Winter Express Training        

Coaches, Format, and Cost        
More info available on our FAQs Page       

Winter 08 Session   
November 10th - December 18th (6 week session/24 hours of practice for most teams)
8th grade practices Monday and Wednesday from 4:40-6:30
7th grade practices Tuesday and Thursday from 4:40-6:30
(The Thanksgiving practice will be made up on December 23rd)

There are no 4th - 6th Grade teams being offered this session

 1st-2nd volleyball classes -  Fridays from 4:30-5:30
 3rd-4th volleyball classes - Fridays from 5:30-6:30
 

This form is now inactive

Age Groups:  For winter we are looking to form Training Teams in the 7th (U13), and 8th (U14) age groups.   All groups are made up of 16 players with 2 coaches.  This will allow us to scrimmage and enables us to hold a full practice even if we have a percentage of players sick or at another activity.  The 1st day of practice will be an evaluation day where we split the girls into skill groups.  We want to put similarly skilled players together to make practices better and we want the skill level of the groups to increase each year.  Some players may be cut if we have a large turnout.    If you are played on a public Jr High (7th or 8th grade) volleyball team during the fall you must be placed on a training team with no more than 3 players from your school. This is an OHSAA rule.  Please bring this to your instructor's attention if this situation arrises.  

Format:  The winter teams will meet twice a week.  Practices are usually 1 hour and 50 minutes long and will begin the week of November 10th.  The tryout/evaluation day is your 1st practice.  Most practices will be just that, team practices with drills and team concepts being taught along side drills to improve skills.   "Skills days" are dedicated to a specific skill if it is identified as necessary for any of the teams.  There will be no "league games" or tournaments requiring travel but there will be scrimmaging between the groups so we can work on team concepts.  There will also be a plyometric/conditioning component in many practices.  Since we are only offering U13 and U14 teams, the practices are being amended and will move faster with less primary instruction.  In the U13 age group we will miss practice on November 28th (Thanksgiving) and make it up on December 23rd.

Goals:  Each team has a set of goals for the season which will include learning either Rover, Rotation, or Perimeter defense.  Since this is a shorts season we will suspend more of the warm-up and cool down periods in order to fit in more scrimmaging after the first 2 weeks. Serving, attacking, passing, blocking (where applicable), and setting will be worked on by the entire group.  We will teach a 6-2 offense to most teams and we will at least introduce the group to many of the things they will see in the future.  We want to focus on training at a reasonable price and time commitment.  Our best coaches are committed to this endeavor.  This offering is for players who wish to pursue volleyball as a high school sport.  It is not a sign-up and play activity or something to get your daughter out of the house for some exercise.  We want to positively impact girls who think they may pursue volleyball as their future high school sport.  Teams with beginner players will be expected to compete in the same or similar drills as we push the more advanced players.  Each player will get out of this what they put into it.  Since wins and losses are not a factor in this activity, it does not matter that everyone is not at exactly the same level but we do have tryout/evaluations to split players into skill groups to help practices run more smoothly. 

Coaches:  This program is being developed and run by The Sports Express Junior Olympic Volleyball Club.  Current and past coaches include Jeni Case, Amanda Schuler, Lisa Schaad, Rose Grafton, Katie Holly, Mike Seibert, Ginger Hineline, Lynn  Morris, Cheryl Korfhagen, Karen Miranda, Karen Hess, Casie Garland and other guest instructors.  For your daughters volleyball development you're going to be hard pressed to find more knowledgeable coaches than these trainers. We are continually updating this offering to get the most out of our practice time with the girls.  The goal is to give players an opportunity to learn from upper level coaches at a price that is much less than JO's.  To enter 2 full sessions of Express Training (about 5 months) would cost less than $500 as opposed to a Regional JO team which costs about $1000-$1200 or a National JO team which costs about $1800-$2200.  The other advantage is not having to travel and you get a National level coach who can commit to this activity because of the schedule.  At the U10-U13 age groups this is a very good option.  By U14's most players who are playing volleyball as their main sport will gravitate toward JO's but not all due to the schedule and costs.  Having a set practice schedule, a great coach, and a facility and staff committed to volleyball ensures that any effort you give will be rewarded with better play and a better knowledge base.

Cost:  The cost for Express Training is based on roughly $28 per week of practice plus any fixed costs like shirts or balls that the players then get to keep.  The entire balance is due at your 1st evaluation or tryout.  All checks are held until the teams are selected.  Any players not making a team will have their checks voided and destroyed.  The winter session will cost $170 and includes 24 hours of practice (courts, instructors, balls, misc. equipment), and a t-shirt.  More information can be found on our FAQ's page.

What to do now:   Submit a from or call 398-2400 to register over the phone.  Our new online form should direct you to a confirmation page once you send your form and an automated email should follow shortly thereafter.  From there you'll just need to have your daughter at the tryout/evaluation day to be considered for a team.

To find a JO team in your area click here.

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