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YOUR Guide to Club Volleyball Tryouts

Volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, and club volleyball is a significant part of that growth.  Growth means new players and families experiencing club volleyball, and for most the first event in their club volleyball experience is tryouts.

 

Tryouts are, for many (including coaches, families, and especially players) the most stressful part of the club volleyball experience.  As part of helping YOU, the players and families, we want to offer you some tips (we're calling it YOUR Guide) as to what you can expect from The OC, and what you SHOULD expect from all club volleyball organizations. 

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Before Tryouts Begin

  • Be sure to register with OKRVA before attending any sanctioned events (including tryouts).  Players are required to be registered with OKRVA to try out with ANY OKRVA club.

  • Research (as best you can) all of the clubs you are interested in.  Review information on their website to learn more about them, and try to reach out to them if you have questions that remain after your review.

  • Talk to other people you trust that have been involved in club volleyball before.  Hopefully they will be helpful in sharing their experiences and/or any expertise.

  • Select and schedule the tryouts for the clubs you wish to pursue.

    • Click here for tryout information and link to schedules.​​

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When Tryouts Begin

  • Be sure to bring all needed info to each tryout.  Check the websites of the clubs you are interested in and see if they have that information available for you (lots of tryout info for The OC is here).

  • Try out for EVERY club you believe you'll be interested in.  There are differences between clubs, and the best way to get information about them is to see those you are interested in first-hand.  You will also want to maximize your options and choices, should you unfortunately not get the offer(s) you have your heart set on.  (i.e., don't put all of your eggs in one basket)

  • If you receive an offer from a club after a tryout, be sure to let that club know if you still have other tryouts to attend, and when all of your tryouts will wrap up.  OKRVA has guidelines in place that allow players to go to ALL tryouts they are interested in attending​​.

    • Note:  If you know you will accept an offer you have, or know you will decline one, you are allowed to make that decision before the tryouts conclude.  But, IF YOU STILL HAVE OTHER TRYOUTS YOU WISH TO ATTEND and/or potential offers to receive, you have the RIGHT to attend additional tryouts BEFORE deciding on any offers already received.​

    • More info on offers, and the rules/time frames for making a decision per OKRVA guidelines.

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After Your Last Tryout

  • Prepare to make a decision as soon as you can.  In many instances, there are players that are waiting for an offer that you have available.  In order to be fair to both clubs and other players, you should make decisions quickly if at all possible.  Clubs MAY give a deadline for decisions once you have attended all tryouts of interest.

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More info on The OC Tryouts

Why does The OC have multiple tryouts? - The OC normally schedules multiple tryouts in each age group when possible for 2 specific reasons:

  • Players and families have life outside volleyball, and sometimes there's a schedule conflict that cannot be avoided.  By offering 2 dates, we double the chances of players to avoid missing tryouts altogether because of a schedule conflict.

  • Sometimes players have good days and bad days.  By offering 2 dates, we give players 2 chances to "bring their A game".

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Should I attend multiple dates? - If at all possible, YES ...... The OC encourages ALL players at attend both tryout dates for their age group, unless there is a schedule conflict, or other extenuating circumstances.​

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What does the player offer "timelines" look like at The OC? - The OC will usually make a majority of their offers after the first tryout date.  The exact number of offers made after the first tryout will vary based on several factors, and may not all be made immediately.  But that also means that The OC normally does not extend ALL of our offers right away for age groups with multiple tryouts, and in most cases will STILL have offers to make after the final date.  As the tryouts progress, we will try to update our website on each team's status as frequently as we can.  You may click here for that page (once available).

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How will I know if I will not receive an offer from The OC? - Normally, if we are unable to make an offer to a player for the upcoming club season, we will notify those parties via e-mail.  We use e-mail specifically for the following reasons:

  • Not getting an offer is disappointing to players and families, and we understand that.  E-mail allows us to notify the parents first, which allows them to talk to their kids and share the bad news in a manner & time they feel is best.

  • E-mail also allows us to provide contact info for other clubs that may still have positions available, so if we are unable to make a player an offer, they can contact other clubs they might be interested in and still potentially play club volleyball (even if it's not with us).  We always want to grow the game.​

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If there are still additional questions, we are happy to help.  Please reach out to us via our Contact Page.

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