CVA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Why play club volleyball?
A: The benefits of club volleyball are endless. For serious high school players and players wanting to continue their volleyball career at the collegiate level, club volleyball gives those athletes the opportunity to develop their skills during the off-season. Players benefit from over 100 practice hours with high level coaches, as well as match experience during tournaments. Tournaments also allow players to play in front of college coaches, which assist in the recruiting process. But most of all, club volleyball players come away from each season with great memories, life lessons and lifelong friends.
Q: Why should I play for Capital Volleyball Academy?
A: There are five key factors to a successful junior club volleyball organization. Those factors are the quality of coaching, the level of tournament competition, the quality of training facility utilized, the club’s infrastructure and the customer service the club provides back to its families. Capital has a simple strategy each season that states, “Each year Capital will provide more value to its parents & players than the year before”. Driven by those key factors, Capital continues to strive to improve on the junior club experience we offer for the 2009-2010 season. Last season proved to be a VERY successful campaign for Capital Volleyball Academy with 12 tournament champions, eight second place finishes and eleven third place finishes. With that type of success from not only our #1 teams, but from our #2 and #3 teams by age group, Capital Volleyball Academy is poised for successful season and great expierence for all involved.
Capital is built upon the foundation of providing the highest level of training in the Madison area to its volleyball players. Capital’s staff has taken the time to understand the many levels of goals that each player and parent has for the sport of volleyball; this has enabled Capital Volleyball Academy to start the road towards the top junior volleyball club in the state of Wisconsin. Many may attempt to copy our infrastructure, our recruiting program, our training systems and our tournament selections, but only CAPITAL VOLLEYBALL ACADEMY has the experience, the knowledge and the passion to make it work for Madison!
Q: What is the biggest difference between the Elite, the Junior National and the Select programs?
A: Our Elite teams will participate in 2-4 highly competitive tournaments out of the area or out of state, that will likely include two-day or three-day tournaments. Travel teams generally practice 2-3 times/week and the season will last from December to June with a 4 day season ending tournament.
The Junior National teams will participate in 1-3 highly competitive tournaments out of the area or out of state, that will likely include two-day or three-day tournaments. Travel teams generally practice 2 times/week and the season will last from December to mid-June. They will also play many of their events within the Badger Region.
Select teams play all of their events within the Badger Region. All tournaments will be only one day events and are anywhere from a ½ hour to 1 ½ hour drive. The season generally runs December thru March: (This will change by a week or so based on spring break and Easter). While still competitive, Select teams generally require less time commitment than the other two programs.
Q: How much does Capital cost?
A: Unfortunately, club volleyball carries with it some costs. With court costs, membership registration fees, coaches’ costs and tournament fees, no volleyball club can offer a quality product inexpensively. At Capital, we do everything we can to keep your club costs as low as possible. We are also very honest with families about the total cost of the club volleyball experience. Cost information will be disclosed at the open house information meeting on October 29th & 26th (see open house information on tryout info flyer). You may also contact Capital at 608-234-8520. We are confident that our dues are competitive with other programs in the Madison area and the Badger Region. With three levels of training programs, we are confident that Capital has a financial option for many families. Program dues include court rental fees, membership registration fees, weight training facility fees, recruiting program costs, club equipment costs, coaches’ costs, some tournament costs and travel fees.
Dues can be paid up front on parent night with a 5% discount or with a standard payment plan. Club dues include practice time, equipment costs, coaches travel fees, tournament entry fees, apparel package, coaches salary, physical training, registration fees and club costs . Fundraising opportunities are available to all families to offset dues. Specialized payment plans are available for families in need of such. Please contact Capital office at 608-234-8520 for more information.
If you’re looking to compare Capital costs to other area clubs, use our Jr. National and Select programs, not the Elite program. Our Elite program practices more, travels more, has the highest level of coaching and we provide more services for college recruiting, making it incomparable.
Q: Will playing club guarantee a college scholarship?
A: No club can guarantee a college scholarship to any player, however at Capital we are pleased to be able to say that every Capital player who has wanted to play volleyball in college has had that opportunity. In our two year existence we have assisted 23 players in fulfilling their dreams to play college volleyball. Our College Recruiting Coordinator works with every player and family to create an individual plan that meets the academic, athletic and financial needs of the student-athlete. Please take a look at our “recruiting” section on our website.
Q: How young does Capital start their teams?
A: We currently offer teams from first graders through high school seniors . With the addition of the mini volleyball program, Capital is now working hard to introduce the sport of volleyball to the kids of the Madison area as early as possible.
Q: What tournaments do Capital teams play in?
A: In an effort to cut down on travel costs, Capital Elite and Junior National teams will play a mixture of JVA and USA Volleyball events in the 2009-2010 season. Capital will do its best to keep our playing schedule between Minneapolis and Chicago as it still offers the most competitive tournament schedule in the Madison area with maximum college recruiting exposure. As tournament details are announced, we will provide you with more information. You can see the tentative tournament plan for each team in the Capital Program information on the website.
Q: How many teams will Capital have at each age group?
A: Capital will look to run two teams in each program at each age division offered for 2009-2010.
Q: Where do you practice and for how long?
A: Teams will practice during the week at the ISEA gym in Stoughton Wisconsin. Depending on which team you/your daughter is on will determine what days/times practice will be. Capital will utilize each day of the week for practice varied by age groups. There is an optional position training practice on Monday evenings for the players. In an effort to work with the drive times and homework issues of our players, all weekday practices will be done by 9:00pm and will not start earlier than 6:00pm to help avoid rush hour traffic on the belt-line. Also, during the girls high school basketball season, we will accommodate those athletes by attempting to use Saturday practice days instead of Tuesday night practices. Weight training, video study and position training will all be a part of the practice environment for Capital teams.
Q: What is Capital's philosophy on playing time?
A: At Capital we believe playing time is earned, not given. Capital dues guarantee the athlete quality coaching, practice time, registration and training. Playing time is determined by the coach based on several criteria - practice, attitude, game performance and skill. Every player has the opportunity to prove themselves at practice. Capital is a competitive volleyball environment and the teams are administered that way. For the Select program teams, Capital does have a “30% Rule” in effect. All players will receive playing time in a minimum of 30% of the games played during the day of a tournament.
Q: Can my daughter play school sports, such as basketball, soccer, track or softball, and still play on a Capital Elite team?
A: Yes, any athlete can participate in school athletics or other activities while playing for Capital. The athlete will not be penalized for missing practice. However, playing time is usually determined by practice performance. Capital encourages the multi-sport athlete and is extremely proud to have them in our program.
Q: What type of qualifications do your coaches have?
A: We firmly believe that great volleyball players are developed in practice by quality coaches, so we stress the importance of our exceptional coaching staff. All of our coaches are IMPACT certified and are mentored by our lead coach Dave Bayer. Capital coaches are also evaluated during the course of the season and put though in-house coaching clinics. Capital expects its coaches to be teachers of the game and maintain strong discipline in the practice and match environment…always in a positive manner.
Q: Who will be my child’s coach and do you know who will be coaching what team?
A: We rarely disclose coaching information prior to tryouts, the reason is simple. We wait to finalize our coaching staff until the tryouts have completed and we have time to analyze our potential teams. We pride ourselves on being able to select the "right" coach for each team based on that team's make-up and personality. We feel that we have been successful in taking this approach and will continue this philosophy as we move forward. As many of our coaches coach for high school programs in the area, we need to wait and see who falls where on what team so we do not put any player or coach in jeopardy in breaking any WIAA rules. Also, we want to discourage players from coming to Capital Volleyball Academy solely for the purpose of playing for an individual coach. We want our players to believe in our system and our entire coaching staff, as players will work with several coaches throughout the season and will have many different coaches throughout their career.
Q: I don't know what age group my daughter should tryout for. How is that determined?
A: Please click on the “Age Definitions” link on the right hand side of our website in the tryout section.
Q: How many players do you place on a team?
A: Capital looks to carry 10-11 players per team. Carrying this number of players allows us to give all of each player a fair amount of playing time. This also allows our coaches flexibility in case a player, for whatever reason, is unable to attend a tournament.
