FAQ's

 My child plays another sport, can we fit this in?  YES, we have a flexible practice schedule allowing players with conflicts to attend within another team within 2 years of their age group.  We prefer players who are athletes and play multiple sports.. almost 65% of our players play 2 or more sports.

When/Where do you practice? Practice times and locations will be set in stone after we have finished the final count on how many teams we will host. 

CARPOOL:  Some are concerned with driving. On average practice we have 20-30 kids in any given practice. It is likely that several families from your area can car-pool. Once teams are announced, we provide list of families and zip code to assist in planning.  

 

TRYOUTS ARE TO DETERMINE PLACEMENT ON THE SKILL LEVEL OF THE TEAM, NOT IF YOU MAKE A TEAM. 
Everyone who wishes to play Atomic Volleyball is Welcome!!

Who tries out?  Everyone tries out at Atomic.  Atomic Tryout information for Aiken and Augusta is located on our home page.

 

Can a player join after tryouts or during the season?
Yes, provided we have space on a team based on her ability.  Contact Amber for details.

 

TEAM AND PRACTICE QUESTIONS

How long does the season last?
We begin team placement tryouts mid November. Practice starts from late December to early January. Young Studz and Regional teams will play through the Palmetto Regional Championships, held in late March  for club (regional) teams and mid April for power teams (national teams.)    This season is considered at a Regional Level.   If  our Elite teams win regionals, they are EXPECTED to continue training and attend a National Tournament (in late June).  This is considered at the Elite level.  Teams will take off after the Nat. Qualifier for 3-5 weeks in order to give the girls (and parents) a break.

How often do I practice                                                                    
Most teams will practice twice a week. Normally, one weekday and one weekend day. This will vary according to your team.  Week nights practices are from 5:30-7 or 7-9pm. Weekend practices on Saturdays are in 2 hour segments, ending by 7pm. Sundays run from 1:30-7:30pm, in 2 hr segments.  PLAYERS ARE ALLOWED TO TRAIN ALL THEY WANT BY ATTENDING OTHER PRACTICES WITHIN TRAINING GROUPS (2 years within their age division) or attend other practices, which allows flexibility with team practice conflicts. 

Will I have the same coach through the entire season?
It is our goal and request that our coaches are at practices and tournaments. However, don’t expect a coach to be at every practice and every tournament. Atomic Volleyball has substitute coaches that are used in the event a head coach can’t attend a practice or tournament. There may be times that a team must practice with another team. It is possible that we can’t replace a coach who has a conflict for a tournament. That team will have a choice to attend with a parent helping, share a coach with another team, or not attend. There may be times that practice locations or times are confused,  a coach has an emergency and doesn't attend.  Mistakes will happen, but of course this should be the exception, not the rule.

Can athletes be cut?
NO.

Can players be moved or added to a team after initial teams are assigned?
Yes. We prefer not to move players, but reserve the right if the need occurs based on team needs such as player talent, loss of a player, players joining later in the season, and other factors. We reserve the right to merge teams if the need arises.

What is the difference in Elite Teams and Regional Teams?
Our Elite teams are formed ONLY if we feel we have sufficient talent in a specific age group that can compete on the national level.  After players try out and we determine their skill level, we place them on various skill level teams, elite or regional.  Most tournaments have 2 or 3 different skill levels within each age division. Open or Power is the upper level, club is the next level.                                
 
Remember, being on a top team the previous year does not guarantee you that spot the following year. All elite  teams require a higher level of commitment, fees are higher and be required to travel to different tournament sites.

Will I play the same position that I play in school?
Not always. We may move and train a player to play a different position than they played in school, based on the need of the team. On our top teams, you must be willing to play any position.

How many players will be assigned to a team?
Team size is 8 –10 players, however there may be a special circumstance where there would be more than 10 on a team.

 Can players miss practices or tournaments?
We request initially that you consider our practice schedule and tournament travel. We want girls that will be committed. Practices and tournaments can be excused for school conflicts. If you must miss a practice, we require that you notify your coach  a minimum of 24 hours in advance and 3 weeks notice if you can’t attend a tournament. Fees are the same regardless if you miss practices or tournaments.
elite team players may only have 3 unexcused practices.  The three most important tournaments that can’t be missed are Palmetto Regionals, National Qualifier, and Atlanta.

School sports come first, and players are excused from practice, or a tournament if necessary. We do ask elite team players to do all they can to attend the 3 important tournaments.

Can I play other sports and participate in Club Volleyball?
YES! Over 60% of our players participate in multiple sports. These players find few conflicts with basketball, softball, soccer, or track. Especially since you can attend other practices, should your teams  practice schedule is a conflict. 

 

TOURNAMENT QUESTIONS

How are travel tournaments handled?
Detailed tournament sites, dates, and schedules will be posted closer to our season start. Tournament sites vary. Some of the sites we attend travel to are Spartanburg, Greenville, Charleston, Columbia, Asheville, Atlanta, along with tournaments held locally that we host. Tournaments each team plans to attend will be set prior to the season. Most teams will attend several tournaments that require overnight lodging. The club will usually arrange a block of rooms at discounts if the parents want to take advantage of this. It is not required you stay there, but we do prefer it, so players can stay together. This information will be made available to you. Details of what to do will be sent prior to each tournament.

 Tournament entry fees are included in your dues but travel expense and lodging are not included.  Players or parents are responsible for arranging transportation.

Which tournaments do the teams attend and how often?
Due to increase in teams, it is much more difficult to get spaces in tournaments.. we must wait to see if we get all our teams in.  This is out of our hands.. we do attempt to get all our teams in scheduled tournaments.. but do guarantee our minimums.

Beginning in mid to late January, we will attend tournaments approximately every other week-end (Tournament schedule available later ) Regional tournaments are held on Saturdays , and we normally travel to and from the tournaments in the same day. The majority of our tournaments are located in South Carolina/Georgia.  These are ALL day tournaments, normally 8-6pm.

Tournament entry is based on available slots; we are not guaranteed that we will get in each tournament that we register. We must notify both the coach and team rep 3 weeks prior if you can’t attend, except for national tournaments for our elite teams, which require early deposits and commitments.

How do we determine what division a team is placed in tournaments?
Coaches and the director will jointly decide what division a team is placed based on the level of play based on what the team is capable of. There are up to 3 divisions in a tournament per age group. (Club, Power, and Open)  Sometimes we have to accept what is available.

How is playing time at tournaments handled?
Most parents want or expect their child to play most, if not all the time during tournament play. This is the number one problem of clubs throughout the United States. We hope the following will resolve most concerns. All players should get equal PRACTICE time.
Atomic will have NO guarantee of playing time for the Elite teams.
Regional teams will offer fair playing time to each team player. Fair is not equal, we will play your daughter as much as possible taking into consideration her position, practice time attended, skill level and competition.
Our Young Studz  program will allow as close to equal playing time as possible.

If during the season you are not satisfied with playing time, you may request to be moved to a lower team. Do not approach a coach with concerns at a tournament. The time to discuss playing time is after the tournament.  For this year- you must put IN WRITING any concerns and mail to the coach and Amber

How it works when team has officiating duty at tourneys?

Teams are required in each tournament to work some matches as the officiating team ( referee, line judge, and scorekeeping) Everyone on the team is required to stay.. and work. No one leaves until team duty is finished.  At NO TIME is a parent allowed to yell at ANY officiating team.  Teams are fined and placed on probation should a parent do this.

 

ADMINISTRATION / MISC QUESTIONS

Will problems arise?
You bet! With  years of directing experience and going through every possible problem that can arise, you can be assured we will not satisfy EVERY player and parent in the club.  If you have concerns, we require you put them in writing. You cannot approach a coach or director during a tournament about a problem.
 
What is our basic commitment to you? Club South promises the following:
1.        We will give athletes the best possible training. Approximately 70 plus hours of training for Phase I.
2.        Practice times and locations will depend on team assignment.
3.        Each team will have a qualified head coach that should attend the majority of practices and tournaments.
4.        Specialty Clinics & optional practices will be available to all Club players at no additional cost.
5.        Tournament play for all players. An average team will participate in over 80 games!
6.        Top teams may attend more tournaments or receive additional training.

What commitment do we expect from you?
We will need for you to sign on the dotted line after trying out and BEFORE NOVEMBER 25th . By this time we will inform you of (1) the team where you will be placed (2) coach of that team (3) planned location of the team practices (4) tentative times of practices (5) tentative tournament schedule for the season. You must notify Amber Glass in writing or email if you decide not to participate.

How are we kept informed about club news or changes?
E-mail or web only! Email is our primary source – check it daily! 95% of participants have email, if you don’t, it is your responsibility to contact the  coach for information. Information will be posted on our web site (www.atomicvolleyball.org) or sent via email.

How do I handle a problem?
If a problem arises, we ask that the player or parent must place this concern in writing and email it to the coach (copy Amber).  If the coach can not resolve this, you may request a meeting with Amber and Will.  At no time is a coach or director to be approached or confronted with a complaint during a tournament.

 

Predicting The Future                                                                          

On the lighter side, we called the psychic hotline to determine what concerns parents will have through the season.  With that in mind, we are going to address in advance the concerns that some will express.

1.      My daughter did not make an elite team.  Could all the evaluations and coaches be wrong?? As explained, tryouts are fair, and the system used is very precise. That doesn’t mean it will be 100% accurate. After a few practices and tournaments, we can determine if someone was placed on the wrong team. Besides, she now is the “Big Dog” on the next team!  NO.. teams are not predetermined.  

2.      I’m not receiving enough playing time.  Only option is to hope the starter moves to California, you improve quickly, request to be moved to a lower team, or leave the program. Please don’t complain during tournaments. 

3.      I’m not kept informed.  Dah, read the email before you delete, it will probably keep you informed on 95% of your questions. We will send out news frequently

4.      Practice was changed or cancelled and I wasn’t informed?  Your right and the coach or team rep should be screamed at, unless it was sent on email and you didn't check, in that case, read above. This will happen, we are human, give us a break on the first or second time it happens.  Scream on the third! If you show up and there is a mix up, just practice with another team.

5.      We were not told until Friday the tournament gym site directions: Neither was our club!. Scream at the tournament host, not me. 

6.      The directions to the tournament gym were bad:  They come from the host, read last question.  

7.      Our team didn’t win every game because the coach didn’t …blah blah blah: Neither does the USA National team! Winning solves many problems, losing creates pointing fingers!  Don’t be a bleacher coach and don't expect your team to win 100% of the time. Expect 0% and you will be satisfied. There are better teams and players; teams will lose games and players will have bad days.  

8.      My coach didn’t attend our tournament.  They have a life also, and we don’t pay them enough to stop everything. We expect them to make the majority, but not 100%. 

 9.      I didn’t know that rule….   :  I bet if you read ALL of the FAQ you would know.

 10.  My team didn’t stay together through the season:  Around March, you will find that about 10-15% of girls lose commitment and will leave or quit coming to practice. It happens in all clubs, including Sports Performance and of course us.  All we can do is merge teams, if or when this happens.  

11.  I’m with the lower group in tryouts, I know they put me on that team: Chill… we will put you all over the place to see how girls play in various groups. This means NOTHING until the final teams are set and again….teams are not pre-determined! 

On a serious note, we desire EVERY player and parent to have a good experience with club volleyball. That realistically will not happen. We have been doing this for a number of years and have addressed your concerns in this handbook and provided various options for players’ needs.  Bottom line, club should be viewed as an “extended summer camp, with tournament play as a bonus”. We are here to train your daughter in the highest level possible. If she does her part, she WILL improve and receive the other benefits of playing club.