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Post by onfiya on Jan 15, 2015 16:09:47 GMT -5
I hear the 10K amount per club season thrown around quite a bit as if it's a norm. Can you break down that 10K into actual expenses just so I get a sense of how that 10K amount accrues ? Nothing elaborate, just a basic breakdown if possible. Thanks I'm not sure how typical our case is, but here's how it broke down for us last year: $3,600 - Club fees to cover coaching, court time, tournament entry fees, uniforms, coaches' travel (Dec-April) $1,200 - After qualifying for Nationals (Same expenses above May-June) $500 - Pretryout clinics and private lessons $500 - Misc. equipment (shoes, knee pads, spanks, head bands, club swag) $1500 - Airfare to (2) out of state National qualifiers w/ both parents attending (Could have saved $500 if only 1 parent went). 6 flights @ $250 each. $900 - Hotel for 3 nights at each of (2) National qualifiers. 6 Nights @ $150 each. $750 - Airfare to Minneapolis for Nationals. 3 flights @ $250 each. $600 - Hotel for 4 nights in Minneapolis @ $150 each. Total: $9,550 (And that doesn't include other expenses for college camps/visits and school ball - probably another $2K) Oops! I forgot about 2 other tournaments within the state that we drove to. $600 - Hotel for 4 nights @ $150 each. $200 - Gas So we are probably in the 11 to 12K range for last year's volleyball tab. Again, we have chosen to do this because we get so much out of the sport as a family. What started as our daughter's recreational activity grew in to our passion and a big part of our collective lives, but I can't imagine that most people, regardless of race, would be able to or want to spend that kind of money for their kid to play a junior level sport for 6 to 8 years...
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roger
Sophomore
Posts: 211
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Post by roger on Jan 15, 2015 20:05:56 GMT -5
Here in Philadelphia the club scene is expensive. As pointed out there are clubs that have the "NAME COACHES and the few clubs that are less expensive by some modest margin do not have that aura. Every club every year buys uniforms that are new and include a variety of other items and there is no getting away from that expense. Little if any effort is made to reduce cost or provide a means for youngsters to earn the tuition. IT IS BECOME A CAPITALIST ACTIVITY and money controls. The "GO TO CLUBS" take their players all over the country and claim that they cannot get 'REAL COMPETITION" unless they show in Las Vegas, Denver or Atlanta despite the fact that in Philadelphia we have the NEQ, Russ runs a Happy Volley, DC runs a strong tournament and another major event is in Columbus Ohio which is not so far. No the glamour clubs have made it seem imperative to play for them.
I would also point out that there have been several non white players at PSU(all of black heritage well one from Hawaii) who have been superb in the back row .
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roger
Sophomore
Posts: 211
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Post by roger on Jan 15, 2015 20:19:20 GMT -5
Play to win you have got it right.
Wish I could take your comments and post them in my local site. Can you send them to me? rusty19411@verizon.net
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Post by coachb5012 on Jan 28, 2015 11:09:01 GMT -5
Here's my two cents, from a white, female, retired coach that has been around the game of volleyball for 40+ years. This is my opinion on the topic regarding race and the future of volleyball. First of all I would like to say I believe volleyball is a wonderful sport and has loved it since the first time I played. However volleyball like several others sports has had issues related to race. In regards to why more African Americans aren't involved in the sport here's my thoughts. 1. Cost - The average club cost is around $2,500 - $5,500 nationally for 16 and up teams. Why does club cost so much when most tournaments cost between $250 - $800. 2. Exposure - Depending on the area several players and parents aren't aware that club / travel volleyball exist. I think the USAV and AVCA could do a better job of advertising the sport. Why would NASCAR, Lacrosse or Gymnastics get more advertising and air time than volleyball? 3. Stereotypes - Since volleyball for several years has been a white dominated sport. Several clubs and universities has only recruited / embraced / trained the tall athletic African American players for the Middle and Outside positions. While reserving the Setter and Libero positions for white players. This trend of reserving certain positions for certain players is nothing new in other college or professional sports. Per the NCAA there's 330 DI and 293 DII schools offering volleyball. That equals to around 4000 players (under scholarship) in DI, how many of those teams have a African American Setter or Libero's on it's roster? Why? It can't be because of there's not enough African Americans interested in playing club volleyball (attend a Qualifier). Please take a look at the following article written in the Volleyball Magazine in 2013 and how others like Ruth Nelson was working to find a solution to this problem 40 years ago - www.volleyballmag.com/articles/43017-diversify-the-sport.
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Post by vbnerd on Jan 28, 2015 17:24:10 GMT -5
Do you think coaches are reserving spots for white and black players? I have another theory that is less about mass racism.
I know of several clubs that have "scholarships" for athletes which by NCAA rule must be talent blind to be legal, but somehow only tall African American hitters ever get the money. Remember your bell curve and standard deviations from high school math... if 34% of the girls are between 5'4.5" and 5'8, about 13% are between 5'8" and 6' and just over 2 % are taller than 6'. I know that seems hard to believe walking around a club tournament but we play a sport which calls the 3rd percentile in female height "short." In a group made up of 34% of the population you can find 5-6 kids to pay money to be a passer or setter and just to narrow the field you better have good grades and a good personality too - there is certainly no need to expand your candidate pool beyond those who walk up to you and say "I want to play volleyball." When you are looking for a hitter, you want 6' and up there aren't that many so you need to expand your candidate pool to non-traditional groups which includes minorities and those who can't afford it. Grades? Personalities? Experience? Coaches become much more flexible because they need height.
A fun stat for height. If you know a male between 20-40 who is 7' or taller, there is a 17% chance he is in the NBA right now. Fun stat 2, the assumption has always been that the Chinese are short, but standard deviation is a pure numbers game. When Yao Ming was drafted their were still 100 players 7' or taller in the Chinese basketball development pipeline.
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Post by vbprisoner on Jan 28, 2015 17:33:34 GMT -5
Ruth Nelson is responsible for finding and training player such as Flo Hyman, Rose Magers, Rita Crocket, Danielle Scott Arruda, Ebony Nwanebu, and many others. She has done more to bring the sport to the minorities than anyone else during the last 40 years as stated above.
It will only be about another decade before you will see an increase in women's volleyball and a decrease in women's basketball for the gifted minority athlete. There are going to be a lot more Rhamat Alhassen's who switch sports over the next 10 years.
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Post by coachb5012 on Jan 28, 2015 20:36:50 GMT -5
I agree with you totally "vbprisoner" regarding the growth of women's volleyball and the benefits Coach Nelson brought to the game. I don't believe women's volleyball will become the sport it could become until it becomes more diverse. Think about the sport of football and how it was played 20 years ago (during my younger years). Now fast forward to the present and you have minorities playing the position of Quarterback such as Marcus Mariota (Oregon). If this was 20 or 30 years ago, he would have possibly been switched to a different position or not play at all. Women's volleyball won't become a main stream sport until a few brave coaches like Coach Nelson decide diversity is good for the overall sport.
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