MiSSiON	PHiLOSOPHiES	WHAT iS CLUB?
AGE DEFiNiTiONS	TEAM COMPOSiTiON	PRACTiCES
FEES	WiNTER WEATHER

AiR CiTY CHiCKS MiSSiON
The AiR CiTY CHiCKS Junior Volleyball Club is committed to providing quality instruction and tournament play opportunities for girls in age groups 12-and-under through 18-and-under, within the Ohio Valley Region and USA Volleyball. The directors, coaches, and affiliates of AiR CiTY CHiCKS are united in creating an environment where players can learn life-enhancing qualities such as discipline, self-respect, sportsmanship, teamwork, how to set & reach goals, work ethic, self-esteem, confidence & cooperation; while also developing fundamental & strategic skills of volleyball.

AiR CiTY CHiCKS will offer tryouts for girls in ALL age groups for the upcoming 2011-12 season. As talent dictates, teams will register and play at either a National, American or Regional level within the OVR and USA Volleyball. National level teams will play at the highest level both in and outside of the Ohio Valley Region and will likely play in AAU/JVA or USAV Nationals at the end of the season. American level teams will play a schedule comprised of both two-day and one-day events in and out of the OVR; these teams will also have the option of playing in either the ASICS National Championships in Chicago, the AAU/JVA Nationals in Orlando or USAV Nationals in Columbus. The AAU/JVA or USAV Nationals are NOT included in the American registration fees. Regional level teams will primarily play in one-day events within the OVR and will also have the option to play in one two-day event that may or may not be within the OVR; these teams will end their season with the OVR Regional Championships in May.

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OUR PHiLOSOPHiES
We want to create a more streamlined approach to club volleyball - one that doesn't require as heavy of a time commitment during the first few months of the season and one that keeps tournament travel to a 2-3 hour time frame.

We want to emphasize quality of coaching before quantity of teams - we won't simply add teams to accommodate players if we can't provide quality coaches to coach those teams.

We want to give players a chance to play - coaches will ensure that everyone will get an opportunity to play at tournaments, although equal playing time will not be promised. Regional teams will focus on teaching fundamentals and giving players playing time to learn the game. American and National teams will focus on improving fundamentals, teaching strategic concepts of the game, and building a team that can compete with other National teams in their age group.

We will be straightforward and honest - you may not always like what you hear, but it will be honest information that is presented in a direct and fair manner.

We will COACH and be passionate about it - our coaches aren't going to sit on the sideline and simply say, "good job;" we are going to get up and instruct and coach and impart our knowledge and passion for the game.

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WHAT iS CLUB VOLLEYBALL?
Formerly known as "junior olympic volleyball," club volleyball is a volleyball training program for elementary, junior high and high school athletes outside of their school system. Typically clubs provide practice sessions throughout the week and tournament play opportunities on weekends during the season. Most clubs play in anywhere from four to eight tournaments a season, so this is not usually an "every weekend" obligation. Unlike school programs, matches are played on weekends in a round-robin tournament format as opposed to weeknights in dual-match format. Also different from school programs is that these clubs are fee-based programs and, admittedly, fairly expensive. The costs involved with club volleyball are there to cover court rental, OVR registration, coaches' salaries, uniform and equipment costs, tournament entry fees and administrative expenses. In Ohio, club volleyball is governed by the Ohio Valley Region (OVR) and USA Volleyball. Players and clubs must also adhere to rules set by the OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association) regarding out of season/non-school athletic participation.

Within the OVR, teams are classified as National, American (13s thru 17s) and Regional. National teams consist of higher caliber athletes who play in highly competitive events both in and out of the region, and they are likely to end the season by playing in a National tournament. American teams are competitive teams, looking to play at a high level, but without the rigors of being on a National team. Regional teams consist of a athletes (in terms of caliber) who want to learn the fundamentals of the sport, gain playing experience and play tournaments that are more local or regional in nature.

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USA VOLLEYBALL GiRLS' JUNiORS' AGE DEFiNiTiONS
For use during the 2011-2012 Season
Once a player participates in a club or varsity program for any university, college, community college, or junior college, he/she is ineligible to play in any regional or national JOVC qualifying and championship events.

18s: born on or after Sept 1, 1993 (or current high school senior)
17s: born on or after Sept 1, 1994 (and/or current 11th grader for American/Regional Teams)
16s: born on or after Sept 1, 1995 (and/or current 10th grader for American/Regional Teams)
15s: born on or after Sept 1, 1996 (and/or current 9th grader for American/Regional Teams)
14s: born on or after Sept 1, 1997 (and/or current 8th grader for American/Regional Teams)
13s: born on or after Sept 1, 1998 (and/or current 7th grader for American/Regional Teams)
12s: born on or after Sept 1, 1999 (and/or current 6th grader)

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TEAM COMPOSiTiON
We will be conducting tryouts this year for 12-and-under through 18-and-under teams. We are expecting to field teams at ALL age groups, but this will be dictated by the talent & response we have at tryouts.

It is our hope to field TWO teams at 12s, 16s and 17s; THREE teams at 13s, 14s and 15s; and at least ONE team at 18s. Again, this will be confirmed by the talent and interest we get at tryouts. Please note that, if we are able to field teams as indicated, we will likely opt for the following divisions of play:

• 12s - Since there is no division of play at 12s, we will simply have a top team (12-PiNK) and a second team (12-BLACK).
• 13s - At 13s, all teams are likely to register as Regional division teams, the top team will be 13-PiNK, the second team will be 13-BLACK, and the third team will be 13-WHiTE. We may consider registering the 13-PiNK team as an American team if the 13-PiNK coach feels the talent/caliber of the team would dictate this.
• 14s thru 17s - In these age groups, we will have three divisional options: National, American, or Regional. Our top teams (PiNK) will either register National or American, our second teams in each age group (BLACK) will register as Regional or American, and any third teams we field in an age group (WHiTE) will register as Regional.
• 18s - At 18s, our team (18-PiNK) will either register National or Regional. If there is sufficient interest and talent at 18s and we have the resources to support them, we will consider fielding two 18s teams.

All teams will be comprised of at least 10 full-time players, but could carry 10-12 players as determined by positional needs and individual coaching philosophies. Practice players may be included on Regional level teams, this will be at each individual coach's discretion. Practice players will have to maintain a similar skill level of the rest of the team and must make a commitment to regularly attend practices. Practice players would NOT be eligible to play in tournaments and will, therefore, be assessed a lower fee for their involvement with the club.

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PRACTiCES
ALL practices will be held at South Metro Sports (10561 Success Lane, Centerville 45458).

Our general practice schedule is as follows (specific team practice schedules will not be determined until after teams are selected):
December thru mid-February - teams will practice once a week, on Saturday or Sunday (there will be no practice over the weekend of Dec. 24-25). Practice times are varied.
Mid-February thru end of season - teams will practice twice a week; Monday thru Thursday. Practice times will be between 4-10 pm, depending on age group & coach's availability.

NOTE: 12-and-under teams will have separate practices December thru mid-February. From mid-February thru the end of the year, 12s will SHARE one practice and have one solo practice each week.

Any additional practices that are added will result in additional cost to be covered by members of team.

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AiR CiTY CHiCKS FEES
Our fees are designed to cover the necessary expenses associated with running a club program and fielding club teams. Typically these expenses include: practice court rental, tournament entry fees, coaches' salaries, administrative functions, registration fees for players and coaches, and uniforms. Please note that our club fees do NOT include your travel or hotel costs or your coaches' travel expense - these costs would be in addition to the fees shown below.

*COACHES EXPENSE NOTE: The estimated coaches' expense costs listed in the tables above covers both coaches, this is not a per coach cost.

*UNIFORM RECYCLING NOTE: If you are a RETURNING AiR CiTY CHiCKS player, we will NOT be offering a uniform recycling plan this season.

FEE BREAKDOWN

OVR Fees
Players and coaches must be registered members of the Ohio Valley Region.

Salaries
Pay that is given to team head and assistant coaches.

Tournament Entry Fees
12s: Fees cover 4 one-day tournaments and OVR Regionals.
Regional Teams: Fees cover 4 one-day tournaments, 1 two-day tournament, & OVR Regionals.
American Teams: Fees cover 3 one-day tournaments, 4 two-day tournaments, OVR Regionals, and ASICS National Championships. If American teams choose to play in AAU/JVA Nationals instead of ASICS, there will be an additional cost of $30 per player for the increased entry fee.
National Teams: Fees cover 1 one-day tournament, 5 two-day tournaments, OVR Regionals, MEQ or Bid Tourney and ASICS Jr Nationals. If National teams choose to play in AAU/JVA Nationals instead of ASICS, there will be an additional cost of $30 per player for the increased entry fee.

Practice Gym Rental
All practices budgeted in our fees will take place at South Metro Sports. Our 12s teams will have independent practices December thru mid-February; beginning mid-February, 12s will have one shared practice each week and one independent.

Administration
Administration costs include tasks such as handling of tournament registration, practice gym rental requests, scheduling of club practices & tournaments, player and coach OVR registration, web site development and maintenance, club promotion & communication, uniform and spirit wear ordering, and other general administrative tasks and expenses.

Uniforms
National & American Level Teams: Two nylon/lycra uniform jerseys, one pair of black spandex, hooded/pullover sweatshirt, sweatpants, club t-shirt.
Regional Level 14s thru 18s: One nylon/lycra uniform jersey, one cotton uniform t-shirt, one pair of black spandex, hooded/pullover sweatshirt, sweatpants, club t-shirt.
12s & 13s: One lower cost nylon/lycra uniform jersey, one pair of black spandex, hooded/pullover sweatshirt, sweatpants, club t-shirt.

Additional Costs
Tournament travel/hotel costs are not included in our club fees. These costs are incurred individually by each player. Teams will also be expected to cover the cost of travel, food and hotel rooms for their coaches as needed for tournaments. Estimated projections for your coaches' expense costs are shown in the tables above. These costs should NOT be paid with your club fees; your Team Parents will be responsible for collecting coaches' expense fees from you and distributing them to your coaches.

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WiNTER WEATHER POLiCiES
The owners at South Metro Sports have indicated that they will not close unless we hit a LEVEL 2 or 3 snow emergency (in the South Dayton Area); therefore, the CANCELLATION of OUR PRACTICES will be up to AiR CiTY CHiCKS and here is what we are planning to do:

1. In case of bad weather, club director will monitor the television/internet to check the "trends" of other area activities. If it appears that most of the area activities are being cancelled due to weather, we will follow suit and cancel our practices.
2. A decision will be made no less than 90 minutes prior to our first practice time for the day (please keep in mind that things could change as we move through the day/evening, so IF we have a significant split in practice times, decisions will be made for EACH block of practices.)
3. Please note: we will not make any type of announcement to indicate that practices will be held as scheduled - we will only announce the CANCELLATION of practice. Basically, no news means we're "on" - if you are uncertain, please CONTACT YOUR COACH.
4. When practices are cancelled, the following notification process will be implemented:
   
   • DIRECTOR WILL CALL/TEXT HEAD COACHES >> the most reliable notification method!
   • DIRECTOR WILL POST A NOTICE ON AiR CiTY CHiCKS WEBSITE HOME PAGE >> barring any technical problems & assuming director is at home, this is also very reliable!
5. Please note that please note that AiR CiTY CHiCKS will not cancel practices based simply on the prediction of bad weather - we will wait and see what happens and go from there.
6. Once weeknight practices in February, we will make decisions about our practices late in the afternoon - even if school is cancelled that day - as a lot can change between 6 am and 5 pm.
7. Please DO NOT CALL DIRECTOR AMIDST BAD WEATHER FOR A STATUS - you will simply be tying up the phone and time that is being spent trying to handle the situation. Your head or assistant coach will notify you by phone (call/text) of practice cancellations (or you can visit our website). If you are uncertain and need to contact someone, please contact your head coach.
8. If we are still having practices, but YOU are unable to make practice due to the weather, it is your responsibility to notify your coach.

Please remember, it IS winter and we ARE going to get some inclement weather and, undoubtedly, some snow... when you are out and about, please slow down and drive safely!

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