Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
First, we want to say Thank you! For taking the time to ask questions and be active in our volleyball family. As a reminder, we are ALWAYS in need of help for the Board. Both at our sport level and the league level. If you want to join our Board and help make us a better program, email volleyball@dullesyouth.com and let us know that you're interested!
We usually get Lunsford for the Spring House and Travel League and have recently expanded to have additional space. Sometimes we get Mercer; other years, we get Brambleton. Loudoun County Parks and Recreation allots the space based on our registration numbers.
For Club Volleyball, all of our practices and clinics will be held at Hoops Plus. It is located at 45496 Ruritan Circle, Sterling, VA, 20164
Based on practice dates and times, players from our House/Travel teams could be at one or all of the facilities.
For Club volleyball, we hold tryouts in accordance with CHRVA (Chesapeake Region Volleyball Association) guidelines. For U13 and U14 age groups, the Open Tryout period begins the first Friday of November until the following Tuesday at 10:00 pm. For U15 and up, the Open Tryout period begins on the 2nd Friday and runs until the following Tuesday at 10:00 pm. CHRVA Link: https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/document/46c4-2262193/2022-2023_CHRVA_Junior_Recruiting_Policy_1_.pdf?_gl=1*18yfnio*_ga*MTU5NzgzMjMzMS4xNjY0NzQ4NzM2*_ga_PQ25JN9PJ8*MTY2NjgxMTIwNi4xLjEuMTY2NjgxMTIwNi4wLjAuMA
Our travel teams participate in the SYA travel league, and they dictate the games and their locations, which is not the same every year but typically aligns with our Spring House League.
Club team practices start the week after Thanksgiving and run until the beginning of June. Each team selects the tournaments they wish to participate in, with all teams selecting Capitol Hill Classic and CHRVA Regionals. There really is no such thing as a playoff season. We play in areas such as Ashburn, VA; Richmond, VA; Harrisburg, PA; Spotsylvania, Jessup, MD; Ransom, WV; Frederick, MD; and any other area the coach and team select to participate in.
To be honest, it varies by player. Some love to play for LYV, others SYA or MB clinics. Some go to George Mason, while others go to UVA or even Penn State.
There is No promise of any placements. Although we understand that players feel more comfortable with people they know when starting something new. We understand that in our area, carpooling makes lives easier; it takes hours to put teams together without the complication of Sallie wanting to play on Julie's team for whatever reason you can imagine. The best part about being on a team is making new friends and building relationships. Not only for the players but for the parents.
On its face, developing teams for the house league may seem simple. However, we believe in ensuring that the teams are "well rounded" with experienced and non-experienced players. This helps the non-experienced players learn to love the sport, and it helps the experienced players learn to become leaders and share their knowledge and skills.
Being a coach is the most rewarding experience. We want girls to experience a wide variety. Our Coaches get perks such as discounted registration costs, the ability to select a 'preferred' practice night and time, and a few top picks of players. The rest of the team is then split up to balance them out.
Keep in mind we are volunteers with families and other obligations. We typically have 200+ girls to place on 20+ teams. Since we do not just randomly assign girls and take time to rank them and place them, it takes time. Our Commissioner has stayed up until 3 am to try and get it done. So we ask for your patience. Believe us; we will try our best to do it as soon as possible. Hiccups happen with "I just found out I have xxxx on Tuesdays… can you switch me" or "My daughter is on track, and we need to adjust our practice day." This is why we ask during registration to list any other sports or programs your daughter participates in and what days that occur – so we can attempt to accommodate you.
Simply put, gym space is expensive and difficult to come by. Spring Volleyball is considered out of season; therefore, we have to pay higher fees than programs in the fall. Since we do what we can to make Volleyball affordable, we are restricted on space. There was a time when there were 4 teams PER GYM! And only one school. It was insane. We work every year to improve our program and find ways to improve it.
This was a change we made from having the teams "work" another game. A few years back (some of you may remember), your schedule could have been play/work/play, work/play/play play/play/work, but the worst is if it was your "off work" week and you had play/off/play. What that meant for families is 3 hours of volleyball on a Saturday, 1 hour of which parents were "stuck" waiting for their kids to line judge and score keep. By changing it to the parents during the game, we removed the need to hang out an extra hour and felt it was a massive improvement to the league.
Your registration fees go to the cost of the gym space, new uniforms, shirts, referee salaries, and equipment (new balls, first aid supplies). We do what we can to "offset" fees with fundraising, such as hosting events at local restaurants where we receive a percentage of the sales when the flyer is shown. Our Board solicits businesses for their support as well.
The Dulles South Youth Sports refund policy is as follows and MUST be agreed to as part of the registration process.
1) If equipment or uniforms have been issued, no refund will be processed until they are returned.
2) Upon written request via regular mail or email more than 30 days prior to sport season start (1st practice/evaluations), participants will receive a full refund of the activity fee(s) less 10% to cover DSYS expenditures that resulted from the registration (IE county fees, payment processing, league fees, etc).
3) Upon written request via regular mail or email, 50% of the activity fee will be refunded when requested less than 30 days of scheduled sport season start (1st practice/evaluations).
4) No refunds will be issued after the season officially starts (1st practice/evaluations).
Note: You may appeal for special consideration directly to the sport commissioner.
Please send ALL refund requests directly to the commissioner at volleyball@dullesyouth.com
Do you have a question you think should be listed here? Or is your question still not answered? Email volleyball@dullesyouth.com, and we will be happy to answer!