2024 Tryouts

 

Team Detroit Volleyball is excited to announce 2024 Club Season Tryouts!  Come see the #TeamDdifference first hand with our exceptional coaches and collaborative training culture.  Our tryout is data and analytics driven to ensure an accurate team placement.  All tryout dates are in 2023 for the 2024 season; all tryouts occur at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in West Bloomfield.  Additional details, below.

 

There are NO remaining tryouts for the 2024 Club Season.  Please contact us directly if you would like to be evaluated for placement on one of our teams.

 

Registration

You can register for tryouts by using the link below or you can email us at offers.teamd@gmail.com.

 

Tryout Information:

  • All players will need to fill out the Tryout Form either at the gym or print and bring with you.  The form is linked below:
  • Tryout Cost is $60 in advance (pre-register) or $75 at the door.
  • All players will receive a tryout t-shirt and will receive an email offer within 48 hours.

Tryout Location

Tryouts will be held at Team Detroit VBC at our gym at JCC:

Jewish Community Campus
6600 W. Maple Rd.
West Bloomfield, MI 48322

Enter from Maple Road, turn left at the round-about, and park in the 1st lot on your right.  Enter the IHC building next to the outdoor pool and our courts are right inside.

 

If you have any questions, contact us at: offers.teamd@gmail.com

National vs Select vs Regional Teams

At Team Detroit Volleyball Club, we field a few types of teams:  National, National-Lite, Select, and Regional.   All teams play a six or seven month schedule, with the exception of our U11 and U12 regional teams that may compete in a shortened schedule and our U18s who finish in April to allow max participation in senior year activities.

 

The National teams are colored (i.e. Red, White, Blue, Stars) and may compete in locations such as Grand Rapids, Ft Wayne, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Orlando. They primarily enter 2 or 3 day tournaments within an easy drive (usually 4 hours) of West Bloomfield, Michigan.  Costs range from $3250 to $3950 and includes full uniform package, two practices a week, and tournament entry fees.  Athletes are responsible for their own travel costs.  The U15 and older teams attend at least 1 USAV National Qualifier (Red and White teams may attend more than one) and will end their season at a National Championship Tournament (AAU in Florida, USAV in TBD, or Asics in Chicago) in June.  Middle School age National Teams may not all do the full National Team schedule depending on the situation.

 

The Select teams are named either Valor or Freedom at the High School age, or Ranger or Stryker at the Middle School age.  They do not travel as much as the National teams (both number of travel dates and distances are less), but more so than the Regional teams.  Their costs are $2750.  These teams end their seasons in early June at MJVBA Grand Prix in Grand Rapids, MI

 

The Regional teams are labeled Patriot, Glory, Liberty, and Honor and generally compete no more than 1 hour away from West Bloomfield, MI.  Most of their tournaments are local 1 day events (Saturdays) with some 2 day events in the Detroit area.  The cost for these teams are $1750.  Please note: we do NOT offer Regional teams for high school aged players... the lowest level team for those athletes is a Select team.

 

At tryouts, all athletes will be assessed at the highest level team by our coaches.  Players may opt to play down to a lower level team.  Players who want to make a higher team will need to re-tryout at a later date at your own expense or wait for a spot to open on a higher team.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

 

When should I expect to get my offer?

If this is your 1st tryout of the season, we will send you an offer within 48 hours via the email address in your online account.  If you do not receive an offer after 48 hours, email us at offers.teamd@gmail.com.

If you are already placed on a team and you are looking to move up, you will ONLY receive communication from us if/when we offer you a higher spot.  We will NOT automatically communicate to you that you are not moving.  Be patient.  We know you are looking to move up and we may offer a spot at any time.  Please do NOT contact us after a tryout or training session asking about the status of your request to move.  We are always evaluating athletes and we are aware of those who are improving and earning a higher placement.

 

What age group tryout should my daughter attend?

 

Generally we recommend that you attend your school age group first.

 

U12 - 6th grade or under - Must be born on or after July 1, 2011

U13 - 7th grade - Must be born on or after July 1, 2010

U14 - 8th grade - Must be born on or afer July 1, 2009

U15 - 9th grade - Must be born on or after July 1, 2008

U16 - 10th grade - Must be born on or after July 1, 2007

U17 - 11th grade - Must be born on or after July 1, 2006 (OR players who were born on or after July 1, 2005 and are in the 11th grade during the current academic year)

U18 - 12th grade - Must be born on or after July 1, 2005 (OR players who were born on or after July 1, 2004 and be high school students during some part of the current academic year)

 

In some cases their birth date will either dictate that they play up a year, or have an opportunity to play down. Our staff will have a conversation with you if this relates to your athlete.

 

When are team practices?

 

Most teams begin practicing the 1st week of December although some may try to get in the gym a little earlier if the situation permits.  As a general rule of thumb, all National Teams practice Tue & Thur.  Select and Regional teams practice Mon & Wed.  Teams will either practice from 5:00 - 7:00 or 7:00 - 9:00.  Click the Team page to get specific information about your team.

 

My daughter played "up" last year. I would like her to do that again. Should I come to the older tryout?

 

We would like to see every athlete in their actual age group first. If our trainers determine that playing in an older age is in the best interest of the athlete, they will discuss the opportunity with you after the tryout. We do not allow parents or athletes to make this determination on their own. Playing in their own age group is almost always best for the development of the athlete and their recruiting exposure.

 

I would like my daughter to play with her friends from our community for car pooling reasons. Is this possible?

 

We will always take in to consideration any request to place athletes together. However, you must be all willing to move to the level of the lowest placed athlete of the group. For example, if one athlete in a group of 4 makes 15 Red, one makes 15 White, and the remaining two make 15 Ranger, all athletes must agree to move to 15 Ranger. You cannot leverage a car pool situation in to a better placement for your athlete. In most cases, all age groups practice at the same time (i.e. National Teams on T/Th and Regional / Select Teams on M/W). Please let our trainers evaluate and you can make your plans after everyone receives their offers.  In almost every situation, families meet new people at practice and form new car pools with others from your area.

 

My daughter plays outside hitter for her high school. Will she be guaranteed that she plays that position during Club season?

 

We do not guarantee playing any certain position or playing time.  All such decisions are up to the coach.

 

HIGH SCHOOL AGED rosters are usually built with the following composition: 4 Pin Attackers, 2 Middle Hitters, 2 Setters, 2 Defensive Specialists/Libero. It is ultimately up to the coach where he/she chooses to play your athlete. Injury or other circumstance may dictate that your athlete play additional positions during the season. Play time and position is earned in practice. We encourage conversations between coach and athlete early in the season to set expectations.

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL AGED rosters may not be as defined in terms of positions/roles. We believe all athletes should be well-rounded in skills up to their U14 year. The best thing a parent can teach their daughter in this age group is to learn all aspects of the game and to keep an open mind as to what role they play on the team.

 

When will I receive the results from this tryout?

 

Generally, we produce offers in 48 hours. If you do not receive an offer after 48 hours, please EMAIL offers.teamd@gmail.com.

 

How long do I have to accept the offer?

 

Generally it will be a very short time period after your offer is received, depending on the specific team being offered. Parents can expect National Team spots to require a 24 - 48 hour time period for you to accept your offer. Select and Regional Teams will allow a few extra days. At the expiration of the offer link, your spot may be offered to another qualified athlete.

 

How do I accept my offer?

 

Follow the instructions in the offer letter. To be fully accepted on team you must complete all paperwork and make a non-refundable $500 deposit. Until this happens, you are not considered accepted and your spot may be offered to the next qualified athlete.

 

I am not happy with my daughter's placement. I want her to make a higher team. How can I accomplish this?

 

If you are committed to your athlete training at Team Detroit, we recommend completing the paperwork and making the deposit for the team you are initially offered. At this point you may attend all future tryouts to be re-evaluated for higher placement at your own expense. You will need to register again. If you choose not to deposit, but still want a higher placement, you must pay for another tryout ($60 pre-register/$75 at door). Unlike years past, our tryouts should not be used for "reps". We need to give our trainers ample opportunity to look at new athletes for accurate placement. An exception may be made if we specifically ask your daughter to come in to a session after the initial tryout to be further evaluated. In this instance, it will be no charge to you. When spots are open on higher teams, we will ALWAYS contact those who have already deposited on the next lowest team to offer that higher position. If you didn't deposit, you will not receive that higher offer. We routinely move kids up every year during the summer / fall.

 

THE BEST WAY TO MAKE A HIGHER LEVEL TEAM IS TO ACCEPT YOUR OFFER FOR YOUR CURRENT TEAM AND LET US KNOW THAT YOU WANT TO MOVE UP!  ATTENDING SUMMER TRAINING TO REFINE YOUR SKILLS WILL SHOW YOUR COMMITMENT TO WORKING HARD AND IMPROVING YOUR GAME!

 

I think you got my daughter's placement completely wrong. Who can I talk to about this?

 

Please understand that tryouts is a snap shot in time for the athlete and trainer. Our evaluation of your athlete is very subjective to our trainers. Your athlete's placement is the collective evaluation of several trainers on our staff, not just one opinion. Any discussions of this nature can be communicated via email at offers.teamd@gmail.com. Our trainers will be happy to relay any feedback they remember from the tryout. Our trainers have many years experience at this process so please be open to their placement of your athlete. More often than not, their placement is accurate. Additionally, we get many new athletes who attend tryouts every year, many of whom may be offered a spot above you.  Some of these athletes do not accept these offers so you may end up moving up as the tryout process evolves throughout the fall.  If you feel you had a bad day at tryouts, feel free to attend a future date to be re-evaluated.

 

I've accepted the offer and completed the paperwork. What do I do next?

 

You are all set - thank you!  We will email the entire club when we are ready to take further actions to prepare for the next season (i.e. uniform ordering instructions, AAU/USAV renewal instructions, practice info, etc.)  A parent meeting will be held sometime in early December. All other details for team requirements will be forthcoming.

 

I have questions about my daughter's placement. What number should I call?

 

Any questions should be directed via email to offers.teamd@gmail.com. That email is constantly monitored by several staff members so you may receive the most expeditious reply. Please be patient in our response time. This is a very busy time of year for us.

 

Who will be my daughter's coach and what time will they practice?

 

The practice times, coach and complete schedule will be included in your athletes offer or you can look at the Team Pages portion of the website once it is updated for the next club season.  Practice days and times are explained above.

 

I'd like to know who else has been offered to play on this team before I accept. Can you email me a roster?

 

We only email rosters of fully accepted and deposited athletes once the team is full. We expect each family to make the best decision of accepting placement for their own athlete regardless of others who play on this team. This is a very fluid process. Changes happen very quickly so rosters are not firm until we receive deposits.

 

My daughter was given a placement with no specific coach assigned. When will we know the coach?

 

All National and Select level teams have coaches assigned to them. Regional coaches will be assigned at a later date after the teams are formed to best match athletes with coaches that best suit their training needs. We have a full "stable" of coaches that are well-trained and experienced. Every single team will have a qualified coach at the start of the season.

 

My daughter also plays another sport and may miss practices and tournaments during the season. What is your policy on this?

 

Any additional activities (basketball, soccer, choir, Confirmation, etc) that may create conflict needs to be disclosed and discussed up front with your coach. Accommodations may be made, but this is very specific to each athlete, their team placement and the role she plays on the team. Effective communication is key. Please be proactive on this topic.

 

Some of the dates or locations on the schedule I received are TBD. When will we be given that information?

 

We will be updating the schedules on your team page at teamdetroitvolleyball.com as the information is given to us. Some smaller events and Power League haven't selected locations or dates yet, but will be doing so prior to Oct 1.

 

We cannot make a tournament on the schedule I received with my offer. Is this an issue?

 

Please discuss your attendance at tournaments with your coach. If you are offered a spot on a National team, you are expected to make all tournaments ESPECIALLY Qualifiers and season-ending National Championships. If this is not possible, it needs to be disclosed to your coach ASAP. Failure to attend qualifiers or Nationals after you have committed to the schedule is cause for reduced playing time in an effort to train up the athlete who will fill that role and / or removal from your team roster in order to make room for an athlete who is available for all events.