Grandlake VBC Handbook

The USA Volleyball national office is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. USA Volleyball is the national governing body for the sport of volleyball in the United States and is recognized by the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

The vision of USA Volleyball is to be acknowledged as the world leader in volleyball. USA Volleyball is committed to and works toward opportunity for all to participate. It is an advocate for all Americans – endeavoring to assure universal access to opportunities at all levels of the game.

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The Ohio Valley Region (OVR) provides opportunities for our members to participate at local, regional, zonal, and national competitions. Our large and active membership (20,000 plus for the 2019 season) grants us the flexibility to offer exceptional opportunities such as holding both Adult and Junior Regional Championships in a metropolitan convention center. We also sponsor High Performance teams for elite juniors and coaches who wish to excel and to challenge their abilities at a highly competitive level of play. The OVR offers many educational avenues to our members who wish to become more effective club directors, coaches, officials, and clinicians. Beyond those immediately tangible benefits, we cannot ignore the physical fitness, health, and social opportunities that our lifetime sport provides.

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The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) has specific rules that athletes and coaches must obey. During the OHSAA out-of-Season period, school Volleyball coaches for grades 7 -12 are now permitted to coach individuals in grades 7 -12 that played for their school team in team play, as long as there are 3 or less individuals from their school team, and it does not fall in any of the No Contact Periods. They may also utilize the permissions in General Sports Regulation 8.2 (Individual Instruction Regulation). Additional rules can be found at www.ohsaa.org.

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History of Grandlake Volleyball Club

In 2001, Rick Carter and Todd Henkle established Grandlake Volleyball Club with 4 teams. The year’s club for 2019 has 40+ teams, ranging from 10 to 18 year old teams.

Purpose:

The Mission of Grandlake Volleyball Club is to provide quality coaching and the best possible learning environment to teach our community of athletes the basic fundaments of the game, the desire to compete at each age level, the discipline it takes to be an athlete, along with the importance of sportsmanship.

Coaching Staff:

Grandlake Volleyball Club is directed by Todd Henkle and Lisa Thobe.

Practices:

Practices will be held at various sites throughout the local area. Some schools are very generous in providing a modest fee to rent the gym. Regardless of which gym, all practice sites will be left clean and trash free. All players and coaches will treat the facilities with respect. There will be zero tolerances toward any destruction within or outside of the premises.

Rules for practices:

1. Arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled practice time. This will allow for a warm-up time for the athlete.

2. It is recommended that each athlete bring her own water or drink to practice. Glass containers are positively not allowed.

3. Athletes are required to contact their coach if they are unable to attend a practice or if they will be tardy. THIS IS MANDATORY. The player must give a reason. Practices will usually only be once or twice a week, planning on attending them. They are very limited.

4. All athletes are required to set-up nets, poles and accessories prior to practice. Each athlete is required to assist in putting away all equipment. Players are not allowed to leave the premises until their coach releases them.

5. Practices are the time to learn and improve on skills. There will be no horseplay or goofing off during the schedule practices. It is the responsibility of each player to work hard, work with teammates and to be coachable.

6. All practices are closed to parents/guardians except the last ten minutes of practice.

7. It is the responsibility of the parents to have the players arrive at the appropriate time and to pick-up the players at the stated time. Parents please be ON TIME. Coaches will not leave until all players have left.

8. Coaches will notify the players if a practice needs to be cancelled, and/or it will be posted on the home page.

Tournaments:

Most tournaments will be held within a 2-hour drive. National & American teams may be required to stay over at a couple of tournaments. At a stay over, Parents will be required to be chaperones. Coaches are not permitted to. Regional teams will play in 5 tournaments plus the Ohio Valley Regional tournament in Columbus; American & National teams will play in 6 tournaments plus the Ohio Valley Regional tournament in Columbus. Most directions to playing sites are available the Ohio Valley Region website, www.ovr.org.

Rules for tournaments:

1. Arrive on time. Usually 30 minutes prior to the first match. Your coach will tell you when you need to be there. Coaches will usually receive tournament information the week prior to the playing date.

2. Parents are responsible for transportation to and from each tournament. If necessary, the coach and parents may need to arrange hotels for the stay over. The cost of the hotels and transportation are not included.

3. Players are encouraged to bring water, drinks, snacks and food to tournaments. Most sites have concessions available, but some do not. COOLERS ARE NOT ALLOWED in tournament facilities.

4. Bring shoes, warm-up, uniform top, spandex and all proper attire that’s needed.

5. Call your coach if you will be late or unable to attend a tournament.

6. All players are responsible for cleaning up their area before leaving! Players will not leave until their coach excuses them.

7. All athletes are required to be scorekeepers, line judges, and down officials during tournaments. Players are not permitted to leave until all officiating duties are fulfilled. Your coach will be responsible for excusing all team players. Players are permitted to leave only when special permission is granted.

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TIPS ON BEING A GOOD SPORT PARENT

(from Mablevale Youth Association)

1. Practice and work with your daughter. This creates quality time for both parent and player. This will help your daughter improve and the better she can play the better she will like sports.

2. Get involved with the program. Everyone can find a place to help.

3. Show up for the games and practices. The most irritating are the parents who never watch a match or attend meetings and therefore never understand a coaches philosophy but will be the first to question (yell about) a coach’s decision during a game.

4. Don’t create pressure. Just about every mother/father dreams of their daughter becoming a major league star, but they are only kids and deserve to enjoy the game as youngsters. Don’t expect more than they can deliver, give positive encouragement. Be there for them when they need you.

5. Respect the rules. This is one of the most important things the players should be learning. If you don’t agree with officials, keep it to yourself. Honor your coach’s discipline rules.

6. Have fun. This should be a positive experience for everyone. Winning is nice, but losing is inevitable. Being a star is fun, but being a bench players is just as important.

7. Losing is a normal result of competition. No one likes to lose, but the nature of a team sport is that one team always loses. Teach your daughter that she didn’t lose, but the team lost. They lost to a better team that day. Next time may be different.

8. Different coaches have different philosophies. Some believe in having players play every position, some believe to play just one position to become good at that one position. Some coaches place more emphasis on winning (which is by far more fun to be winning). Some coaches will play everyone and some just a certain amount of time. Remember your coach is working for the love of the game and the players, so let him/her coach. Don’t argue in front of the players and criticize in the background if you think your daughter is being treated unfairly. As parents, it is natural to be protective, but most coaches are not discriminating. The important thing is not to make an issue in front of the players, they are learning to work as a team and to respect authority and experience a team concept.

9. The program only gets better if you volunteer. One of the biggest irritants we see is those who will not give their time, but are quick to criticize. If you can’t be part of the solution, don’t be part of the problem.

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Grandlake VBC Policies

The following guidelines must be read and followed by all players, coaches, and parents who are associated with the Grandlake Volleyball Club. Any questions or comments should be directed to Todd Henkle, Club Director.

1. Playing time: Our philosophy is “if you pay, you should play”. The amount of playing time is positively NOT GUARANTEED at all. Each coach should make every attempt to play every player during pool play and during tournament play. Equal amount of playing time will never happen and it’s the coaches decision who plays when and how much. Factors that may decide playing time: the players skill level, attending practice regularly, attitude, the players positions, notifying coaches of absenteeism, late payment of fees, not being a team player. Our goal is to have your daughter play the position in club that she will be playing for her school team. If you as the player or parent feel that this is not happening, then you should first talk to your coach and then the Club director.

2. Practices: Each player is paying for instruction and the opportunity to improve their volleyball skills. Regional/American level teams will practice once or twice a week, and National teams will practice two or three times a week. Each missed practice is costing the player valuable instruction time and hurting the team concept as a whole. National team players are required to attend practices and all tournaments. All National players will need to make a personal commitment to their team, the club and their coach. A few exceptions for missed practices are grades and school functions, family issues, and medical reasons. Hair appointments, shopping, nap time, “dates” are all unexcused. All players will have a practice schedule in advance to make adjustments. Any player that persists in missing practices will have limited playing time during tournaments and will not play next year! Practices are where the individual skills, fundamentals, team playing are learned!

3. The use of any illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products is strictly prohibited for any player of Grandlake Volleyball Club. Consequences for breaking this rule will be determined by the club director.

4. Team selections: Try-out will decide what players will be on which team. Players that have their high school coaches on the Grandlake Staff will get priority over an equal player from outside the staff. Example: a coach from Parkway has 2 players trying out and there are 2 players from Indiana of equal skill, we will keep the Parkway players over the Indiana players since they have no coach on the Grandlake staff. Our coaches are coaching to help to improve their own volleyball program. All players are welcome to try-out and are eligible to play in our club. It is recommended that players attend both try-outs. The coaches will decide which players are to be put on which team. We will try to make adjustments for players from the same school to be on the same team if possible. For carpooling purposes, players must notify the coaches at the try-outs if this is an issue.

5. Each player is responsible to call their coach if they are going to be tardy or unable to attend a practice or a tournament. This is mandatory! Coaches need to know how many players are attending a practice. Players need to call as soon as possible or at least 1 ½ hours prior to their scheduled time. Practices may be unproductive if only 3 or 4 players attend.

6. Players, Coaches, and Parents are to act in a sportsmanship manner to all opponents, coaches, other parents, and officials. Players and Parents should show respect to their coaches. All are representing your high school, community, family and our club.

7. Lines of communication: Any problems, issues or questions on improvement about yourself or the team should be addressed with the athlete and the coach first. Open communication between the coach and the player is top priority. If a problem still exists, then the player, parent, and coach should schedule an appointment to discuss the matter. If the problem cannot be resolved, then the athlete and parent should schedule an appointment with the director (Todd Henkle). All parents and coaches will discuss issues in an adult respectable manner. Under no circumstances will any verbal abuse be allowed. Club ball should be an enjoyable experience for all involved. If any parent verbally or physically attacks a coach, their daughter will be immediately dismissed without a refund and will be not be eligible to play next year.