Club Volleyball Team Decision

I have a daughter who is 6'1" and 15.  She's a sophomore in hs, plays outside for hs middle for club and leading in kills for her hs team.  She has already been contacted last club season by 10 D1 schools and already had one offer for a full scholarship.

We are trying to decide between two clubs this year.  One is new and she would play 16U and the other one is her old club but they want her to move up to 17U.

Our question is:  would it be bad to skip the U16 year?  We are worried about skipping that important year in the recruiting process.  Also, the two clubs are totally different in their ideology and coaching.  

One is more into game-like simulation and scrimmaging and I've heard the new one has more specialized training like outside hitter nights, etc...  But I'm not exactly sure what that involves since this club is only in its 2nd year.


Thanks for your input!
D B

Thanks for your email and congratulations on being tall or marrying tall (and on your VolleyPSA's success within the early stages of recruiting)!

I would hesitate to jump up to the 17's age group because a 2 year age jump can sometimes hinder an athlete's emotional or leadership development.  As much as the physical development and accelerated speed of the game may be attractive by moving up to an older age group, the mental comfort and leadership development is more important in my opinion.  

As for your choice of clubs, I believe that volleyball players increase skill sets better through specialized training, as opposed to scrimmage situations.  Scrimmage situations enforce what a player already does positive because you don't want to make a mistake, while specialized training can allow a player to make mistakes while focused on improving a specific skill set. In addition, the club season now has 1,583 matches for every team, so there is plenty of opportunity to compete.

Play 16's and chose the club with the focused, skill specific training protocol.  Your daughter's collegiate playing opportunities will be determined by her talent level (physical and emotional).

Good luck!

Coach Matt