KVBC FAQ's.

 

General Questions About KVBC and JO Volleyball:

• What is KVBC?
  • KVBC stands for Komet VolleyBall Club.  KVBC runs the KoMet Volleyball JO Program and also acts as the booster club for the KMHS 7-12 teams.  KVBC is managed by a volunteer Advisory Board and a Club Director.
• What is JO Volleyball?
  • JO Volleyball is just club volleyball that is played in the HS Volleyball off-season, typically from Dec or Jan until April or May.  Some larger clubs may go to June.  This is an opportunity for players to improve their skills outside of the school season.
• When does the KVBC JO Season Start and how long does the season go?
  • This can vary based on the team.  Usually tryouts are in October and early November, and then we have some open gyms and skill sessions through Nov.  Some of our advanced teams may start practices in December, but for sure everyone will start by mid-January.  Competitions usually start in late January and go thru April or May, depending on the level of the team.
• How often do you practice?  When and where?
  • This can vary based on the team.  Most teams average 1-2 practices per week.  Practices are usually held on week nights at 7pm (except Wednesdays) or on Sunday afternoons or evenings.  Most practices are held in KM School gyms.  Coaches schedule practices for their teams and attempt to schedule around other activities when possible, but that is NOT always possible.
• How many tournaments do you play and where are they held?
  • This can vary based on the team.  For our youngest teams you should expect 5-6 events per season.  Our more advanced teams may play 10 or more events in a season.  Most of the events that we play in are within a 1hr drive of Kasson.  Some of the events are 2-day events.  (usually in Rochester)  Teams can decide to play in an overnight event in the Twin Cities and in that case the parents are responsible for hotel costs for their child.
• How much does it cost?
  • This varies based on the team and the number of practices and events that are schedule.  Generally the cost will range from around $350/season for our beginner teams to approx $600/season for our most advanced teams.  This assume that parents help out at our home event (KoMet Krunch) and earn a $100 refund on their season fees.
• Where do I find important dates?
  • Our important dates and schedules are all posted at www.KMVolleyball.com

QUESTIONS RELATED TO TRYOUTS:

• My daughter already has a commitment during tryouts.  What can we do?
  • It is definitely best if your daughter can find a way to attend the main tryout, but if that is absolutely not possible, then please email me and let me know the situation, and we will arrange a time during an open gym in early Nov at which we can evaluate players that couldn’t make it to the main tryout.
• Can you guarantee that everyone that tries out will make a team?
  • No, we can’t make that guarantee.  We have open tryouts and everyone is welcome to tryout, but sometimes it isn’t possible to place everyone on a team.  Example 1: If we have a high number of players that tryout and end up needing more teams than we can find coaches for then obviously we wouldn’t be able to form all of the teams.  Example 2: If we have something like 14 players tryout for an age group, that is too many players for 1 team and not enough for 2 teams.  So in that case a few players may not have a spot. We will do our very best to be flexible and find solutions that would enable us to find a spot for everyone, but in some cases it will just not be possible. 
• When will the results of tryouts be announced? 
  • We usually will have all of the teams finalized by mid-November.  We may know some of the younger teams before then, but the reason that we won't know all of the teams before then is because the tryouts for the 9th grade & older teams can't be held until the Sunday after the HS State Volleyball tournament.  After the 9th grade & older tryout we will need a couple of days to organize all of the teams before we can send out the invitations to players for each team. 
  • Each player must make their final decision on whether to accept their spot on the team at the Player & Parent Commitment Meeting, which is usually the Sunday after the 9th grade & older tryout.
• Why is there a fee charged just to tryout?
  • There are some small costs involved with tryouts, but we primarily charge a tryout fee so that when a family signs their daughter up for tryouts we know that they are serious & committed about playing. By charging a fee, we won’t have people sign up unless they are actually serious about playing.  Clubs (not just ours) have found in the past that if a fee isn’t charged, a lot of people will sign up, but then not show up for tryouts.  Or they will come to try outs just for the heck of it and make a team, but never really have any intention of playing.  And that makes it very difficult to plan for coaches, teams, schedules, etc…  So the short answer is that we charge a tryout fee because we only want people to try out if they are serious and willing to make the commitment, and by charging a fee (even a small fee like $15) it increases the likelihood that everyone trying out actually wants to play and has the intention of playing if they end up making a team.

 

QUESTIONS ABOUT COACHES:

• When will we know who you've chosen to coach each team?
  • We typically have all of the coaches figured out by mid-November.  We won't know how many coaches we need until after the 9th grade & older tryout.  If we are able to determine the coaches for some of the teams before then, we will provide that information.
• I will not have my daughter tryout for KVBC unless I know who the coach of each team will be before tryouts.
  • If you want to play for a club that can guarantee a certain number of teams and that can guarantee who the coach of every team will be prior to tryouts, then KVBC is not the club for you.  We form teams based on the numbers that we see at tryouts in order to be as flexible as we can for our players and to give opportunities to as many players as possible.  And this means that we have to wait until after tryouts in some cases to assign coaches because we don't know the number of teams or the levels that we'll have until then.

 

QUESTIONS ABOUT CONFLICTS WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES OR COMMITMENTS:

• My daughter is involved in another activity that is a higher priority for her than volleyball right now, and that activity starts in March or April.  We won’t get her schedule for that activity until then so it is impossible for us to make a commitment to any tournaments after March.  Does this mean that we probably shouldn’t play JO volleyball for KVBC?
  • This definitely makes it more difficult for us to form a team with those girls on it, but as long as you are very clear about what you can and cannot commit to before tryouts then we will do our best to figure out a way to make something work. We definitely want to give opportunities to as many girls as possible and we understand that volleyball is not going to be the top priority for everyone. We love our multi-sport athletes!  We certainly don’t want to discourage anyone from being involved in other activities and we don’t think that you should have to choose one or the other at a young age

 

QUESTIONS RELATED TO PLAYING TIME:

• Please read the detailed KVBC guidelines and recommendations for playing time policies on pages 12-14 of our handbook: KVBC_handbook

 

QUESTIONS ON OFFERING TEAMS FOR 10TH GRADE OR OLDER PLAYERS:

• My daughter is in 10th grade and is playing on JV or Varsity during the HS season this year.  Will you be offering teams for girls in that situation?
  • If enough girls in that age group tryout for us to form an older team then we will definitely do our best to find a coach for them!

 

QUESTIONS RELATED TO SCHEDULING:

• When will we know the practice schedules and tournament schedules?
  • The practice schedule for each month will be created by the coach of each team with input from the player families at the beginning of each month or near the end of the previous month.  We can't get gym times from the school until then.  It is important that commitments made to a certain practice schedule are honored.
  • The tournament schedules will be created in Nov / Dec by the coach of each team with input from the player families.  It is important that any commitments made at this time are honored.