Is playing club volleyball worth it in 2023? Unexpected findings

Yes, playing volleyball in a club is worth it. You will learn a lot of drills and meet other people that are excited about volleyball. Volleyball is meant to be played with multiple people and while you might have some friends that you can play with, you will advance a lot faster if you join a club as you will play it multiple times a week. You also will have a coach that can give you tips and improve your technique. Finally, you can play in a decent sports arena with all the required equipment. You have to note that it is a big commitment.

Why join a volleyball club? 

The main advantage of a volleyball club is that they offer structure. You will train at the same time and day every week. There are also matches that you can join. Furthermore, you will learn new things all the time and this will keep you engaged. A lot of people have the feeling that they are good at volleyball and that they won’t learn a lot when they join a club.

This couldn’t be further from the truth as there are a lot of nuances in volleyball. If your technique gets just slightly better, you are able to control the ball in an easier fashion. Furthermore, there are a lot of strategies that can be used to surprise your opponent. If you play volleyball in a club, your performance will increase a lot in a few months. 

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It is also a great way to meet new people. I have met my best friends after joining my volleyball club. You have a common interest and training together creates a strong bond. This has offered me career opportunities as well as they trust me and therefore provide me freelance work. I would never have been able to get this if I didn’t know them from volleyball. It is a small world and you get to know a lot of people if you join a volleyball club.

Sometimes you get other benefits as well. We are able to go to other volleyball matches for free. This can allow you to learn a lot from other players as they might have another playing style or technique. Watching other volleyball players in action can really help to improve your game as you see what they are good at.

A great coach can help you with your sticking points and can discuss areas that you are struggling with. They have often a lot of experience with volleyball and can push you to grow fast. You can learn so many things of a great coach that you would never be able to learn on your own. Some movements you can only learn from an experienced person as they are very complex. Therefore having a coach that gives you direction and removes uncertainty can be a great asset if you want to learn more about volleyball.

All athletes have coaches and this makes it clear that having a coach is very useful. I had a lot of uncertainties when it came to passing. My coach gave me some drills and I could ask the questions that I had. As the coach was providing me with positive feedback, I was able to increase my self-confidence and grow as a player. Nowadays my passing is very good but it wouldn’t have been without the input of a coach. 

Let’s take a look at how a great coach works:

Why you shouldn’t join a volleyball club

Joining a volleyball club is a big commitment and there are some reasons why you might not want to do this. 

Some clubs are not very welcoming to new players and it can be a challenge to get accepted by the group. This can make it difficult to keep going. You will have to deal with a lot of drama and team dynamics if you join a team and some people just don’t like this as it distracts from the game.

You will have to spend a lot of time performing the same practices over and over again. This can be boring and tedious if you enjoy matches a lot more. The club might not be close by and it can take a long time before you get there. Going to matches also involves travel time. It is possible that you don’t want to make this time commitment and prefer to play in your own backyard with your family and friends. 

It is possible that you don’t get along with the coach. This can be frustrating as you have to spend a lot of time together every week. A lot of coaches are quite serious and they might push you quite hard to improve your skills. If you are joking around too much, you might frustrate the coach and he/she might not pick you to play.

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If you are on a team, you can’t play the whole game and you might have to sit on the bench for a long time. Some players don’t enjoy doing this as it bores them. This could also be a reason why you don’t want to join a club.  You can also just meet with some friends every week and play volleyball on your own. This makes it more casual and you can enjoy messing around. Some people prefer this over the more rigid structure of a team.

Is club volleyball worth the cost?

It will cost money to play volleyball in a club. However, in most instances, this is just a few hundred dollars per year (excluding insurance). This still might sound expensive but you will get a lot of things in return for this. From coaching, equipment, and jerseys to showers and lockers. All of these things cost money and they will have to be paid by memberships. 

There are a lot of hobbies that are more expensive so it shouldn’t be something that holds you back The equipment to play volleyball is also not that expensive as you don’t need a lot of gear. A backpack, shoes, socks, knee protectors, shorts, and a jersey. This should not cost more than 200 USD combined and you can get them for even a lot cheaper prices. 

Professional players play at a very high level. Let’s take a look at how this goes:

Some clubs try to sell you a lot of stuff and this can be a red flag as it can indicate that their main focus is selling things instead of teaching you new things. 

A lot of clubs even offer a reduced fee for students or families with a lot of kids. You can ask your team manager if you are eligible for this discount. The main expense is often traveling if you play out of state.

To conclude, we can say that there are quite a lot of reasons to join a volleyball team. From having more structure to meeting cool people. Other people might not enjoy this and prefer to play with a group of friends. You can often go to a club and join one training for free. This will provide you with a good overview of whether you enjoy playing in a club or not. It is not for everyone.

People that start playing volleyball in a club often do it for years as they get to know new friends and they motivate each other to keep playing. If you just play with friends that you knew from before, they might be less motivated to keep going if it is just something casual. There are also reasons not to join a volleyball club such as travel and the commitment that you have to make to spend a lot of time on it. You can consider all these points and make a decision if joining a volleyball club is worth it for you.