FAQ
FAQ
Club volleyball is an opportunity for girls and boys ages 10-18 of varying abilities to develop their skills through training and competition. It is a select sport where you must attend a scheduled tryout and be chosen for a team based upon skill, athletic level, and potential. Club volleyball is more competitive than league volleyball where anyone can sign up and play with others recreationally and socially depending on age requirements.
Austin Junior Volleyball is an elite junior volleyball club sanctioned through the Lone Star Region and USA Volleyball.
AJV Pathway to Club Volleyball
AJV Lite:
Central and North. Practice 1x week. 1-2 coaches per team. Season January-April (1-2 USAV tourney a month in Central Texas). Designed for athletes who want to experience club volleyball without the intense demands of a full season and practice schedule.
AJV Futures Program:
Satellite program for ages 15s and younger in Marble Falls, Manor, LBJ High School and Williamson County area. Practice 2x week starting after Thanksgiving. 1 coach per team. Play locally + LSC. Ideal for multi-sport athletes wanting to practice and play locally with minimal travel.
Austin Junior Volleyball:
Practice 2-3x week. Play regionally (LSC + REG) and nationally. 2 coaches per team.
11-14 Navy/CP- Regional teams with a mixture of talent (all events in the state of TX); 2 coaches per team.
15 and 16 Navy/CP- Travel teams (1-2 out of state Qualifiers); 2 coaches per team
adidas/Molten/Helix- National Travel teams (1-3 out of state Qualifiers/Nat'l events plus GJNC or AAUs); 2-3 coaches per team
Tryouts
Austin Juniors requires that everyone tryout in their predetermined age groups. Some players do play up due to grade in school, but at the request of Austin Junior Volleyball only. If you are unsure, sign up for the age group determined by your birthday and contact Michael Garcia at mike@austinjuniors.com.
Age Classification for the 2024-2025 Season
18 and Under Division: Players who were born on or after July 1, 2006 OR Players who were born on or after July 1, 2005 and a high school student in the twelfth (12th) grade or below during some part of the current academic year
17 and Under Division: Players who were born on or after July 1, 2007 OR Players who were born on or after July 1, 2006 (18 years or younger) who shall neither have completed nor are in a grade higher than the eleventh grade (11th) during the current academic year will be allowed to participate at the USA Junior National Championships on 17 and under teams.
16 and Under Division: Players who were born on or after July 1, 2008
15 and Under Division: Players who were born on or after July 1, 2009
14 and Under Division: Players who were born on or after July 1, 2010
13 and Under Division: Players who were born on or after July 1, 2011
12 and Under Division: Players who were born on or after July 1, 2012
11 and Under Division: Players who were born on or after July 1, 2013
The tryout fee is $60 which covers court time, evaluations and a tryout shirt. Tryout fees for registrations submitted after the early registration period increase to $100. The early registration period ends 1 month prior to the first day of the tryout.
There are no refunds once registered, and we are not accepting credits for tryout registrations. If you do not show up, or if you try out for another club and choose to stay with them, your tryout registration fee is forfeited.
See our tryout dates on the Tryouts Page.
We hold our tryouts in the summer. Tryouts will take place throughout the month of June and July.
If we still have available spots, we will hold supplemental tryouts throughout the beginning of fall.
17s and 18s: (1 day tryout)
ASC Cedar Park
11s, 12s: (1 day tryout)
ASC Cedar Park
13s, 14s, 15s, 16s: (1 day tryout process)
Day 1 – ASC Cedar Park
Libero/Defensive Specialist Evaluation Clinic: Click on link to view details, dates and requirement for this position within the 13s through 16s age groups.
Visit our Tryouts Page to see tryout dates, and times for your age group. Tryouts remain open for registration until the day of. We accept walk-ins at tryouts, but we do not guarantee you will receive a t-shirt in your size.
If the tryout dates have passed, we occasionally have spots on our teams to fill. You can view these open spots and register for a supplemental tryout on the Tryouts Page.
If you are unable to attend your age group tryout date, you can still be considered for a team. Keep in mind that this limits the opportunity for the athlete to be seen competing among their age group and to be seen by all the AJV evaluators.
If you are going to miss your age group tryout date, you must e-mail Michael Garcia prior to May 15, 2024 to discuss the options to make up the days (contact Michael even if its after May 15th, there may still be some options)
We typically place 9-12 players on a team. Factors that affect this determination include but are not limited to: age group, the level of talent, and the positional needs of a particular team.
Soon after the conclusion of tryouts for your age group, you will receive an email from Austin Juniors with team information and an invitation to accept your spot. You must accept your spot and pay the deposit before the time mentioned in the email or your spot may be given to the next athlete. If you are named an alternate, you will receive an email with that information as well.
The amount of time it takes to receive your email may vary based on many factors. We will do our best to send the email in a timely fashion.
Once you are placed on a team, you will receive an email with an invitation to accept your spot. You must complete this registration and pay the non-refundable first payment. The first payment is $600 for those selected to a 11s through 18s team. **Credits may not be used toward these first payments.**
The remaining balance is spread out in monthly payments. Once you've accepted a spot on a team, the remaining balance of the dues is non-refundable.
Some players may be selected as alternates which means that, at the time of the tryout, there isn’t currently a position available. If another player were to decline their offer, a position could become available and players on the alternate list could be contacted to fill those unaccepted positions.
We require the athletes who earned spots on teams to make their decision the final night of tryouts. If someone declines at that time, we will call the alternates to fill the open position. If AJV has not contacted you within 72 hours, it is likely that any open positions have been filled.
NO! We offer age groups from 11 & under to 18 & under, but athletes can start at any age. Any athlete under the age of 10 can tryout for the 11 & under division.
Athletes should bring a refillable water bottle and wear appropriate volleyball attire.
Parents are welcome to help their athlete check in. We ask that only athletes be inside the building during the tryout process. In some circumstances, an AJV staff person may want to discuss options for your player. Please make yourself available by phone so that these types of conversations will not lengthen the tryout time. We understand that this is a stressful time for players and families. We will always try our best to help make this experience enjoyable and educational.
Libero Tryout Clinic
Anyone interested in being considered as a libero should attend the Libero Tryout clinic. If also wanting to be considered as an outside, you will attend the libero Tryout clinic first. Based, on our evaluation, if we believe your athlete should tryout for a position other than libero, your athlete will be invited to the tryout. If your athlete is selected for 2025 tryouts, there is no need to re-register for the tryout, AJV will handle your registration internally.
(If you want to be considered for libero along with another position then you must register for the libero tryout clinic regardless if it's your primary or secondary position. Note that if you are seeking evaluation for a different position then you will need to inform AJV staff the day of the libero clinic to avoid paying an additional registration fee. )
All Libero Tryout clinic participants will receive notification via the email address that was used to sign up for the Libero Tryout clinic through league apps.
Once selected for AJV 2025 tryouts, there is no need to re-register for the tryout, AJV will handle that internally. You will need to bring your tryout shirt that you received at the Libero tryout clinic to the 2025 tryouts.
If you are unable to attend the 2025 tryout date for your respective age group after being selected as a libero and/or invited to the tryout for a position other than libero, you must email mike@austinjuniors.com to discuss your options with scheduling an alternate date.
We will not be evaluating any libero at the 2025 tryouts that were unable to attend the Libero tryout clinic. If you are unable to attend the libero tryout clinic, you must email mike@austinjuniors.com to schedule a time prior to the libero tryout clinic scheduled date.
Fees/payments
The cost of player dues differs from team to team. View the 2023-2024 club fees via our tryout page. (The 2024-2025 club fees will be available later)
The fees cover the cost of gym rental, equipment, USAV registration, tournament entry fees, coaches salaries, administrative fees, and printing costs. All AJV players will have access to two full-time college recruiting coordinators.
Fees do not include: uniforms, practice gear, airfare, hotels, food, any ground transportation to and from practice sessions and out-of-town tournaments, or shopping. Hotels for teams will not be included in your club fees.
A non-refundable first payment of $700 is due immediately following tryouts for those selected to a 11s through 18s team. **Credits may not be used toward the first payment** The remaining balance is spread out in monthly payments. Once accepting a spot on a team, the remaining balance of the dues is non-refundable and/or the remaining balance will be due for breach of contract.
Austin Junior Volleyball believes that athletes should participate based on their ability to play, not their ability to pay. If the cost of club volleyball might be a prohibiting factor to your daughter or son participating, please read more on the Financial Assistance section of our website.
Austin Junior Volleyball believes that athletes should participate based on their ability to play, not their ability to pay. If the cost of club volleyball might be a prohibiting factor to your daughter or son participating, please read more on the Financial Assistance section of our website.
Tournaments
Schedules for the 2024 season can be found on our Tryout page. View 2023-2024 tournament schedule via our tryout page. Final schedules for the 2024-2025 will not be confirmed until Nov 2024.
Tentative tournament schedule for the 2024-2025 season should be posted around August 2024.
Once schedules are finalized, you can view your team's schedule by logging in on the Leagueapps website or on the AJV app.
Each of our AJV teams have unique schedules based on the age group, length of season and player dues. Each team’s specific schedule can be found under the TOURNAMENTS section of the FAQ page and/or the AJV Tryout page should be posted by August 2024. At this time, view 2023-2024 tournament schedule via our tryout page.
Here is a general outline of the travel for AJV teams for this 2023-2024 season. More information to come about the 2024-2025 club season, once details are finalized.
11s and 12s:
The majority of the tournament schedule for the 11s and 12s will take place in the central Texas area. However majority of the teams will travel to Dallas in April for the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier (excluding AJV Lite teams). Teams will end their season in mid-April or early May with the exception of 12 adidas. 12 adidas' season extends to late June with the season ending with a flight to either USA Junior Nationals or AAUs National Championships (12 adidas will travel/fly to an out-of-state Qualifier in March or April).
13s
The 13 & Under age group has a mixture of teams, some of which are mostly local, and regional and some that travel nationally. The 13 adidas and 13 Molten teams will play various tournaments in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas including the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. 13 Molten will also fly to one national qualifier. 13 adidas will travel/fly to two out-of-state national qualifier. 13 adidas and 13 Molten will end the season in late June with a flight to either USA Junior Nationals or AAUs National Championships. 13 Navy and 13 Cedar Park will play mostly Austin area with a few tournaments in Houston and San Antonio and the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. Their season ends in early May at Regional Championships. All other 13 & Under teams’ tournament schedule is in the Central Texas area with their season ending at the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas in mid-April (excluding AJV Lite teams will not attend Lone Star Classic in Dallas and the season will end mid-April at a local tournament).
14s
The 14 & Under age group has a mixture of teams, some of which are mostly local, regional and some that travel nationally. The 14 adidas ,14 Molten and 14 Helix teams will play various tournaments in Austin, Houston and Dallas including the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. 14 adidas and 14 Molten will fly to two national qualifiers and will end the season in late June with a flight to either USA Junior Nationals or AAUs National Championships. 14 Helix will fly to one national qualifier and will end the season in late June with a possible flight to AAUs National Championships and/or short drive to GJNC. 14 Navy and 14 Cedar Park will play mostly in Central Texas area events with a few tournaments in Houston and San Antonio and the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. Their season ends at the Regional Championships in early May. All other 14 & Under teams’ tournament schedule is mostly Central Texas area events with their season ending at the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas in mid-April (excluding AJV Lite teams will not attend Lone Star Classic in Dallas and the season will end mid-April at a local tournament).
15s
The 15 & Under age group has a mixture of teams, some of which are local, regional and some that travel nationally. The 15 adidas, 15 Molten and 15 Helix teams will play various tournaments in Austin, Houston and Dallas including the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. They will also fly to two national qualifiers (15 adidas will have an additional flight to an out-of-state President Day tournament in February). 15 adidas and 15 Molten will end the season in late June with a flight to either USA Junior Nationals or AAUs National Championships. 15 Helix season will end in late June with a flight to AAUs National Championships. 15 Navy and 15 Cedar Park will play various tournaments in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas including the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. They will also fly to one out of state national qualifier and their season ends at the Regional Championships in early May. All other 15 & Under teams’ tournament schedule is mostly Central Texas area events with their season ending in mid-April.
16s
The 16 & Under teams will all travel nationally. The 16 adidas, 16 Molten and 16 Helix teams will play various tournaments in Austin, Houston and Dallas including the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. 16 adidas will fly to two out of state national qualifier, fly to one Pres. Day event and end the season in late June with a flight to either USA Junior Nationals or AAUs National Championships. 16 Molten and 16 Helix will fly to three out of state national qualifiers. 16 Molten will end the season in late June with a flight to either USA Junior Nationals or AAUs National Championships. 16 Helix will end season at AAUs National Championship. 16 Navy and 16 Cedar Park will play various tournaments in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas including the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. They will fly to two out of state national qualifiers. Their season end at the Regional Championships in early May.
17s
The 17 & Under teams will all travel nationally. The 17 adidas, 17 Molten and 17 Helix teams will play various tournaments in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas including the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier in Dallas. They will also fly to two national qualifiers, fly to one Pres. Day event. 17 adidas and 17 Molten end the season in late June with a flight to either USA Junior Nationals or AAUs National Championships. 17 Helix will end season at AAUs National Championship.
18s
The 18 & Under teams will all travel nationally. All teams will play various tournaments in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas including the Lone Star Classic National Qualifier and the AVC National Qualifier in Dallas. They will also fly to one national qualifier tournament and end the season in early May with a flight to USA Junior Nationals Championships.
If you are unable to travel, you have the option of putting them on the same flight as your coach and they will make sure they get where they need to go. Please make sure to notify your coach that they are your athlete's travel companion.
Another option is to ask a teammates parent to help in the travel process.
All teams attending any National Qualifiers (Lone Star, Sunshine, PNQ, MEQ, NEQ, Show Me, Salt Lake or Big South) will miss one day of school to participate. Depending on what time you fly out, you may miss another day for travel.
The teams that attend the Lone Star Classic National qualifier in April will miss a day of school excluding 11 Cedar Park/ 11 Navy.
Practices
Information regarding 2023-2024 season. More details to come, once details are finalized for the 2024-2025 season.
Generally, practice beginnings in November for most teams. The 11s/12s typically beginning with optional training seasons at the end of September.
For all 14's-18's National Travel teams (adidas/Molten/Helix): 3x practices per week in Nov & Dec. 2x practices per week Jan-June with a third day (Friday's or Sunday's) as permitted around tournament schedules that will be used for positional training/scrimmages days.
The 11s-14s regional, 15,16 CP/Navy travel, 12s-13s National teams will practice at least twice a week (a total of 4 hours). Practice will be at the Austin Sports Center- Central, Austin Sports Center- Cedar Park, and/or St. Michael's Athletic Center. Practice times can range from 10am-9pm on Sundays and from 4:30pm-9:30pm Mondays through Thursdays.
The 11s-15s Lite teams will practice once a week for 2 hours, starting training and/or practice after Thanksgiving Break.
Practice schedules for the 2023-2024 season can be found on our tryout page. to be used as reference. The 2024- 2025 Tentative Practice schedule will be posted soon.
We use several facilities in the Austin area to reach as many families as possible.
Austin Sports Center - Central
http://425 Woodward St, Austin, TX 78704
Austin Sports Center - Cedar Park
http://1420 Toro Grande Blvd, Cedar Park, TX 78613
St. Michael's Academy (SMAC)
3000 Barton Creek Blvd, Austin, TX 78735
Team Name (Age Group) (Practice Locations):
Adidas (12s-18s) (ASC Central and ASC Cedar Park location)
Molten (13s-18s) (ASC Central and ASC Cedar Park location)
Helix (14s-18s) (ASC Central and ASC Cedar Park location)
Cedar Park (11s-16s) (ASC Cedar Park location only)/ Navy (11s-16s) (SMAC and ASC Central)
Lite North(11s-15s) (ASC Cedar Park location only)/ Lite Central (11s-15s) (SMAC and ASC Central)
If you are unable to make a practice, let your coach know as far in advance as you can.
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- At Austin Junior Volleyball, we encourage multiple sport athletes. We believe that helps you become a better all around athlete. It is your responsibility to communicate any conflicts with your coach. We suggest a two week notice for all missed practices and a minimum of a month notice for any missed tournament.
issues
Playing time is very important to us. It is important to apply the skills and fundamentals taught in practice in a match situation. Only then can a coach and player truly realize which skills the player is proficient at and which skills require more training. Nearly every tournament the Austin Junior Volleyball teams play in are of high significance - whether they are in-region (where finish determines overall seed within the region) or out of region (typically national qualifiers, or tournaments with a lot of recruiters present). Your club membership fees go toward practice time and instruction by qualified experienced coaches, NOT playing time in tournaments. We will guarantee a "fair" amount of playing time for every player, not an "equal" amount. When assessing the amount of playing time, make sure that the comparison is being made among players that play the same position. For example, there may be only two middle hitters on a team and three outside hitters. One outside hitter must sit out, since only two outside hitters are in the game at a time. Yet the two middle hitters play all the time. More playing time is earned by being at practice and working hard to improve, as well as, executing the skills when given the opportunity to play. Coaches are advised to give everyone an opportunity to contribute their individual skills and abilities to the team during pool play matches. Those skills and abilities may include being a hitter in the front row, serving and playing defense in the back row, or playing "all the way around". When teams advance past pool play, this is the time to reward those players that have excelled when given opportunities earlier in the day. Amount of playing time for all players is at the coach's discretion and may not be equal for all players (will be different for level of teams such as Regional teams vs Travel/National Level teams).
Throughout the season, a conflict may occur. If you have an issue, the first step is for you to encourage your child to communicate with their coach. If this does not resolve the issue, the 2nd step is for a meeting with the coach, player, and parent. The final step is to set up a meeting with the club director, coach, player, and parent. There will not be any meetings without the player present. There will not be any meeting with the club director until step one and step two has occurred.
uniforms / equipment
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If you are missing jerseys/ practice t-shirts and/or have damaged jerseys/practice t-shirts. You need to contact your coach. They will then contact the club director. If you are missing equipment or have damaged equipment that was purchased through 431sports such as shoes, kneepads, spandex, etc. You will need to contact and/or order replacements with 431 sports as the club doesn't keep extra items in warehouse anymore.
Yes. Austin Junior Volleyball is one of the few clubs in the entire nation that is sponsored. Our sponsors go to great efforts to outfit and provide quality equipment to our club. We take this very seriously so no competitor logos during any team activities (practices and tournaments). You will receive a link from 431 Sports and must purchase your uniform gear package in its entirety. If you purchase some of the gear through outside sources, you will still be required to purchase them again through the 431 Sports gear package. The required package could range in the amount of $250-$400 depending on your level of team and age group.