The questions everyone asks….

First, we want to say Thank you! For taking the time to ask questions and be active in our volleyball family. As a reminder, we are ALWAYS in need of help for the Board. Both at our sport level and the league level. If you want to join our Board and help make us a better program, email and let us know that you're interested!

Where is the home facility for DYS Club Volleyball?  

 Is it at Lunsford Middle School? Brambleton Middle School?

 Do players play out of one, some, or all of them?

We usually get Lunsford for the Spring House and Travel League and have recently expanded to have additional space. Sometimes we get Mercer; other years, we get Brambleton. Loudoun County Parks and Recreation allots the space based on our registration numbers.

For Club Volleyball, all of our practices and clinics will be held at Hoops Plus. It is located at 45496 Ruritan Circle, Sterling, VA, 20164

Based on practice dates and times, players from our House/Travel teams could be at one or all of the facilities.

What are the typical start and end dates of the regular and playoff seasons for DYS Volleyball House teams?

 It seems there's only a spring season, yes? It seems that practices start around March, with games starting sometime in April, and the playoff starts around Memorial Day weekend, correct?

The County dictates the start and end dates for Spring House/Travel. It is based on the ending of winter sports. Some years we started in early march, and others, we didn't even practice until April. It is typically the week before spring break and lasts until the end of May beginning of June.

For Club volleyball, we hold tryouts in accordance with CHRVA (Chesapeake Region Volleyball Association) guidelines. For U13 and U14 age groups, the Open Tryout period begins the first Friday of November until the following Tuesday at 10:00 pm. For U15 and up, the Open Tryout period begins on the 2nd Friday and runs until the following Tuesday at 10:00 pm.  CHRVA Link: https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/document/46c4-2262193/2022-2023_CHRVA_Junior_Recruiting_Policy_1_.pdf?_gl=1*18yfnio*_ga*MTU5NzgzMjMzMS4xNjY0NzQ4NzM2*_ga_PQ25JN9PJ8*MTY2NjgxMTIwNi4xLjEuMTY2NjgxMTIwNi4wLjAuMA

What are the typical start and end dates of the regular and playoff seasons for DYS Volleyball Travel teams?  

Our travel teams participate in the SYA travel league, and they dictate the games and their locations, which is not the same every year but typically aligns with our Spring House League.

What are the typical start and end dates of the regular and playoff seasons for DYS Volleyball Club teams?  

Club team practices start the week after Thanksgiving and run until the beginning of June. Each team selects the tournaments they wish to participate in, with all teams selecting Capitol Hill Classic and CHRVA Regionals. There really is no such thing as a playoff season. We play in areas such as Ashburn, VA; Richmond, VA; Harrisburg, PA; Spotsylvania, Jessup, MD; Ransom, WV; Frederick, MD; and any other area the coach and team select to participate in.

What other program is the most popular for DYS Volleyball House league players outside of the Spring season?

 A number of Summer programs at other organizations are listed, is there one that is most popular among DYS players?

To be honest, it varies by player. Some love to play for LYV, others SYA or MB clinics. Some go to George Mason, while others go to UVA or even Penn State.  

Can my daughter be placed on her friend's team? Can my daughter be placed on a coach's team?

We like to carpool and have been doing so for years with xxx sport. She's just more comfortable playing on her team. They are best friends and want to be together…  We just love Coach Donna, Coach Mike, Coach Chris, and Coach fill in the name.

There is No promise of any placements. Although we understand that girls feel more comfortable with people they know when starting something new. We understand that in our area, carpooling makes lives easier; it takes hours to put teams together without the complication of Sallie wanting to play on Julie's team for whatever reason you can imagine. The best part about being on a team is making new friends and building relationships. Not only for the girls but for the parents.

On its face, developing teams for the house league may seem simple. However, we believe in ensuring that the teams are "well rounded" with experienced and non-experienced players. This helps the non-experienced players learn to love the sport, and it helps the experienced players learn to become leaders and share their knowledge and skills.   

Being a coach is the most rewarding experience. We want girls to experience a wide variety. Our Coaches get perks such as discounted registration costs, the ability to select a 'preferred' practice night and time, and a few top picks of players. The rest of the team is then split up to balance them out.

Why does it take so long to find out what team we are on?

Keep in mind we are volunteers with families and other obligations. We typically have 200+ girls to place on 20+ teams. Since we do not just randomly assign girls and take time to rank them and place them, it takes time. Our Commissioner has stayed up until 3 am to try and get it done. So we ask for your patience. Believe us; we will try our best to do it as soon as possible. Hiccups happen with "I just found out I have xxxx on Tuesdays… can you switch me" or "My daughter is on track, and we need to adjust our practice day." This is why we ask during registration to list any other sports or programs your daughter participates in and what days that occur – so we can attempt to accommodate you.

Why do we have to share gym space with other teams?

Simply put, gym space is expensive and difficult to come by. Spring Volleyball is considered out of season; therefore, we have to pay higher fees than programs in the fall. Since we do what we can to make Volleyball affordable, we are restricted on space. There was a time when there were 4 teams PER GYM! And only one school. It was insane. We work every year to improve our program and find ways to improve it.

Why do I have to help during games?

This was a change we made from having the teams "work" another game. A few years back (some of you may remember), your schedule could have been play/work/play,  work/play/play play/play/work, but the worst is if it was your "off work" week and you had play/off/play. What that meant for families is 3 hours of volleyball on a Saturday, 1 hour of which parents were "stuck" waiting for their kids to line judge and score keep. By changing it to the parents during the game, we removed the need to hang out an extra hour and felt it was a massive improvement to the league.

Where does my money go?

Your registration fees go to the cost of the gym space, new uniforms, shirts, referee salaries, and equipment (new balls, first aid supplies). We do what we can to "offset" fees with fundraising, such as hosting events at local restaurants where we receive a percentage of the sales when the flyer is shown. Our Board solicits businesses for their support as well.

Do you have a question you think should be listed here? Or is your question still not answered? Email , and we will be happy to answer!