Club/Travel volleyball (or Junior Olympic Volleyball) is the heart and soul of Wizard Volleyball Academy. This is the competitive arm of our club. Participants must tryout for a team in July – Sept; begin training end of October and compete against other regional or national teams for 4-6 months after that. This is not a recreational league. Information about our tryouts process and dates are normally posted by May/June of each year.
WHAT IS CLUB VOLLEYBALL? – Club volleyball is an organized, competitive form of volleyball played outside of school-sponsored teams. Volleyball clubs offer players the chance to compete in regional, national, or even international tournaments, typically through associations like USA Volleyball (USAV) or the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) in the United States.
Key features of club volleyball include:
- Competitive Play: Teams compete in tournaments against other local and out-of-state club teams. Levels of competition can range from beginner to elite.
- Extended Season: The club volleyball season often extends beyond the typical school season, running through the winter, and into the spring.
- Professional Coaching: Club teams are usually coached by experienced or certified coaches, often providing higher-level training than recreational or school teams.
- Tryouts: Players must typically attend tryouts to be selected for a team, which can be competitive.
- Travel: Many clubs travel to various locations for tournaments, both locally and nationally, depending on the level of competition.
Playing club volleyball is often a pathway for athletes who want to improve their skills, play at a higher level, or aspire to play in college.
WIZARD focus on forming teams, ranging from 10 – 18 years, to train and compete in local and away tournaments against other clubs. Wizard volleyball training is for anyone interested in learning and playing the sport at a higher level than they might be able to find playing at school or in a local rec league or church league. Like most sports, part of the year is “in season” where we are focused more on teams practicing and competing, and part of the year is the “off season” where we’re more focused on training individuals at our camps and clinics. Additionally, WIZARD offers small group skill training throughout the year through.
Can anyone participate?
Yes. Our skill training is open to anyone, in the form of camps and clinics. It’s quite common to even see athletes from other volleyball clubs at WIZARD camps and clinics! “Camp” usually refers to a short but intense program over just a few days, such as a summer camp or holiday camp. Clinics are typically two hours or less per session, but may span several weeks, such as our Wizard Volley League that runs Thursday and Saturday evenings for twelve consecutive weeks. You can register for Wizard volley League and add your athlete to attend any of our training options.
Skill training
Some of our camps and clinics focus on a specific volleyball skill, such as a serving clinic or passing clinic. Some are aimed at specific volleyball positions, such as a libero camp or a setter class. Finally, some are general skills camps or clinics that touch on a little bit of everything, exposing athletes to passing, setting, hitting, serving, and blocking. Our camps and clinics usually have a range of ages, although some programs may be aimed more at high school athletes, or very young athletes, etc. These camps are always available throughout the offseason and summer.
Team volleyball
Skill training is great, but of course the end goal of learning volleyball skills is to compete on a team. There’s nothing more fun than playing a club season – wearing the WIZARD uniform, practicing with your team, and competing against other clubs in real matches and tournaments. To get on a team with our volleyball club, the first step is to register your athlete to attend tryouts.
Tryouts
Club tryouts happen once per year, in the fall, to form teams for the club season, which starts in late fall and ends in the spring. Our tryouts are open to all athletes, regardless of their current or past club affiliation. Tryouts are in mid-July athletes. Because of the strong reputation of WIZARD, tryouts for our older teams – starting at age 13 and 14 in particular – are extremely competitive.
For our youth teams, we don’t require any volleyball experience – as long as they are willing and eager (and maybe a little athletic!), then we can teach them how to play volleyball! Of course, attending some of our fall clinics is a great way to build a little bit of skill and confidence before club tryouts.
WIZARD VOLLEYBALL ACADEMY TIMELINE AT A GLANCE
- OFFSEASON: SUMMER CAMPS AND POSITION CLINICS
- July – September: short training camp open to everyone
- Prep-tryout: Get ready for school and club tryouts
- Focus on skill development-enhancement.
- PRESEASON TRAINING
- October to Mid-November: Focus on Individual training.
- Team Evaluation: Drill and scrimmage to evaluate team and players goals
- REGULAR SEASON – December – April.
- Train weekly 1 to 3x and compete 1 to 2 a month.
- Develop enhanced individual skills as well as team game.
- AAU NATIONAL – JUNE
- Extensive weekly training 2 to 3x and attend AAU National 4 days in Orlando.
- Continue to develop enhanced individual skills as well as team game.
Wizard team typically consists of 11 or 12 athletes, a head coach, and an assistant coach. These teams begin training together during our pre-season at the end of October and December, working around the holidays. Practices are typically two or three times per week, in the evenings. Our youngest teams may practice from 5:45-7:15 for example, while our older teams may have longer or later times in the gym, like 7:15-9:15 and some weekends between 1:15 – 6:15 PM. Sometimes we have a “bonus” backyard practice as well.
The regular season will also see teams in the gym once or twice per week. One practice each week is our Wizard Coaching night, where all our teams are executing the same practice plan, working directly with our most experienced coaches, running the same drills, learning the same principles and strategies, doing strength and conditioning exercises together, and scrimmaging against other WIZARD teams – that gives us the best competition. The other practice each week is a team practice where each coach executes their own practice plan, based on the needs of the team.
Club volleyball season tournaments
Throughout the regular January – April season, teams will also play in weekend tournaments – as few as six or seven for our younger teams, and as many as 10 for our older or more experienced teams – very roughly, it might be every 2nd or 3rd weekend. While our most experienced teams may sometimes travel out of state to play the best competition around the country at large “national qualifier” tournaments, our younger teams generally play more local tournaments. A typical club tournament might be three “pool play” matches on a Saturday morning or afternoon, followed by a Sunday playoff bracket. In a single age group, a small tournament might have 10 or 12 clubs in attendance, while large qualifier tournaments, sometimes played over three days, could have over a hundred clubs competing in a single age group.
Post-season
Many club volleyball players play their entire careers without experiencing a post-season. However, WIZARD teams regularly participate at AAU Nationals in mid-June, which is in Orlando each year, an easy destination from South Florida. In either case, the post-season means six or seven extra weeks of practice for those select teams, and of course that extra tournament, trying to win a national championship!
TRYOUTS – Happen takes place yearly (Mid-End of July), in the summer, to form teams for the club season, which starts in late fall and ends in the spring. Our tryouts are open to all athletes, regardless of their current or past club affiliation.
However, part of our secret our youth program (ages 13 and under). Our goal every year is to offer enough teams that we don’t have to cut any youth players. For youth teams, tryouts are really just to figure out which team is a best fit for each player, to get the level of instruction they need.
For our youth teams, we don’t require any particular volleyball experience – as long as they are willing and eager (and maybe a little athletic!), then we can teach them how to play volleyball! Of course, attending some of our fall camps is a great way to build a little bit of skill and confidence before club tryouts.
CLUB VOLLEYBALL PRACTICE SCHEDULE – At tryouts, we form teams for the season. A team typically consists of minimum of 8 to a maximum 12 athletes, a head coach, and sometimes an assistant coach. These teams begin training together during our pre-season in November and December, working around the holidays. Practices are typically two or three times per week, in the evenings. Our youngest teams may practice from 5:30-7:30 for example, while our older teams may have longer or later times in the gym, like 7:00-9:30. Some teams may schedule an occasional practice as well. “bonus”
The regular season, January-April, will also see teams in the gym two or three times per week at times. One practice each week is our Master Coaching night, where all our teams are executing the same practice plan, working directly with our most experienced coaches, running the same drills, learning the same principles and strategies, doing strength and conditioning exercises together, and scrimmaging against other Wizard teams – that gives us some form of competition, every week. The other practice each week is a team practice where each coach executes their own practice plan, based on the needs of the team.
SEASON TOURNAMENTS – Throughout the regular January – April season, teams will play in weekend tournaments – as few as five or seven for our youngest teams, and as many as 6 to 9 for our older or more experienced teams – very roughly, it might be every 2nd or 3rd weekend. While our most experienced teams may sometimes travel out of state to play the best competition around the country at large “national qualifier” tournaments, our younger teams generally play tournaments in the South County area, including some scrimmage that are hosted in our home gym. A typical club tournament might be three “pool play” matches on a Saturday morning or afternoon, followed by a Sunday playoff bracket. In a single age group, a small tournament might have 10 or 12 clubs in attendance, while large qualifier tournaments, sometimes played over three days, could have over a hundred clubs competing in a single age group.
POST-SEASON – Many club volleyball players play their entire careers without experiencing a post-season. However, our stronger Wizard teams regularly perform well enough to play at National Qualifiers – a chance for national recognition as one of the top teams in the entire country. USAV Nationals is held in a different city each year, around the end of June. Additionally, many of our teams attend AAU Nationals in mid-June, which is in Orlando each year, an easy destination from Palm Beach County. In either case, the post-season means six or seven extra weeks of practice for those select teams, and of course that extra tournament, trying to win a national championship!
What are the age groups for Spring & Fall Camps?
Our instructional clinics are open to participants 6 -17 years old (or 2nd-10th grade), no prior experience necessary. We group participants according to age and/or skill level during the first week. We then adjust participants to the appropriate groups depending on how they progress each week. The group they will work with may vary from week to week. We welcome all grades who do not have club experience but desire to make their Middle school or High school Freshman or JV teams. Our instructional clinics are designed with beginners and intermediates in mind. Intermediates can still benefit from repetitions through skill progressions and technique adjustments. We adjust our instruction based on the skill level of our participants. All players are accepted, regardless of background in the sport. We group players based on their abilities and/or appropriate age group during the first session and adjust accordingly as they progress.
What equipment does my child have to bring to the clinics?
Any athletic attire is ok – t-shirt, shorts, athletic shoes. Kneepads are recommended. Any brand of soft knee pads available at your local sports store is acceptable. Please make sure your child has ample hydration (water or sports drinks are ok) at each session.
What does the instructional program entail?
Part of Wizard Volleyball’s success is its coaching methods and philosophy. We believe in technique progressions and high repetitions. We insist on doing each skill repetition the correct way every time. Everyone, regardless of skill level, will start off with core drills that emphasize the basic fundamental skills of volleyball. Each week, we focus on one particular skill set, then build upon it each session. We end each training session with competitive game play. Towards the end of the program, participants compete against each other in different competitive formats.
if you are ready to sign up: REGISTER HERE