Hi Everyone,
We wanted to share out tournament policies and out of town travel for our club. Please read the entire post. It has tournament policies, requesting meetings and protocols, playing time, phone usage, match/ref time arrivals, etc.
575 Volleyball has two types of out of town tournament policy structures:
Stay to Play Tournaments: These are rooms for National Qualifiers during the season where players rooms are included in their club dues. Players will stay 4 to a room assigned by their coach. While we want players to stay with their teams they are not required to stay in player rooms and may stay with their parents if they decide. There is no financial credit given when staying with their parents for stay to play tournaments.
While players are primarily the responsibility of their parents at all times there are the following rules in place that the club and coaches will adhere to:
Non-Stay to Play Tournaments:
Typically all tournaments are non-stay to play tournaments. Parents are welcome to stay where they want and players will stay with their parents. 575 will provide contract a block of hotels to help teams stay together but they are only offered as an option and not mandatory.
For all tournaments both Stay to Play and Non-Stay to Play families are responsible for all travel to and from the hotel and to and from the tournament.
USAV 4.5.1: …It is forbidden to wear hats or casts (even if padded). Braces, prosthetic limbs or other headgear that may cause an injury or give an artificial advantage to the player must not be worn. If a brace, prosthetic limb, or headgear is used, padding or covering may be necessary. Jewelry may be worn provided its nature does not present a concern for safety, such as extremely long necklaces and/or necklaces with large medallions, or large hoop earrings.
Shirts/spandex with logos or names of other clubs or schools need to be left at home. For practice, only 575 attire or “neutral” shirts on days the team is matching by color, theme, etc. For tournament days, players are to wear their 575 warm up during warm ups, and wear their cover up shorts or pants when not on the court.
Playing time is always a sensitive issue in team sports. The purpose of 575 Volleyball Club's playing time policy is to document and communicate the club-wide guidelines in advance to ensure that those who commit to the Club understand what factors will be used to determine playing time over the course of the season. Our Club has also established a process whereby a player/parent can raise concerns, if they believe the coach is not implementing the policy consistently on their respective team (set forth in the player/parent contract).
Whereas "house"-level sports programs advocate “equal playing time”, our Club does not advocate equal playing time, rather “earned playing time." However, the Club does believe that all players should receive equal training opportunities at practice.
In volleyball, there are four (4) types of games – scrimmages, pool-play, playoffs/medal-brackets, and regionals/qualifiers. All players will receive some playing time during scrimmages and pool play at the discretion of the coach. However, in playoffs/medal-brackets and playoffs or regionals/qualifiers, the factors below will be used to determine playing time:
1. Ability to execute during competition
2. Ability to perform specific skills needed or play a specific position during competition
3. Performance in practice (including skills, attitude and dedication)
4. Attendance/level of commitment to the team
5. Overall contribution, in whatever capacity, to the success of the team
Athletic propensity dictates what position a person plays, her performance in practice dictates how and when she will be used in tournaments. Another factor that may influence court time is how she adds to or distracts from the team's performance as compared to a teammate who plays the same position.
During a tournament (i.e. game-day), coaches are constantly adjusting and evaluating line-ups, which means that some players will receive more court time than others. Players are expected to understand and accept their role as defined by the coach and concede that the collective performance of the collective team has priority over the individual player.
Under no circumstances is it permissible for a parent or player to approach a coach during competition or at a tournament site to discuss playing time. Parents and players are required to wait 24 hours after the last tournament day before initiating any type of communication with a coach regarding playing time issues. If a player is concerned or unclear about her role on the team, she should initiate a meeting with her coach to discuss the matter either before or after practice. Coaches will meet with players during the season to discuss each player's role on the team and to set individual goals.