•What is Junior Olympic / club volleyball?
oUSA Junior Olympic (sometimes called J.O.) volleyball or club volleyball is a nationwide, junior volleyball system comprised of individual clubs organized by region under the parent organization, USA Volleyball, for the primary purpose of growing and supporting the sport. Generally, club volleyball offers participants the opportunity to continue to compete and develop skills well beyond the relatively short middle school and high school seasons.
oArmour Volleyball Club is a member of the North Country Region (NCR) of USA Volleyball and the United States Volleyball Association (USAV).
•Why should someone play JO volleyball?
oCompetition! Volleyball has turned into a hugely competitive sport in MN. The Lake Conference alone for example, boasts 5 out of the top 10 highest ranked schools in the state. That’s 5 out of the conference’s 13 teams that are ranked in the top 10 in the state!!! And 3 more have been ranked in the top 10 at some point this past season. In order to compete with these teams, or make one of these teams, training just during the high school season is simply not sufficient. All of the top high schools have players playing for club programs in the metro area for several years. If contributing to a competitive varsity program is something that’s important to your daughter, club ball is practically a given.
oYou will get better! That is a guarantee. Every time you touch a volleyball with intent you improve.
oNew friendships! Bringing girls together with similar goals from various backgrounds and schools builds relationships that can last a lifetime. If you’re lucky enough to be on a team with a fellow high school teammate, that helps by building that connection and familiarity for the school season.
oExposure! Anyone looking to play volleyball on the next level (ie. college) not only benefits tremendously from the development during the club season, but also will get exposed to the recruiting process and hundreds of college coaches looking to fill their programs. These coaches attend all of the major tournaments in search of their next recruiting class. AVB plays in a myriad of these tournaments. Some stats say that up to 98% of the girls who receive college scholarships play club ball. If you want to play in college, plan to play club!
oLife skills! The training, knowledge, self-esteem and experience your daughter will receive will be priceless. AVB is committed to training not just volleyball skills but character as well. Learning these lessons will carry over to all aspects of her life.
oTournament experience! Consider this – each year only a few high school players get to compete for a state championship. In club, AVB teams are competing for tournament championships nearly every other weekend. This type of experience is extremely valuable when it comes to knowing what it takes to compete during the high school season.
•What if I don’t make my varsity team, should I still play?
oDefinitely! With a lot of high schools getting competitive with their varsity programs, more and more girls are getting cut along the way. Instead of letting the fire, passion and love for volleyball get cut short, JO volleyball provides an outlet that is highly competitive and fun.
•How do I justify the cost?
oClub ball has certain fixed costs that cannot be worked around: facility rental, coaches salaries, equipment, travel expenses, tournament fees, uniform costs, insurance, etc. We are trying hard to not only price our teams practically but also give you as much bang for your buck as possible. Don’t let price be an issue! The club has a dedicated fund raising coordinator who will be happy to speak with you to come up with a game plan on how to meet your needs. Talk with Clarence directly if your daughter makes a team and you know that the fees are not something within your means. If you feel like the cost is out of your range and still want to play, talk with Clarence.
•Why choose Armour Volleyball?
oOur people! Our coaching staff is dedicated to teaching your girls to be excellent volleyball players as well as excellent people. Clarence Maeng, the club director and one of the head coaches, is an ordained Presbyterian pastor who has extensive experience coaching, teaching, counseling, and mentoring youth. He is passionate about developing a staff that understands how to ignite a fire inside of volleyball players to live excellent lives.
oOur purpose! Armour Volleyball is designed to teach players, parents (yes, you too), and coaches how to live passionately excellent lives. However, excellent results on the court are not our main focus. It’s the drive for excellence that we want to teach most. We want to develop people to be driven to pursue excellence in every area of their lives (volleyball, school, work, and family). It’s not the end result that we’re hung up on, it’s the way we go about getting there. With that in mind, we firmly believe that good habits and routines will always result in good outcomes.
oNew facility! For the upcoming season AVB is going to be housed in its own gym located off of 494 and Portland (formerly Concordia Academy). This will allow all of our teams to practice under one roof and learn from each other while making scheduling much easier as well.
