Tryouts – September

Girls’ Tryout Schedule (live updates). Subject to change: please bookmark so you can check often. Update dates noted below link.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EK9KskaQgfVgz7Wxuw6csDq-h6rHpWM9Uee1mr6ZWZ8/edit?usp=sharing

Uploaded Aug 20. Check top of document for update dates.

Boys’ Tryout Schedule (live updates). Subject to change: please bookmark so you can check often. Update dates noted below link.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1movfKC6nl9yXheLPD-rwNSnPZfSWhjCvQ_63tqf9f68/edit?usp=sharing

Uploaded Aug 20

One tryout “station” requires athletes to try on uniforms and shorts.

All athletes are sized for uniforms on physical testing day to speed up the ordering process after teams are selected. Being sized does not mean a player has been selected for any program, but does mean they will get a uniform that fits in time for competitions.

Is is the responsibility of individual families to make arrangements to get sized at a date and time that is convenient for our staff. Not being sized risks uniform choices that do not fit, and extra charges to make a change.

Our coaches will put each athlete through a series of tests and measurements of physical attributes and abilities, and enter all data into the assessment app. These include current height, standing reach, spike touch, block touch, speed and agility tests.

Athletes will participate in drills that highlight specific key skills. The numbers on their tryout bib (pinned to the back of their shirt) allow multiple coaches to assess athletes. It takes time to assess each athlete, but we have multiple coaches tasked with scoring athletes for every different skill drill. We have a digital app for scoring, so you will see most coaches entering on their phones during drills (some use paper and enter scores later).

Some sessions will include game-play scrimmages to assess court and game awareness as well as player interaction.

The Club begins to offer positions after completion of all assessment tryouts for that age group. These offer letters go out by email, so make sure all emails entered on your registration are valid and checked regularly – check your junk folder too.

NOTE: To ensure your offer is received, it is critical that families provide an email address that you check regularly, and that you include info@maverickvolleyball.ca in your contact list so we can reach you without it going into your junk folder. This email protocol is also important for payment and communication requirements later on.

Families accepting Prov or Nat’l offers must pay the deposit and then choose a payment plan and arrange payment information if monthly invoicing is the choice. Payment instructions will be sent to athletes selected to teams.

Families accepting Regional offers must pay the deposit and arrange payment information for the balance. Payment instructions will be sent to athletes selected to the RTC.

Athletes who receive a recommendation of Learn-to-Play or Recreational can register for a program of their choice (based on availability), or make arrangements to attend the program they already registered for as a backup plan. Please note, these programs fill up quickly and a spot is not guaranteed until registration is processed.

Provincial and National-level fees vary by team and are determined based on factors that are specific to each team (such as how many and which tournaments the team chooses to compete in). Parent groups can influence the number of tournaments and other expenses in conjunction with their coach. Families can choose between instalment payments or payment in full, however, all fees must be paid in full before the regular season ends (before Provincials).

For specific details go to the competitive program page, select your level, and scroll to the How it Works & Fee Structure within that section.

Regional fees are a set rate and can be paid in two installments if you wish (deposit upon acceptance, and final a month later). Delays in submitting the 2nd payment will result in a pause in attendance until final payment is received. A $50 refundable jersey deposit will be returned upon receipt of the numbered game jersey at the end of the season (December for RTC1 and May for RTC2).

For specific details on RTC fees, go to the competitive program page, select “Regional-level Training Centres”, and scroll to the How it Works & Fee Structure within that section.

Those who are not selected for national- or provincial-level competitive teams still have many good options.

1. They may be offered a position in the Regional Training Centre for 12 weeks of additional training and competition. At the end of the 12 weeks, few of those players may be selected to form additional Provincial-level teams that compete in OVA tournaments from January through April.
2. Athletes may be encouraged to sign up for a variety of recreational programs at varying skill levels, and with a range of coaching. Some programs focus more on learning and skill development, others have more game play – but all include some amount of coaching and lots of fun! Recreational programs do not require any tryouts, just sign up and play once a week! Read about our Safety Net commitment below.
3. We also have many levels of Learn-to-Play programs for beginner and intermediate players who love activity-based fun!

Safety Net. Those who are not selected for a National, Provincial or Regional program, are not guaranteed any spots in our learn-to-play (LTP) or recreational (Rec) division, as those programs typically fill up quickly. If the athlete is passionate about continuing at any level, we recommend registering in advance for an upcoming  LTP or Rec program as well as for tryouts. After tryouts, if the athlete gets an offer for a regional, provincial or national group, please contact us to cancel the LTP/Rec program and transfer the funds to your Training Centre or Competitive team account.

In order to participate in tryouts, athletes must complete the following 2-step registration process:

1) Register with Maverick Volleyball Club (pay the tryout fee).

• Registration is completed through Maverick/TeamSnap. The  registration link can be found HERE.
• Links will be posted on our website, as well as communicated via email and Social Media
• All athletes should sign up for their true age category based on their birth year (see chart below). Athletes wishing to play up or down, please read that link.

Tryout registration opened on July 26th and late registration (higher fee) begins August 22nd, 2024.

2) Register with the OVA in their MRS system (all players, every year, for insurance purposes).

• OVA MRS registration opens on Sept 1st.
  – You MUST wait until after Sept 1st to complete this step. The OVA resets their system on Sept 1st each year, therefore if you try to register before this date it will be lost and you’ll need to do it again.
• If you already have an account, use the same login information.
• Register each athlete as a ‘tryout player’ for the ‘2024-25 season’ – there is NO cost to register as a tryout player.
• In order to complete the MRS tryout player registration, you will be required to read and acknowledge various policies and disclaimers.
• Proof of MRS registration must be shown on the first day of Maverick tryouts (screen shot which shows the athletes name, and indicates they are registered as a tryout player).
• If you have multiple children, they will each need a different email as their login – the one exception is if you use a gmail account, you can register multiple family members by adding +1, +2, etc. You can use a parent email, but ensure you set the account information up with the athlete’s name.
• Here is the link to the MRS System: https://mrs.ontariovolleyball.org/Account/Login .

Maverick Tryout schedules will be posted on the Maverick website, and emailed to all registered players. Tryouts consist of uniform sizing, physical testing and on-court sessions. Athletes must attend the physical testing session, and all on-court sessions for their age group, to ensure a complete evaluation.

Do NOT register any athlete with Mavericks more than once. Tryouts for different program levels are covered under the same Maverick registration. Sign up for the age division shown in the Age Divisions section below.

Age Categories – 2024-2025 season

All athletes should sign up for their true age category based on their birth year

11U – born in 2014
12U – born in 2013
13U – born in 2012
14U – born in 2011
15U – born in 2010
16U – born in 2009
17U – born in 2008
18U* – born in 2007

*19U athletes born in 2006 are eligible to compete at the 18U level provided they are not a part of any OCAA, OUA, U-Sport, CCAA, etc. volleyball team for the 2024-2025 season.

All athletes should sign up for their true age category based on their birth year (see full program overview). If the evaluators of an athlete’s age group deem it appropriate for an athlete to either play up or play down (if an athlete is born in the last 4 months of the year), they will discuss it with the evaluators of the other age group. If the consensus is that it is appropriate for an athlete to play up or down, the evaluators will have a conversation with the parents and the athlete to explain their reasoning and what other options are available. Ultimately, it is up to the athlete and parents to decide what option they would like to go with.

Note that only the evaluators of the true age group can initiate the process of discussing an athlete playing up or down.

There will be multiple tryout sessions for each age group and gender, and the athletes should attend all sessions for their age group to make sure they are properly evaluated. Tryouts for 12U or younger will combine genders, all older teams are gender-based.

For a full evaluation, athletes should attend all tryout sessions for their age group. Remember, teams are selected based on the results of these tryouts.

The selection process will include an assessment of various elements such as:

• physical testing;
• skill assessments;
• game situation assessments.

NOTE: one tryout “station” will be dedicated to sizing all athletes for uniforms. This allows us to speed up the ordering process after teams are selected. Not getting sized may delay an entire team’s uniform production or may mean your uniform does not fit properly.

Should your athlete be injured and cannot fully participate during the tryout period, you are required to provide written notice prior to tryouts to info@maverickvolleyball.ca with the following information:

1. Name of the athlete, age category they belong to (ex. 15U);
2. Medical note from a doctor.

Should the injury make your athlete unable to participate in any tryouts in their age category, the coach of that age category will ensure two practice times will be provided for evaluation at a later date. This does not guarantee the athlete a position on a team. Depending on the timeframe for recovery, the club will attempt to place that athlete in the appropriate level (National/Provincial/CTC/Rec) after evaluation is completed.

In order for the injured athlete to be permitted to participate in a tryout or a practice for evaluation, there must be written medical clearance by a doctor/medical professional.

We encourage athletes to try out for more than one club to ensure they choose the best fit for their needs. However, the OVA tryout window is for all clubs province-wide, so there will always be conflicts. More details related to conflicts, and how to resolve them, can be found in the Parent Handbook.

Offers (from Maverick)

Coaches begin to email offers after completion of all assessment tryouts for that age group (see schedule for offer dates). Every participant will receive an email with an offer for the best level we can offer at this time, be it a National- or Provincial-level competitive team, the Regional Training Centre, a “Game-On” recreational group, or our “Practice and Play” recreational game training program. These level offers and recommendations are based on available positions combined with skill levels demonstrated during tryouts.

After making a competitive-level offer, the coach must hold that position for 48 hours before offering the position to another player.

Responses (from athlete families)

Guardians/athletes have a response window of 48 hours in which to accept (or reject) before the coach can offer that position to another player. Acceptances can be sent later, but there is no guarantee the position will still be available. Acceptances must be accompanied by a $475 deposit towards team fees. If you know you will not be accepting, please let us know as soon as possible for the sake of other players awaiting the opportunity to play.

Schools do not finalize agreements until the school year has commenced, so we cannot know for certain where and when each team will be practicing until late September.

After National and Provincial level teams are set, families will meet with their coaches to discuss tournament options and team budgets, practice dates and time, etc. Fees vary depending on the choices made by each team group. At this meeting, parents will be asked to volunteer for key functions to help the team mechanisms run smoothly. Full payment instructions will be sent to families selected to teams.

Families joining a Regional Training Centre (RTC) will be informed of practice times and locations. Fees are set in advance and are all-inclusive. RTC players will be divided into competition squads after the 4th week of training.

If for any valid reason, an athlete misses any tryout session, they must contact the Head Coach of that age division. There may be makeup dates available. If the athlete misses a session, please contact the head coach of that specific team to determine if there could be another time available for assessment. The Head Coach has final say in these matters and is not obligated in any way to provide additional assessment time.

If there is a conflict between another Club’s tryout and ours, we recommend that you inform us in advance and we will help you work out any such conflicts to create a solution that maximizes the options for the athlete.

Anyone who missed September tryouts may be invited to join a Regional Training Centre (only if those groups are not full by then, and from there may be selected for a Provincial team in December).

On very rare occasions, an exception can be made if a competitive team is low in a certain position. In such a case, the Club may decide to do a late assessment. Contact info@maverickvolleyball.ca to discuss.

Another set of tryouts, for the Regional Training Centre only, will take place in January for February to May competitive training.

The Maverick Competitive Teams are for athletes whose skill and commitment levels allow them to play the sport at a highly competition level – with significant travel, multiple tournaments, and possibly supplemental training. Additional local and regional tournaments may be added.

The Regional Training Centre (RTC) was designed to train athletes who need more training to compete at a Provincial level, or who are less inclined to travel or to commit to the time-requirements of such competition.

The Maverick National-level program is geared for a progression to varsity post-secondary recruitment. The program aims to maximize each athlete’s individual potential through the addition of supplemental practice and training methodologies (such as nutrition, mental and strength/agility training), and creating team fortitude and cohesion. National teams compete more often, sometimes both inter-provincially and internationally. A higher level of time commitment is required than for our Provincial-level teams. Athletes must learn to manage practice time and schoolwork to ensure their marks allow them to be selected for a post-secondary university or college. All National-level teams are expected to compete at OVA’s Ontario Championships and at Volleyball Canada’s National Championships.

Any athlete not selected to a National-level team will be encouraged to continue tryouts as they will be considered for the Provincial-level stream, the Regional-level training (RTC) stream, or possibly the Recreational or Learn-to-Play streams. All outcomes are covered by one tryout period (numerous sessions). It should be noted that neither learn-to-play nor recreational require tryouts, but it can be an interesting learning experience and to assess future expectations.

Athletes selected to the Training Centre will train and compete within the region (2-hour maximum travel to a tournament) until mid-December.

In December, the top athletes from those who are interested in a “next-level” volleyball experience, may receive an offer of a position on a new Provincial-level competitive team. These new teams will compete in OVA-sanctioned events and will compete at the Ontario Championships. Athletes who are not selected to move up have the option of attending January tryouts for the second Training Centre which starts in February and runs until early May (24 sessions, interrupted by March Break and Easter).

For Provincial- and National-level teams, the basic competition season starts in October and ends in April (Provincials) or in May (for those who attend Nationals). Once teams are formed, they can start to book practice times. Most teams play up to six OVA tournaments over the season (1-day events) plus Provincial and/or Nationals (2- or 3-day events). Team budgets are decided by each team (budget is drafted by the coach following consultation with the parents). Rosters must be finalized by the end of January. More information will be available once teams have been selected. If you have any further questions, please send an email to info@maverickvolleyball.ca.

Players who are selected for a spot in the Fall Regional Training Centre (RTC) will train and play for 12 weeks (24 sessions) from October until mid-December. Coaches can then offer spots on new provincial-level teams that will compete in OVA-sanctioned events across Ontario (mostly Toronto area). Those who are not selected for these new teams, or who do not wish to travel so much, are encouraged to continue in the 12-week Winter RTC program (February to May).

The Maverick Volleyball Club fields gender-specific competitive teams at all age groups from 11U to 18U where sufficient numbers and coaches exist.

The Maverick Volleyball Club prides itself in following the Long-Term Development (LTD) model for our National-level teams. Accordingly, at Maverick Volleyball, our 14U-16U National-level teams follow the “Learn to Train” LTD model, and the 17U-18U National-level teams follow the “Train to Compete” model.

For details please review “Fee Structures – RTC” in our Parent Handbook.

Competitive fees are set by the Club Financial Officer to cover all fixed operating costs, such as: OVA player registration, a certain number of tournament entry fees, uniform (jersey, shorts, socks, and practice T’s), coaching, and practice requirements (gyms, balls, equipment, med kits, etc.), and year-end celebrations for the athletes. Any additional competitions, travel and accommodation are “pay as you go” based on the parent-approved season plan.

As a not-for-profit organization, Maverick Provincial-level team fees are set by each individual team (within Club parameters), and each team must achieve a zero-based budgeting outcome. Team budgets are proposed by the coaching staff in cooperation with, and approved by, that team’s parent group, and submitted by the Team Treasurer. Fees include club overhead costs, OVA registration fees, tournament entry fees (minimum of four OVA regular season tournaments plus Ontario Championships), practice requirements (gyms, balls, equipment), uniform and clothing and coach‘s honoraria and expenses. Fees may also include travel and accommodation for tournaments, team events such as team building or team parties, or additional tournament opportunities. At the end of the season, budgets will be reconciled, and any remaining balance will be returned to the families (or shortages will be due before Ontario Championships). 

As a not-for-profit organization, Maverick National-level team fees are set by each individual team (within Club parameters), and each team must achieve a zero-based budgeting outcome. Team budgets are proposed by the coaching staff in cooperation with, and approved by that team’s parent group, and submitted by the Team Treasurer. Fees include OVA registration fees, all tournament entry fees (including Ontario and National Championships and international or interprovincial play), may include travel and accommodation to tournaments, practice requirements (gyms, balls, equipment), team gear, coaching, supplemental training (strength and conditioning, nutrition, sport psychology experts). At the end of the season, budgets will be reconciled and any remaining balance will be returned to the families (or shortages will be due before Ontario Championships).

Contact admin@maverickvolleyball.ca