What are the basic differences between club volleyball and recreational volleyball?
The basic differences are cost, coaching, competitive play, travel, and skill growth.
Cost: Generally, a season of recreational volleyball is less than $100 while club or travel volleyball can range anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000+ depending on which organization, tournament schedule, and coaching staff.
Coaching Staff: Coaching staff for recreational volleyball is normally loving parents and community volunteers. While club volleyball coaches (coaching for a USAV club) are required to be Impact and SafeSport certified through USA Volleyball as well as have a current background check. Most are likely to be former collegiate players, middle school, high school and college coaches, or those with extensive sports backgrounds who have become aggressive students of the game in order to help young volleyball players progress in the sport.
Competitive Play and Skill Growth: The rule of thumb in any sport is that you will get better by competing against those better than you. Rec. ball is "generally" a time for a player to learn the basics of the game, gauge their love of the sport and play in a low-pressure environment. Once a player discovers a passion for the game, they will want to compete against better players to test their skills and grow their game. The more you play, the better you get.
Travel: Recreational volleyball is generally played and practiced locally in one place. While club or "travel" volleyball does just that-travel. We will travel to tournaments on weekends to face anywhere from 3-6 teams in one day. At Outbreak we try to keep local tournaments within a 1 1/2 to 2 hour distance, but sometimes it can be a little more. We will also travel out of town for 2 to 3 day tournaments, typically 3 per season. Generally, we do not travel further than 3-4 hours distance from Va Beach, but depending on the team we can sometimes travel further. We will not know for sure until the season starts.
