Team sports are vital to our children’s development, teaching:
By training and playing in a more competitive environment, this learning process is accelerated.
Club volleyball is a significant time commitment:
When factoring in boys middle or high school seasons, your son will be playing nearly year-round. It’s also a significant financial commitment (see below).
In general, players can expect lineups to be more even in the Fall, and more competitive in the Summer. Playing time is at the discretion of the team’s head coach. All coaches are encouraged to balance playing time with player development and competition. Every player will have opportunities to develop and display their skills in practice and in competition. Every
player will have a significant and impactful role on their team. No player is guaranteed a particular position, role, or amount of playing time.
Our teams develop faster and perform better when all of its members are committed and consistently attending practice and tournaments. We ask all of our players to make volleyball a priority, but we also understand that conflicts happen. We encourage our players to be multi-sport athletes, and we understand that school comes first. If you need to miss a practice, please communicate with your head coach at least one day in advance, when possible. Our coaches design practice plans for every practice, and poor communication leads to more work for our coaches to amend those plans. We don’t penalize for missing practices, but there is always a tangible difference between players who train and practice consistently and those who don’t, and that does affect playing time in major tournaments.
All of our teams train and practice at the NorCal Volleyball Facility:
NorCal Volleyball Facility
789 N. Canyons Parkway
Livermore, CA 94551
Our facility features four full-sized courts, a dedicated training and weights area, and a suite of coaches’ offices. It’s also exceptionally well insulated against the Summer heat and features tall ceilings. Having a high quality home facility means more teams practice with and against each other more often, building a greater sense of community. It also allows us to host programs like club-wide banquets and awards nights, as well as community outreach programs like local food drives
Please refer to USAV’s age eligibility chart below to find out which teams your son is eligible for.
We’re offering six teams for the 2022-2023 season:
All of our teams will compete in NCVA’s power league during the Fall and at Nationals in the Summer. Every team will attend a minimum of seven tournaments in the Fall and two in the Summer. Tournament choices will vary by team level.
Yes, we offer a 12 and under (12U) program called NorCal Juniors. This is a sign-up-to-play program offered to boys and girls in 6th grade and below. There is no tryout for this program. For more information about NorCal’s juniors offerings, please contact our Juniors Fall Ball coordinator Mackenzie Draper.
While costs can vary year to year, costs for previous seasons were approximately $2,800 for the Fall + $1,600 for the Summer, and $400 for uniform package. These costs include:
Your uniform package is valued at approximately $400, which is included in your dues, and has the following items:
In addition to club dues, you will be responsible for transportation, lodging, spectator passes, and parking fees for all tournaments. Each Black-level team will also vote on additional qualifying tournaments, which are extra. These dues are a fixed cost for the season, regardless of schedule conflicts. There are no refunds, and there are no exceptions. Payment can be made all at once or in installments.
We are happy to offer financial assistance for those who qualify on a financial needs basis. We’re also happy to offer custom payment plans for those who need more flexibility. Please email us for an application and for more information.
No, we don’t believe in it. When clubs offer skill-based discounts to their top recruits, the cost is passed on to their teammates, who end up paying more for less playing time.
No. All of our tryouts are skill-based and competitive, regardless of history. But returners do tend to have an advantage in that they’ve been training with us for at least a season just prior to tryouts, putting them in a great spot.
We charge a tryout fee in order to cover our facility, staff, equipment, and logistics costs; we do not make money from holding tryouts. Charging a tryout fee also helps ensure that everyone who attends tryouts is serious about making a team at NorCal, and helps keep the tryout process transparent for everyone. As an added benefit, anyone who registers for tryouts will receive free attendance to our Pre-Tryout Open Gyms.
Two reasons: (1) We’re required to report USAV membership numbers during our tryouts. In return, USAV provides us with insurance and helps us make sure players are eligible to try out and play for our teams. (2) We’re hoping that you’ll put that membership to good use, whether you make a NorCal team or not (see below).
Please register for tryouts and email us with a short introduction and film of your son playing. This must happen prior to
tryouts in order to be considered for a spot in real-time. Make-up tryouts are possible, but not ideal; teams fill up fast.
Email us. We’ll do our best to respond ASAP, whether we have an open spot or not. If we do, we’ll schedule a supplemental tryout with you. If we don’t, we’ll recommend another club that you can contact (see below).
While we’re proud of the program being built here at NorCal, there are more than 20 volleyball clubs in and around the Bay Area with boys programs. The most important thing isn’t playing at NorCal, it’s just playing. Please take a look at the list below, find the nearest program to you, and email them asking if they have any open spots. Having film you can share is
encouraged, but not required.
Here is the complete list, to the best of our knowledge:
If you can’t find a team within your radius, there are more options yet:
Most importantly, keep playing! Boys volleyball is expanding, and more opportunities will open up in the future.
Please sign up for our newsletter to be notified when we announce new and upcoming events.
Please visit our contact page for a list of our program contacts
