Questions about Tryout Procedure and Details

Tryouts for 10u-14u will begin on Saturday, October 21st and last for several days. Tryouts for 15u-18u will begin on Saturday, November 5th and will also last for several days. All tryout sessions, regardless of age and intended tryout level, will be held at MidAmerica Sports Center at 1906 Watterson Trail. Full tryout schedules will be posted here.

Yes. While it is not required to attend all tryout sessions, we highly encourage players to attend all of them so evaluators can get an accurate assessment of your player and make the best team placements possible. 

We realize some schools are on fall break, vacation plans have been made or there might be other reasons why you can't attend any of the tryout sessions. In this case, we recommend you attend some of our training events listed here and make sure our club directors and/or the coaches for your age group are aware of this. We will do our best to help assign your athlete to an appropriate team as best we can.  We do ask that you register for tryouts so we have you in our system.

There is no one size fits all answer here.  As a general guideline MAVA recommends girls plan to play in their USAV defined age group. However, there will sometimes be exceptions to this recommendation due to things such as advanced skills, varying stages of physical development, playing with school friends, potential collegiate recruiting opportunities, etc... MAVA coaches and staff will work together with you on these exceptions and determine the best fit for your athlete.

USAV Age Definition Chart

Yes. It is recommended that, when in doubt, you tryout for travel. If you really cannot determine what you think is best, we welcome you to get a Select coach's or Club Director's opinion for your intended tryout age group, to determine which you should tryout for. Keep in mind that if you do not make at travel team, you are still able to be evaluated for nontravel. While our regional and local non-travel teams offer great opportunities to players, getting the experience a travel team can offer you is unparalleled when it comes to long term volleyball goals (i.e. exceling on your high school team or playing in college). 

Each day and session will be structured and run by the Select coaches of each age group with the guidance of the Club Directors. The drills run will be set up so that the coaches can best determine which players make each team and players should expect to have to demonstrate all skills throughout the duration of the tryout. Teams will be finalized continuously through the tryout, which is why it is highly encouraged that players attend each session so they get a full assessment and have the best opportunity to make the highest level team possible.  Rosters will be verified by the Club Directors prior to phone calls being made on the final day of tryouts for players to accept their positions. If you need time to consider the offer, you will have a maximum of 30 minutes to deliberate. After that time has passed, it will be assumed that you have declined the offer and the coach will move on to the next player on the list. However, this time period can be extended with the approval of a club director if certain circumstances arise, but this courtesy does not apply to travel teams. The chosen select team families will be expected to sign their contracts electronically that night and email them in before midnight.

If you try out for a travel team and don't make it, you will be offered to return and continue to try out for a non-travel team. If you do not make a team at all, you will be offered a spot in our Short Season Program to develop your skills in preparation to tryout again next year. There will also be other opportunities to train throughout the season including lessons, clinics, and small group work.

How Are MAVA Teams Organized?

We have detailed information that compares our four levels of teams here.

We will have a maximum of 5 teams in each age group. For 11u-18u there will be 1 Select team and 1-2 travel teams per age group. Additionally, for 10u-16u there will be 1-2 regional or local non-travel teams per age group. 

Generally, we will have 10 players on a team. Due to extenuating circumstances, we could have as few as 9 players on a team and up to 11 players if the situation calls for it.

A full list of coaches with their bios will be available for viewing under the home tab. Currently, only Select coach bios are available until we make our announcements via social media. Select coaches can be found here, Travel coaches can be found here and non-travel coaches here. These will be updated as new announcements are made.

What costs are involved with playing at MAVA?

Tryouts cost $75. However, we take a partial club fee payment with that during registration for a total of $310. 

Club fees are in place to cover admin fees, facility fees which include court rental, coach salary, club gear, and college recruiting assistance. The payments for club fees are flexible. They can be paid all at once or spread out over the entire club season (or longer on a case-by-case basis) by enrolling in MAVA's ACH program. More information on this will be discussed in the team meeting at the beginning of your season.

Yes. While all of our teams offer quality training, competition, and many growth opportunities, they are not created equal. Select teams practice, travel, and train the most so they naturally will have a little higher club fee. Travel teams also travel nationally, but only practice twice a week compared to three times with Select, so they have the second tier of club fees. Lastly, regional teams (a.k.a. non-travel) practice twice a week like travel, but only play within the pioneer region or the Kentucky area, so they have our lowest tier of club fees.

Teams Fees. These fees are a part of of every volleyball club across the national, but vary by team within MAVA specifically. These fees cover tournament team entry fees, coach travel and coach hotel costs, USAV and AAU membership fees. In addition, there are personal expenses. These could include travel, hotels, extra gear, food, team bonding activities, etc. 

We are glad you asked. Yes, there is! You can view that chart here. It contains details on practices, travel distances, amounts for club fees and team fees, what gear will be acquired, major tournaments listed, etc. It is an excellent resource and we highly encourage you to take a look at it. 

We do not include a charge for conditioning in our fees. However, we highly recommend that every athlete engage in some type of conditioning routine for injury prevention. Select team athletes are expected to participate some type of program not only for injury prevention, but for optimal performance and development of good athletic habits. Options can, for example, include regular team/group training sessions, personal trainers or rigorous home programs. MAVA coaches can work with you on options based on past experience and help ensure that strength and conditioning training can best coexist with practice and tournament schedules.

How can we best prepare for tryouts at MAVA?

We offer a variety of opportunities to get in the gym, meet the coaches, and train prior to tryouts. We have Open Gyms that focus on 10 - 14 year olds, MAVA Minis for our 7 - 12 year olds, specialized skills clinics for athletes of all ages, general skills clinics, private and small group lessons and more. Our current offering and more details can be found here.

The best way to prepare for the upcoming club season is to attend our Parent Information Meeting. This will allow you to get firsthand information from our club directors, meet the coaches, ask any questions you might have and talk to other parents that have experienced club volleyball.  More information on this can be found here.

My question was not answered. Who can I contact? 

Name: Glenn Pike

Email: mavatryouts@masportscenter.com

Phone: (502)736-0800 ext 106

Please leave a message including your name, player's name, their graduation year in high school, position (if they have one), and what experience level they have with volleyball. After that, please indicate what your questions are and how best to reach you. We will get back with you as soon as possible.