Junior Olympic ("JO") volleyball is organized under USA Volleyball, the people who float our Olympic teams. USAV has regions, in our case, the Ohio Valley Region. Then in the juniors program, there are clubs all over the place and each club floats one or more teams, broken up by age division, 12 through 18. There is further distinction starting with 14's where they're either open or club, open being the more competitive teams that try to go to nationals.
I coach 17 open, which is in many ways the "varsity" level. 18's are hit or miss, because there are fewer girls interested in playing as by that time they're either graduating high school or know where they're going to college, so they don't need to be noticed by recruiters.
Last night I was astounded at the talent that showed up. I get to keep my setter from last year, because she was playing up a year. I've got this defensive specialist (DS) who is a complete animal, so she's my libero. I've got two, maybe three outside hitters who can hit quick stuff, and two slightly more average middles who at the very least are tall enough to block like crazy.
Now take into consideration that I run a swing offense. In the swing, the hitters all approach from the middle of the court to hit virtually anywhere on the net. When they go in motion, it confuses the hell out of the other blockers, often giving them a clear shot to hit wherever they choose. I used this system last year with shorter, more average hitters, and we did pretty well. I can only imagine what these tall girls will be able to do with it.
Bottom line is that I've never left a tryout this excited about the year's prospects. The only issue now is that after we make the girl an offer (our club director will call tonight), they have ten days to accept or decline. The reason for this is that, unlike high school, the girls can tryout for as many clubs as they want. This entire system makes club ball far more competitive than all but the best high school teams.
First practice is in December... I can't wait to get started!
Tech volleyball is currently ranked 6th in the nation in NCAA Division 1, and I'll probably follow them a lot more closely through the rest of the season. A National Championship isn't too far out of reach.