Do you aspire to step into your next level as a collegiate volleyball player? Are you unsure if playing travel ball is the right next step for you to take? Maybe having doubts, wondering what the actual benefit of investing money to join in on an off-season team will be? Then you have come to the right place!
Don’t get me wrong, playing in-season volleyball at your local school is extremely important. However, jumping on the opportunity to play club ball is always a great tool to add into your training.
Joining a travel team gives you the opportunity to gain additional time on the volleyball court and also lots of experience in numerous competitive situations. If you build on loads of weekly practices and tournaments, you could obtain eighty plus hours or more of court time.
Depending on the level of the team, amounts traveled and overall success you will have anywhere from forty to fifty or more matches. The average high school season is around twenty to forty matches total, so mathematically this is like playing a whole season in the off-season.
Playing club is truly a game changer not only in court time but also in growing your skills and communication. In addition, this widens the spectrum of scouts you’ll be seen by. College coaches are at a lot of the national qualifier and showcase tournaments plus do most of their recruiting during the club seasons.
If you are an athlete that has your heart set on playing at the next level in college, then club volleyball is pretty essential.
Keep in mind that at many of the club volleyball organizations they not only have helped ample amounts of athletes reach the collegiate level but more notably the staff works very hard with their athletes through the entire recruiting process. So there is no need to feel overwhelmed by taking a leap of faith and getting started.
Overall, it can be a very intimidating course of action to take.
As we see time and time again from all of the famous volleyball athletes around the world: Karch Kiraly, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Misty May Treanor and many more, experience makes a difference. These stars have built up years of taking leaps of faith, facing fears and attacking goals they never thought possible.
Grasping the club volleyball journey means more time on the court and more time on the court is never a mistake. Karch Kiraly says it best, “Practice like it’s a competition and compete like it’s another day on the practice court.”