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Q:
What
is the Cowlitz Volleyball Club?
A: The Cowlitz Volleyball Club is a non-profit
organization which provides opportunities for athletes
to play competitive volleyball. Founded and based
in Longview, Washington, the CVC is represented by
coaches and athletes from all over Southwest Washington
and Northwest Oregon. Coaches work as volunteers,
and are typically active in coaching local high school
and middle school volleyball teams as well. The
athletes, who range in age from 10 to 18 years, play on
one of the 12 teams which are divided up by age and
ability level.
The
CVC is a member of the Columbia Empire Region of the
United States Volleyball Association. It has no
affiliation with any public or private school.
Q:
What
is club volleyball?
A: Club volleyball is volleyball at its
best! Athletes travel far and wide to join a club
volleyball team, with the intention of receiving
quality coaching, playing with other equally-skilled
athletes, facing top-level competition and having
a lot of fun! It takes commitment and discipline
to be involved, but the rewards are worth it.
Q:
Who
do I contact for questions?
A: For general questions regarding the Cowlitz
Volleyball Club, you can contact Director Bill Marshall
at 360-636-SLAM.
Q:
When
will tryouts be held?
A: The tryouts usually take place in
mid-November. More information on the approximate
date of tryouts will be available on this website
sometime in mid-October.
Q:
What
are the tryouts like?
A: Tryouts are made up of three separate
evaluations : physical ability testing,
volleyball-related skills testing, and volleyball game
competition.
The physical abilities
testing includes such things as push-ups, sit-ups,
40-yard dash, triple jump and vertical jump. The
volleyball-related skills testing includes passing,
setting, hitting and serving. These tests take
place at "stations" where individual athletes
are evaluated by the coaching staff and awarded points
based on the level of their skills. The volleyball
game competition consists of a doubles match, in which
two-player teams play against each other for a set time,
vying for not only a victory, but also to score as many
points as possible.
Throughout
the tryout process, the CVC coaching staff performs
on-court evaluations of such things as attitude, effort,
ability to communicate, competitiveness and desire.
For
an in-depth look at the entire tryout process, check out
the CVC Tryout Guide!
Q:
What
are the age group definitions?
A: According to USA Volleyball for the 2007
-
2008
season:
- 18-U =
Born on or after September 1st, 1989
- 16-U =
Born on or after September 1st, 1991
- 14-U =
Born on or after September 1st, 1993
- 12-U =
Born on or after September 1st, 1995
As a
guide, the 18-U division typically contains high school
seniors and juniors, the 16-U division consists of high
school sophomores and freshmen, the 14-U division is
made up of 8th and 7th grade [middle school] students,
and the 12-U division contains 6th and 5th grade (and
even 4th grade) students. The exception will be
those students who are young for their grade level, and
due to their birth date, can play at a younger division
level.
Q:
How
are the different teams composed?
A: For each age division, teams are given
color-names, with Black being the highest ability-level
team, followed by Blue, Red and Purple, in that order of
level of ability. Currently, the 18-U division
contains Black
(or ASICS) and Blue teams, the 16-U division has
Black
(or ASICS), Blue,
Red
and Gold teams, the 14-U division has Black,
Blue, Gold, Red and Purple teams, and the 12-U division
contains Black, Blue and Silver teams.
The 18
Black and 16 Black teams are distinctively different
from the other teams in the CVC, in that these two teams
require additional commitments from their players in
terms of finances and time, as both teams travel
extensively and their playing seasons are extended
through the month July.
Q:
How
does a player get assigned to a particular team?
A: The CVC assigns players to teams based on a
combination of tryout results and team composition
needs. The tryout results are determined from the
physical ability testing, volleyball-related skills
testing and volleyball game competition, and also by
on-court evaluations by the CVC coaching staff of
attitude, effort, ability to communicate,
competitiveness and desire. The team composition
needs are determined by each individual coach's decision
as to how many players are needed at each position
(setter, middle blocker, outside hitter, libero, etc),
with consideration given to such factors as physical
height.
The goal
of the CVC is to assign players to teams where they will
have the best chance of individual success and be most
capable of making a significant contribution to the
team's success, as well as to meet the needs of the
teams to allow for the strongest possible lineup.
Q:
How
many players are on a team?
A: The number of players on a team ranges from 10
to 12. The exact number is dependent upon several
factors, including team composition needs, ability level
of players and number of athletes participating in
tryouts.
Q:
How
often do you play tournaments?
A: Teams usually participate in 2 or 3 tournaments
per month over the course of a season. The
tournaments are played on either Saturday or
Sunday, or even both. Ultimately, how often you
will play in tournaments will depend upon which team you
are on.
At a bare
minimum, a season will look like this :
JANUARY = Power League; and CVC-hosted Tourney
in Longview
FEBRUARY = Power League; and CVC-hosted Tourney
in Longview
MARCH = Power League; and Yakima Jamboree
[2-day]
APRIL = Power League; and Regional Tourney
For teams
that choose to extend their season beyond April, their
schedule will include as a minimum :
MAY = Emerald City Classic [2-day]
JUNE = CVC-hosted Tourney in Longview;
Volleyball Festival [10-day]
The open
weekends remaining from the minimally-scheduled season
may be filled with additional tournaments. A
tentative schedule will be available at the
Informational Meeting held each year in November, while
the final schedule will be provided in January.
Q:
Where
are the tournaments held?
A: Tournaments are held at a variety of locations,
though the majority of tournaments will be
held in either Longview or the communities surrounding
Portland, Oregon. All teams will also travel to
Yakima,
Washington for a two-day tournament there. On
occasion, teams will travel as far north as Seattle,
Washington and as far south as Eugene, Oregon, with
possible detours to Bend or Medford, Oregon. For teams that
choose to continue playing through June, there will be
the additional travel to Reno,
Nevada.
Tournament locations for
18 ASICS will also include Tempe, Arizona, and Las Vegas,
Nevada, and for 16 ASICS will include either Los Angeles,
California, or Denver, Colorado.
Q:
How
soon ahead of time will I get tournament information?
A: The timing for receiving tournament information
such as gym location and start times primarily depends upon
the respective tournament director. Due to team
cancellations, the tourney schedule is not set until the
week prior. Most directors
manage to inform the team coach by the Wednesday immediately
preceding the weekend's tournament. It is hoped
that tourney info will be available at the weekday
practice; otherwise, team coaches will be calling
players with times and locations.
Specifically,
the information for CVC-hosted tournaments will be
available by the Tuesday or Wednesday immediately
preceding the tourney. For Power Leagues,
information may be posted on the CEVA website as early
as 2 or 3 weeks ahead of time. The Yakima Jamboree
typically has information available on their website
about 1 week prior. Most other local tournaments
will follow the same model as for the CVC.
Q:
How
often do you practice?
A: Teams practice 1 or 2 times per week, typically
on Sunday afternoons and a weekday such as Tuesday or
Wednesday nights. If a tournament is played on a
weekend, there are no Sunday practices.
Q:
Where
are the practices held?
A: Practice locations center around the Longview,
Washington area. Specifically, practices are held
at any of the following: Lower Columbia College,
Monticello Middle School, Olympic Elementary School,
Cascade Middle School, Mt
Solo Middle School, Robert Gray Elementary and Castle
Rock Middle School.
Q:
How
much does it cost?
A: There are several different fee structures to
consider, depending upon the team and their decision for
an extended season. For most teams, their fees
will cover only the January - April season, which is the
lowest cost. Additional cost will result from
a team's decision to continue playing in May - July.
The 18
Black and 16 Black teams have entirely different fee
structures due to their up-front commitment to extensive
travel and an extended season.
Specific
fee amounts will be available at the Informational
Meeting held each year in November.
Q:
What
are the fees used for?
A: Fees cover a variety of costs associated with
participation in club volleyball, namely : tournament
entry (minimum of $90 per tourney) ; equipment such as
uniforms, warm-ups, travel bags, volleyballs and medical
supplies ; monthly expenses such as phone, postage,
printing and materials ; USVBA National Office per
athlete expenses such as insurance ; Columbia Empire
Region team membership ; CVC-hosted tournament costs ;
awards ; concessions ; officials ; custodial / rentals.
Note that
fees are NOT used to pay salaries for coaches or any other
staff member of the CVC. Everyone associated with
the CVC works on a volunteer basis.
Q:
What
do the fees NOT cover?
A: Players and their parents will need to consider
costs that are not included in their fee payment, namely
: travel costs (gas) for local tournaments ; food and
drink ; lodging for overnight stays if desired ;
personal playing equipment such as shoes, kneepads and
ankle support braces.
Q:
How
long does the season last?
A: The typical season begins with try-outs in mid-November, followed by the initial practices in early
December. It concludes with the Regional
Tournament in late April and the Awards Night in early
May. For those teams that choose to extend their
season, there are tournaments and practices in May and
June, with The Volleyball Festival in late June to end
the season.
Q:
What
is Power League?
A: Power League is a series of monthly tournaments
administered by the Columbia Empire Region that is
designed to provide equal-ability competition for club
teams in the Northwest US. A lot of teams are
involved, sometimes upwards of 80 per age
division. The initial Qualifier in January is used
to determine into which division teams will be seeded in
the February Power League. Each division, with
names such as Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc, contains 8
teams, who compete in pool and bracket play.
Depending upon the results of the competition, the
top 2 teams in the division move up to the next higher
division, while the bottom 2 teams move down; the other
4 teams remain in their current division. All the
while, teams receive a certain number of points based on
their overall finish. Competition in this manner
continues through March and April, after which the total
points are added up and used for seeding in the Regional
Tournament.
Q:
What
is The Volleyball Festival in Reno,
Nevada?
A: The Volleyball Festival is not only the largest
volleyball tournament in the world, but it's also the
largest annual sporting event. Over 900 teams from
across the entire USA, and some foreign countries,
participate in the 4 age divisions. Playing
locations are in the Greater
Reno Area. A minimum of 13 matches are guaranteed
for each team, and the tournament format ensures that
teams will compete against other teams of similar
ability. The Festival is usually held in late
June, with competition lasting for an entire week.
Teams travel by car or plane to the Reno
area in the week preceding the Festival. During the tournament,
athletes are housed in a local hotel.
You can
find out even more about the Volleyball Festival by
visiting their website. Click here to see it 
volleyball-festival.com
Q:
Are
there fundraising opportunities?
A: The
CVC encourages individual fundraising activities, such
as solicitation of businesses for sponsorship.
Assistance by the CVC in this area will be provided upon
request.
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