Hi Fall Ball Families! Fall tournaments have arrived!
Since this may be your first tournament experience, I would like to give you a simple summary of what to expect at your upcoming Volley-Fest Fall Ball tournament.
Volley-Fest tournaments are played at San Diego Volleyball Club (10806 Willow Ct Suite #3, San Diego, CA 92127). For the Fall series, Volley-Fest offers two divisions of play, “Open†and “Clubâ€. Your teams will be defined as one or the other from the beginning of the season. Once you know whether your team is Open or Club, your tournament schedule won’t change, but the start time of your tournament is TBD until Volley-Fest releases the pools (otherwise known as groups of teams you’ll play against) for the weekend.
We’ll post the tournament details on your Team Group in My SoCal, but you can also always find it yourself (along with results and future tournament dates and postings) by visiting:
http://volley-fest.com/_fs/ > “Play Schedule†> Click the Date of the Tournament to see Pools
Please read this Letter to Parents from the tournament organizers, which details facility information, parking, entrance and snack-bar.
What to Expect
Volley-Fest tournaments usually begin at either 7:30 am or 1:30 pm. Depending upon your “seed†(your placement, 1-4) in the pool, your team will either play, sit off (time to hang with your team, eat snacks, refuel) or ref (line judge and keep score) the first match of the day. Your coach will always let you know what time to arrive at the venue. Typically, teams are requested to be there 30 minutes prior to the start of the pool, ready to play. Here’s the order of play/ref responsibility for a 4 team pool:
1 plays vs. 3 (2 refs), 4 sits
2 plays vs. 4 (1 refs), 3 sits
1 plays vs. 4 (3 refs), 2 sits
2 plays vs. 3 (1 refs), 4 sits
3 plays vs. 4 (2 refs), 1 sits
1 plays vs. 2 (4 refs), 3 sits
Below is an example of a 4 team pool. Notice, SoCal 14-Angel is the 3rd seed in the pool. Therefore, according to the chart above, they would play, sit, ref, play, play, sit. Before each match, each team has a short warm-up period.
Each “match†(this is the term for the whole game), is composed of 2-3 “setsâ€. Teams have to win 2 sets in order to win the match. If each team wins one set, they will go to a 3rd “tiebreaker†set, played to only 15 points. You must win by 2 points to win a set. Each match will typically last 30-45 minutes. The entire Volley-Fest tournament will typically only last around 5 hours.
Kids are expected to show up ready to play. This means, athletic shoes, socks, kneepads, BLACK spandex shorts and their grey Fall Ball jersey on. Jewelry is not allowed. They may not wear pajama pants. If they are going to wear a sweatshirt, it needs to be a SoCal sweatshirt.
Tournaments are a great opportunity for team and family bonding. Please remember though, that tournament time is “team time†and the teams will be expected to stay together in their off-times. We would appreciate if the players did not have their phones with them during the tournament, so they can really be present with their team. Please do not take them to lunch or off the tournament premises until they are completely done with the day. Sometimes, their team will have to referee the last match of the pool. Even though only a few kids are required to ref, all of the kids must stay until their reffing responsibility as a team is finished.
In some cases, teams will have a “camp†and sit together in their off-time, sharing food and company. This is typically coordinated by an elected “Team Parentâ€, who will assist in determining who brings food, drinks, tables and an EZ-up. This Fall-Ball season, team camping is not allowed at San Diego Volleyball Club. Therefore, parents do not need to bring snacks for the team. Please bring snacks and water for your child to eat throughout the day.
Especially for the team’s first tournament, expect an adjustment period as the kids work through nerves and freshly learned rotations, skills, and rules of the game. The goals are for the kids to have fun, work hard, and get better throughout the day. Be patient and encouraging with your kids and coaches. Anticipate that some teams are at a total beginner level of the game and it will take all season to grasp some of the concepts. Please do not approach your coach on a tournament day to discuss game strategy or playing time. If you have questions for your coach, please reach out to them after a period of 24 hours has passed and they’ll be happy to discuss your daughter’s role and development with you.
And there you have it.
If you have any questions about the Fall Program (or any SoCal program), please don’t hesitate to ask it in the comments below — or reach out to SoCal Support in the MySoCal app. You can also email [email protected] or text us at 760-515-3741. Have a great time at Volley-Fest! Let’s make some memories! #gosocalvbc
