automatically the best developmental environment.
• Healthy competition for playing time can accelerate development.
• Practice quality matters as much as tournament prestige.
• Every athlete deserves coaching, even when every athlete cannot receive equal playing time.
• Meaningful responsibility can be an important part of development.
• Don't chase playing time at the expense of training and competition.
• Don't chase prestige at the expense of opportunity and fit.
• Consider how your athlete learns and responds to coaching.
• Make the decision for your athlete—not another family.
• Ask where your athlete is most likely to grow.

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KNOW BEFORE YOU COMMIT.

**Don't choose the team that sounds the most impressive.**

Choose the environment that gives your athlete the strongest opportunity to become better.