The A2 Pioneer Girls’ Volleyball Teams are teams of dedicated student-­athletes who take pride in their school and are willing to make a maximum effort in both the classroom and on the volleyball court.

A student-athlete must be fully registered before the first practice or tryouts. Copy and paste the link in your browser to complete your registration https://pioneerathletics.net/main/otherad/contentID/46665838 . Or go to the Athletics Website: https://pioneerathletics.net/ and click on REGISTRATION tab.

Volleyball tryouts for the 2018 season will start on Wednesday, August 8^th and end on Friday, August 10^th. Tryouts make up**, due to music camp attendance start on August 14^th and end on August 15^th_.  See the schedule bellow:

*is expected to fill around 70% of the team spots during the regular tryouts.

BE ON TIME, which means arrive 15-30 minutes prior. Do not schedule conflicting appointments during any part of tryouts!

The mandatory parent meeting will be on Thursday, August 16^th at 6:15pm. If your parents/guardians cannot attend the meeting, make sure to send someone who represents them. We will be providing important information about the program and we need acknowledgement from the student-athlete and from some adult responsible for them as well.  

You MUST ?attend every tryout. ** To attend the tryout makeup, you must have made the arrangements with the Head Coach in advance.

What to wear/What to bring

Wear comfortable clothes: t-­shirt, shorts, socks, and court shoes. Do not wear spaghetti-­strap tops, tiny shorts, or shirts exposing a bare midriff. Do not bring jewelry (including earrings) to the gym. Kneepads are not required for tryouts but are encouraged. YOU MUST BRING A WATER BOTTLE EACH DAY!

Tryout Criteria

The coaching staff will be looking for coachable students-athletes who have a great work ethic, love to compete, and want to learn to become better players and teammates.

Coaches will apply the following criteria:

1. ATTITUDE: Players who are positive, competitive and eager to learn.
2. ATHLETIC ABILITY: Players with the ability to learn and perform complex skills.
3. POSITION: Players whose skills fit a specific need for the team’s overall balance. As the level of play rises (from Freshmen to JV to Varsity), the requirement for position­ specific expertise rises.

What to expect at tryouts:

• Expect to work hard?.
• You will be asked to perform all physical testing and drills at full speed.
• You should run when shagging balls, when moving from drill to drill and when going to and from water breaks.
• You will not sit down during tryouts.
• Expect to improve your volleyball skills?.  
• During the tryouts, coaches will both teach and evaluate. Even if you are not selected to the team, you will become a better volleyball player by the end of the tryouts.
• Expect to enjoy yourself?: Tryouts are a normal part of the Pioneer Volleyball experience. We suggest you stay loose, make new friends, and decide that you will have a good time, no matter what the end results.

Team Selection Process

The Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams will be formed using the following process:

1. Freshman team will take maximum of 15 players. Junior Varsity team will take a maximum of 14 players and Varsity team will be taking a maximum of 12 players.

2. Priority for a select team will be given for those players who attend the tryouts. If there is a legitimate excuse as in death in the family or injury to the player an individual decision will be make and it will be at the discretion of the coaching staff. If a minimum of 10 players for Freshman team not be achieve by the tryouts the coaching staff will recruit players at their discretion.

3. The following will be used to influence a coach’s selection:

• Tryout Evaluation: The evaluation process is an important piece of information to a coach’s decision but not the only piece. The tryout evaluation provides an independent observers opinion on an individual’s specific skill; it does not provide important details regarding non-skills attributes nor does it take into consideration a coach’s style of play.

• Player Distribution: A quality, competitive team must have players that collectively possess all volleyball skills and attributes.

• Intangible Skills: In addition to the tangible volleyball skills, we will also consider intangible elements when finalizing our rosters. Intangible attributes would include: character, coachability, competitiveness, performance under pressure, court awareness, and team chemistry.

Time commitment for volleyball

Like all worthwhile extra-curricular activities, high school sports require a substantial commitment. Volleyball – an ultimate TEAM sport – demands that diverse individuals work as one, in a fast-paced test of coordination, concentration and – above all – cooperation. Building a team requires a commitment of everyone’s TIME. It is expected the players to attend all daily practices, all games, all team bonding/outing events and participation in at least two fundraising.  

Options for players not selected?:

Tryouts can be a difficult experience. One of the toughest jobs for any coach is the final decision about which players make the team, and those who do not. The Pioneer Volleyball coaching staff strives to make all decisions fairly, without bias, and after extended deliberation and evaluation of each prospective student-athlete. During the tryout process, it is not unusual for some girls to decide they would rather not continue trying out. If you think you’d like to withdraw from consideration for a spot on the team, please talk it over first with one of the coaches; it is possible you may be underestimating your chances.

If you still need to improve or are not satisfied with your performance, there are other options available to you that can keep you involved in volleyball.

1. Be a team manager. Volleyball managers have a chance to learn leadership and organizational skills and fill a valuable role on the team.

2. Be a team statistician. This person will be traveling with the team and taking stats for the players. This position is important because it will help the coaches make decisions about offensive and defensive strategies for the games.

WE HOPE THIS PRE-­TRYOUT INFORMATION HELPS EVERYONE PREPARE FOR THE TRYOUT PROCESS!

GO PIONEER!

PIONEER VOLLEYBALL STAFF<