Welcome to PRIDE Volleyball Club (aka PRIDE) and our sixth year! The sole purpose of our club is to offer young girls between the ages of 10 and 18 years old, the opportunity to increase their knowledge, understanding and skill level, playing the sport of Volleyball. Our goal is to produce a team that will be respected by other clubs, not only for its playing ability, but for its performance off the court as well. We will encourage competitive play as well as good sportsmanship.

PRIDE is a pay-to-play non-profit organization. The club operates under the guidance of the Ohio Valley Region (OVR) of USA Volleyball.

The club is managed by the Club Director who shall oversee the operation of the club and matters related to finance, facilities, equipment, scheduling, coaching, players, team make-up and complaints. The coaching staff makes up the coaching committee, which is responsible for the directors performance. They participate in decisions related to club operations and to assist with matters pertaining to players, team selection, practice and game management, as they are called upon. We have tried to design the club to allow input from all of the talented associates on our staff.

The coaches are selected based on referral, performance, credentials and attitude. Our coaches receive uniform shirts, insurance coverage, training and a stipend for their travel and inconvenience otherwise; their commitment is primarily voluntary and driven basically by their love of the game. The PRIDE Volleyball Club is fortunate to be affiliated with several High Schools in the area. The club gets support from several high school and middle school coaches who serve as coaches and assistant coaches in our program.

The players are selected based on try-out performance, athletic potential, work ethic, drive, attitude and commitment. In addition the club has affiliation with several schools, which provide facilities, coaches and support for which in-turn, the club provides roster positions for some of their players, based upon the number of practice courts and practice hours provided. Typically each team will maintain a team roster of (8) to (10) players for 15 and up and (9) to (12) for 14 and under. The club philosophy is to play each player as equally as possible however, many factors are considered and the final decision left to the discretion of the team coach.

Tryouts are closed to parents (with the exception of parent workers to help with paper work on tryout day). The purpose for closed tryouts is to create a productive environment free from as many distractions as possible. In addition the insurance coverage for the tryouts only covers those participating in the tryout process.

Our team players will be selected on a try-out performance, coach ability, athletic potential, work ethic, willingness to be at team member, attitude and commitment. They will be evaluated on skill execution, their ability to pass, set, serve, and hit. They are also watched during a game situation for their intrinsic traits.

After the initial tryout, the coaching staff will meet to determine which girls will be our program. Athletes will be notified by phone and will be asked to sign the PRIDE Participation Agreement. You must return the signed contract with your first installment of the fees within seven days of our offer, or it may be withdrawn. Once you sign the contract, you may not tryout or play for any other USA Volleyball Junior program during this season. Fees are non-refundable.

Every athlete in the Club will be evaluated each year. Each athlete must come to the tryouts ready to compete for a position on one of our teams. An athlete who cannot participate in tryouts because of a limiting physical or medical condition or absence should talk to the Club Director, prior to the start of the tryout period to determine the status of their ability to play on one of the teams. Players should never assume because they were on a previous PRIDE team that they will automatically be on a future team.

School sports and activities are an integral part of the scholastic experience and we still make every effort to schedule practices around some of these other activities. However, it is recommended that if an athlete is going to miss more than 20% of practices and/or tournaments, those families reconsider participation in our program. Missing such a significant amount of time does not make it cost effective for the families and makes it very difficult to build team chemistry and team cohesion at a competitive level.

If an athlete participates in another sport, we expect her to make PRIDE a priority when there is a conflict between the two sports. This means we expect the athlete to attend all PRIDE practices, unless there is a scheduled competition for the other sport at the same time as a PRIDE practice. If a PRIDE competition conflicts with another sport competition, the coach and the athlete will decide, on a case-by-case basis as to which event takes priority. If the player has second thoughts about the level of commitment that she is willing to make, we suggest that she not tryout for PRIDE.

All PRIDE teams require dedication on the part of the athlete for the team to be a success.. Volleyball is a team sport and other team members depend on each player on the team to contribute to the effectiveness of the team. Commitment is taken very seriously by the player’s teammates and the coaches.

An athletes' best performance will occur when they are on the top of their game physically and mentally. Stresses can be attributed to any one or a combination of the following; poor nutrition, illness, fatigue (i.e. lack of sleep), insufficient rest between workout sessions, emotional stress from school work, friends or family situations, or other extracurricular activities. It is imperative that you take these factors into account when scheduling your time and activities. The body can only handle a certain amount of stress within a given time period before illness and injuries occur.

The fee for our standard club level team for the 2007-2008 year will be $585. This fee includes weekly practice session, complete uniform (2 jerseys and 1 short), coaching fee, and 6 tournaments and State Regional Championships in Columbus.

Volleyball is a team sport and other team members depend on each player on the team to contribute to the effectiveness of the team.

Tournament attendance Please bring a list of unavailable days for tournaments to the parent meeting.

An additional fee will be charged to our "elite teams". These teams will attend National Bid qualifying tournaments along with the tournaments in the standard club level. These fees will be discussed with the parents and players on this team.

If your coach, team and parent all agree to attend additional tournaments they will be handled as follows: Additional tournament fees are divided equally among the players. All team members are obligated to pay for and play in these additional tournaments based on majority rules. As an example, if a team adds (2) additional tournaments (bringing the season total to eight), at $135.00 X 2 = $270.00/10 players = an additional cost of $27.00 per player per additional tournament.

All fees (checks only), should be payable to PRIDE Volleyball Club. Payment should be given to the club director. Mailing Address: Pride Volleyball Club - c/o Ruth Bates - 230 Dowd Road – , Ohio 44035

Payments of club fees are as follows;

$250 of fee will be returned with the Participation Agreement, within 7 days of acceptance of offer to join. Participation Agreements will be mailed the day you accept the offer. Balance of $335 will be due on January 5, 2008

An athlete with a delinquent account during the current season may be denied the privilege of playing in a tournament and/or asked to sit out at practice until the account is paid or arrangements are made with the Director. The athlete's current season's account must be paid in full before the athlete will be allowed to participate in any tournaments. In suffienct fund checks will be charge a $40 returned check fee and must be replaced with cash or a money order within 48 hours of notification.

We do not guarantee equal playing time on any team or at any event, even though ultimately we strive to achieve this. PRIDE has the philosophy that what you pay for is instruction time during practices. The club philosophy is to play each player as equally as possible however, many factors are considered and the final decision left to the discretion of the team coach.

Playing time for athletes is determined by attendance, attitude, effort, performance, position, the athlete's potential, the team's needs at the moment, and the team’s needs in the future, and is left solely to the discretion of the PRIDE coach.

The "coaching decision" is not up for debate or question. Athletes are encouraged to ask what they can improve on to get more playing time. (See Grievance Procedure)

We will post pictures of teams and players to promote the club and players (high school and college promotion). We reserve the right to use player’s pictures in this manner unless we receive a written request not to do so from a parent. We hope to highlight a player from each team periodically in order to give them additional exposure

-Only 3 players from a school building can be on the same team for grades 7-11 in Ohio (This rule is a statewide rule and doesn’t apply in neighboring states).

-A high school coach cannot coach players from their own school unless they are seniors.

Scheduled practice time is start time and not arrival time. Plan on arriving at least 15 minutes prior to the start of each practice. There is a consequence for arriving late to practice and competitions.

Volleyball shoes are to be carried into practice and tournaments and only worn for practice and tournaments. This is to ensure that the shoes last longer and our facility surfaces remain clean and safe.

Horseplay by athletes or coaches at practice or tournaments is strictly prohibited.

In case of inclement weather, a coach or someone from a phone chain will call your home to notify you of practice cancellations. Tournament planning and preparation is very tedious and time consuming. Cancellations rarely occur. We strongly encourage athletes who make a PRIDE team to take this participation seriously. This means we expect PRIDE practices and tournaments are of the highest priority.

All athletes are expected to make every effort to attend every practice. Only an illness serious enough to keep the athlete home from school or a genuine family emergency are legitimate excuses for missing practice. Regardless of the reason, if an athlete miss’s practice, her playing time may be affected.

If an athlete can not be at practice, the athlete is expected to call the coach. It is the athlete's responsibility (not the parent's) to reach the coach before the practice starts. Your coach will inform you the preferred contact for any questions or attendance issues.

Athletes are encouraged to bring water, in an unbreakable container, to practices and tournaments. Absolutely no glass containers are allowed in the gym.

While representing PRIDE, all athletes are expected to behave in a responsible manner. Proper conduct is expected for all members of the Club at all time. This includes athletes, parents, and supporters. This also means treating supporters from other teams, other parents, and officials with respect. Any athlete damaging equipment owned by PRIDE or any facility used by the Club during practices, tournaments or other functions, or at lodging facilities will be required to reimburse the Club and/or facility for the damages before continuing in the Club. In some cases, the athlete may be dismissed from the Club. All players are responsible for club volleyballs. Team members will reimburse the club for any and all lost balls.

If a friend comes to support you, let them know your place is with your team. Friends are NOT allowed to "camp" with you at tournaments. Boyfriends are welcome to come to support you and watch you play, keeping in mind that you are at the tournament to play volleyball with your team not on a "date" with your boyfriend. Any behavior that is seen as inappropriate by your coach, club director or team parents will be asked to stop. If it continues a meeting with you, your parent, coach and club director will be arranged to determine your status with the club.

All athletes are expected to be in the gym, ready to warm-up, at the scheduled arrival time. This usually means the athlete needs to arrive at the site 15 minutes prior to the scheduled arrival time. Late arrival at a tournament may affect playing time. Earlier is always better

Athletes and/or parents are expected to provide transportation for their athlete to and from tournament sites and practices.

If an athlete can not be at a tournament, the athlete is expected to call the coach as soon as the athlete knows she will be absent. It is the athlete's responsibility (not the parent's) to reach the coach before the tournament starts.

Except in cases of true emergency, an athlete who has an officiating assignment may not leave a tournament before the assignment is completed. Please do not ask the coach the day of the tournament if you can leave before the officiating assignment is complete.

Parents are required to support the team with a positive attitude and appropriate behavior. We invite you to attend practice sessions and tournaments. Negative comments regarding PRIDE, the coaches, your daughter’s team and any other athlete will not be acceptable in any manner. Any Parent from our club that behaves in a manner that is unacceptable will be asked to wait for your daughter outside the facility. Parents may not, at any time, approach a coach or club director in a hostile manner. (See grievance procedure)

It is inappropriate for an athlete or a parent to approach other PRIDE members about a problem the athlete or parent is having with a PRIDE coach, about objections to coaching decisions, or about disagreement with an administrative decision. Asking uninvolved people to take sides in an issue is unfair to the third party and to the Club. For the psychological health of the teams and the Club as a whole, grievances need to be handled between the parties involved and in the proper manner.

If a player of parent is approached and asked to listen to, or express an opinion about matters between two other parties in the Club, is strongly encouraged to refer the complaining party to take the matter up with either the coach in question, the Head Coach and/or the Club Director.

Any member who, as a third party, hears remarks or stories about PRIDE, its employees or its policies, that cause the member to be concerned, is encouraged to contact the Head Coach and/or the Club Director immediately to determine the facts, or to alert the club administration to a situation it may be unaware of. It is detrimental to everyone involved to repeat complaints you hear or overhear to other uninvolved parties. By the time a story gets to the third or fourth party, it frequently bears little resemblance to the truth or the facts of the situation.

Please refrain from negative comments around your daughter and the other athletes. Young players are vulnerable and if they hear complaining about the coach, the coach's style or PRIDE policies, this can have an adverse effect on their performance and/or attitude. If you, as a parent, are unhappy about something, you should follow the grievance procedure of this guide to resolve the matter.

Repetitive complaining to the athlete(s) or other third parties that interferes with the Club's efforts to pursue its stated mission and purpose may be cause, in the sole determination of the Club, to ask a member to resign.

Pride will offer a training session for club members to learn officiating duties. Team members are required to attend this training session and become certified in officiating. Officiating is the shared responsibility of the entire team. All PRIDE athletes are required to attend a scorekeeper clinic and help with the line judging, scorekeeping, score flipping, and officiating. Each coach will determine a procedure their team will follow for officiating assignments. Every player is required to stay until the entire team can leave. Please do not ask the coach if you can leave early. You are expected to stay!

Competitive team athletics, by its very nature, creates situations where everyone may not be happy all the time. Knowing when to communicate and how to communicate with your athlete's coach is a concern for almost every parent at some time during the season. Most often the concern is how to inquire about issues surrounding playing time.

At PRIDE, we encourage the athlete to take responsibility for their participation. For this reason we expect the player to talk to the coach first when she has a problem concerning her playing time, or if she is unclear about what the coach expects from her either in practice or in a competition. The appropriate way to do this is for the athlete to ask the coach what she needs to do to get more opportunities to play in matches. Most of the time, the player knows why they may not be playing as much as a teammate when the parent may not. Parents can best help their athlete by helping her set some goals to achieve more opportunities.

When a parent has a problem that is specific to their own athlete, we also expect them to first talk to their athlete's coach. Coaches have been instructed not to discuss "coaching decisions" with a parent. These "coaching decisions" include, but are not limited to, specific match decisions such as who played when, where, and how long. Also, who was subbed out and when, etcetera.

The coach will not be required to defend his/her thought process or conclusions in the determination of playing time, and it is improper for a parent to request that.

Specifically, the procedures to follow if you as a parent, or your athlete as a member of a PRIDE team, have concerns about PRIDE policies or a coach's actions are, in this order:

The athlete will speak or meet with the coach to discuss the matter If the matter remains unresolved, or if the athlete has reasonable concern that speaking to the coach will not resolve the matter,

The parent should speak to or meet with the head coach. Parents should call the head coach on the phone to set a meeting. Meetings are to be at times and locations other than tournaments. If a coach is approached by a parent during a tournament, we have instructed the coach to refuse to discuss any controversial matter, to refer the parent to the Club Director and to walk away from the situation. The recommended time for a parent and/or athlete to talk to a coach about a problem is a previously arranged meeting time either before or immediately after a scheduled practice.

If the matter remains unresolved, or if the parent has reasonable concern that speaking to the coach will not resolve the matter,

The parent may speak to the Head Coach and the Club Director. In certain situations, PRIDE may ask the athlete to attend the meeting also. Meetings should be previously arranged. Meetings will not be scheduled during a tournament. The Head Coach or the Club Director will not engage in discussions about "coaching decisions."

PRIDE will not tolerate hostile, aggressive confrontations between a parent and any official, or a parent and any coach, or a parent and any athlete, or a parent and any other parent, whether the coach, athlete or other parent is a member of PRIDE or not. Violation of this policy may result in the athlete being dismissed from PRIDE without refund.

Automatic suspension will occur if an athlete is found smoking, using drugs or drinking before or during practice or tournaments. (This also includes coming to tournaments or practice sessions recovering from an evening of drinking/drug use the night before – "hung over")

Behaviors that can result in loss of play time or suspension include:

Inappropriate behavior parent or athlete

Inappropriate display of affection

Un-sportsman like conduct parent or athlete

Disrespectful behavior or attitude towards coaches, players, guardians and officials

Tournaments typically start at 8:30 AM and end at 5:00 PM however, depending upon the number of pools and teams and the tournament organization itself, can last several hours longer. Except for starting times, most tournaments do not follow a set time schedule. Matches will begin 10 minutes after the end of the previous match. If the tournament is run well, it should be over around 6:00 p.m. But to be on the safe side, expect to be there all day. Teams will begin pool play, where they will play each team in their pool, with the winning teams advancing to a Gold bracket and other teams advancing to a Silver or Bronze bracket. Most matches are best 2 out of 3 games. Rally scoring is used, which means that a point is scored on every serve.

Seating is sparse in most of the gyms so we recommend that you bring your own chairs. We strongly advise that you pack a cooler for your athlete for the day of a tournament because they can run long. Food that requires preparation cannot be prepared on site. This means, no casserole’s or crock pots simmering at the camp site all day. This creates a hazard and liability for the host facility that they cannot accept.

Some players bring pillows and sleeping bags so they can rest between rounds. Games, homework, books, etc. are all recommended for some of the longer tournaments. Arrive early so you can help set up your team area and get ready to warm-up.

Please leave the site neater than when you arrived – you are representing PRIDE, your team and your family.

PRIDE Volleyball Club

PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT

Conditions of Participation

We, the parents/guardians of____________________ have read the manual concerning the policies and procedures of the PRIDE Volleyball Club (hereafter called the club or PRIDE). We agree, that having been selected to a team, to let my child join the club for the 2008 season.

We understand that we are responsible for all fees due by the player as well as her transportation to practices and tournaments. Maintaining membership on a specific team will be at the discretion of the director of the club.

We have read this material and understand the time commitment involved in practice and competition. We have reviewed the fee schedule and understand that all fees and additional tournament costs (shared by each team member) must be paid in full regardless of the duration of participation by the individual. This is due to the fact that membership to the club is limited and others will be denied a position by your acceptance of a position in the club.

Understanding the stipulations and having discussed these with our child, we agree to and will support her participation in the club. We understand that once registered with, and having competed with the club, the player will be unable to transfer clubs and compete in USAV regional and National Championships.

As the player, I understand the commitment I am making to the club and I am willing to commit myself to the program and my teammates for the 2008 season. I have read and understand the rules and policies of the club.