Club FAQ

Arizona Volleyball (Region 55) follows USA Volleyball’s National Junior Age Definition, classifying players by birth date relative to a July 1 cutoff. To determine your athlete’s age group for the upcoming season, please refer to the AZ Region's Website HERE.

NOTE - At OVA, we suggest that athletes play with their graduating class.

Practice schedules for all age groups will be available a couple of weeks after tryouts are completed. The OVA team will review all athletes on the team to align the facilities that will be used based on location. NOTE: Our team will do its best to accommodate, but unfortunately, we cannot promise practice locations.

How Should My Athlete Prepare for Club Volleyball Tryouts?

Preparing for club volleyball tryouts is a significant opportunity, and the effort you put in now can make all the difference later.

To stand out, athletes should sharpen key skills like passing, serving, movement, and decision-making. We recommend conditioning for agility and explosiveness while also bringing high energy, effort, and coachability to every session. Coaches pay close attention to attitude, hustle, and how players respond to instruction, so show your strengths and always compete with confidence.

What Can We Do Before Tryouts to Get Ready?

We strongly encourage athletes to attend OVA clinics and open gyms. These sessions help athletes:

• Get extra reps in a focused setting
• Meet our coaches and build familiarity
• Learn new skills and drills
• Build friendships and confidence before the season starts

For ages 10–14, these are a great intro to our program.

For ages 15–18, open gyms are available once their school season has concluded.

(Note: Varsity athletes still competing in the high school state tournament must wait until their season ends.)

What is the OVA Open House/Evaluation, and Why Should We Attend?

OVA hosts three Open House/Evaluation events per age group, leading up to tryouts. These are structured to reflect the drills and environment of actual tryouts. They allow athletes to:

• Be seen by our coaching staff before tryout day
• Receive informal feedback on their skills
• Gain confidence in the gym environment
• Ask questions and connect with coaches in their age group
• We highly recommend attending at least one or two open houses so our coaches can evaluate your athlete before tryouts.

Find Open House and Tryout Info HERE.

Participating in tryouts is crucial to joining a competitive volleyball club. It's a platform for coaches to assess players' skills, athleticism, and team compatibility. During tryouts, players can expect a variety of drills and scrimmage-like scenarios to showcase their abilities in serving, passing, setting, hitting, and defense. These evaluations assist coaches in forming balanced teams and identifying areas for improvement for individual players. While tryouts can be intense, they also offer a valuable opportunity for players to demonstrate their potential and passion for the sport and learn and grow from the experience, regardless of the outcome.

What happens when we arrive?

Check-in: Go to the check-in table, pick up your athlete’s shirt and division sticker, get your number, and enter the gym.

Documents: Provide the information below to an OVA team member. The process and documents to be filled out is outlined HERE

1. Player Membership
2. USAV Medical Release Form
3. Concussion Acknowledgment Form
4. SafeSport Form
5. Photocopy of Birth Certificate (we need this every year)

Bags: Place bags neatly along the outsides of the gym, then get ready to play!

What should my athlete expect during tryouts?

• Skill & Competition Drills: Coaches will guide athletes through various stations—passing, serving, hitting, defense, and small-group competitions.
• Court Rotation: We use all courts, so players will rotate frequently to be evaluated by different coaches and in various scenarios.
• Team Formation: Coaches select teams after approximately 45-60 minutes of drills. We will start from the highest division first (Legacy, Elite, Select, Regional, and Club)

How will team selections be communicated?

• Coaches will call out the athletes' numbers, grab their bags, and meet in the lobby. The coach will then meet with the families quickly to discuss the team's high-level expectations and understand the commitment level.
• If the athlete chooses not to commit to the team/division, they will be entered into the pool for the next coach.
• This selection process will continue until all teams/divisions are complete.

What will happen after making a team?

• Fill out the uniform sizing and commitment registration documents for the team/division you made, and pay the commitment fee online. This can be found HERE

(We will have sample uniform sizing onsite)

• If you are paying in full, please see a member of the OVA management team for a discount code before committing online.