My daughter got an invitation from her high school coach to attend "junior national" tryouts in Michigan a couple of weeks ago. We didn't know much about it, but decided to go. It seemed loosely run and I hear kids on the way out saying "what did I get out of that?"
I am not finding information online about it. Only AAU Nationals info pops up. This is called "USA Junior Nationals, National Volleyball Sports Festival."
She got a letter saying she made it to the next level in Ohio. It costs quite a bit so I am wondering if it is a legitimate thing. They say there will be college scouts there. But it is somewhat vague. Have you heard of this? Is it beneficial to go to?
Thanks, T
No.
Unfortunately, there are a number of volleyball business ventures where a group will put on a tryout, or all star event, or select invite event, or some other title which sounds fancy but is really nothing.
It is better for your family to use financial resources toward club volleyball and personal college outreach efforts, which is the proven vehicle for garnering recruiting exposure to college volleyball programs.
These select or tryout events, which have another 'next level', which promise that the college coaches will be there are a soft scam. Soft because you do get to touch a ball, and maybe there is excellent training, but a scam because they are being disingenuous when it comes to the recruiting aspect.
Whatever you spend on travel or entry into such an event, especially it being expensive, would be better spent on going to an established Club Volleyball tournament which you may have not attended before (like a large tournament out of your region, which would provide exposure to a new set of collegiate coaches), or using that money to enroll in NCSA Athletic Recruiting's premium service where you can get your information/video out to thousands of collegiate coaches in a verified fashion, or use that money to buy another video camera/computer/scanner which will make your digital communication quicker and easier.
If there is no website about this event, and no detailed listing of who will be there and who the sponsoring club or governing body is, then I would be highly suspect of going. After your impression of the first event, you need to remember the old saying, "Fool me once......"
Stay focused on proven, traditional recruiting methods, where it is verified that college coaches will be there or will digitally see your PSA's information.
Coach Matt
I attended an event like this in Ohio a couple of years ago, to watch my cousin's daughter play, and it was very poorly run and many parents were asking for their money back. I am pretty sure there was not one DI or DII school there recruiting.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine is a D1 coach. One of these "elite" events was being held at HER school. When I asked her about it, SHE did not even know it was being held in her gym, or anything about it! Scammers know that VB parents will spend $ to get their daughter recruited and they want their piece of the pie, IMO. Save that money for club VB travel to a qualifier or two.
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't anything being done about this? The name they are using is very misleading. I only found about 3 links that talk about the USAVJN. It's sad how misleading and disingenuous this organization is being. Some kids actually think they are being selected to play for their country. Shame on them.
ReplyDelete