ABOUT RI JUNIORS

The Club Volleyball experience will be a great addition to high school volleyball for those athletes interested in pursuing an Elite level of play, as well as a means to increase a player’s chance of obtaining an athletic scholarship at the collegiate level. The Elite Teams will compete in the New England Regional Volleyball Association (NERVA) Club League and will attend & host tournaments with teams from outside of the New England Region. The club also aspires to qualify for the Junior National Championships in July. 

The mission of the Rhode Island Juniors Elite Volleyball Club is to identify and develop elite level volleyball players in a fun, challenging and professional atmosphere.  The club aims to train and develop each athlete to their highest potential in the technical and tactical areas of volleyball while simultaneously building each player's confidence, self-esteem, attitude, work ethic, and character.  We hope players will learn skills and have experiences they will use throughout their lives while developing lasting camaraderie with their teammates.  A long term but not too distant goal of the club is to develop scholarship athletes who will be sought after by College Programs. 

Rhode Island Juniors was originally established in 1995 by  University of Rhode Island Women's Volleyball Coach Bob Schneck.  The program comprised of 9 teams for both boys and girls. The girls division consisted of a Regional & Local 18s  team, one 16s team, and one 14s team.  The boys division consisted of a Regional & Local 18s team, a Regional & Local 16s team, and a 14s team.  The club proved to be a difficult endeavor as it was in direct conflict with the Rhode Island High School season.  Around the country Girl's High School volleyball takes place in the Fall allowing for year round volleyball with the addition of club volleyball participation.  With the RI girl's season beginning in the Spring, it conflicted with the club and Coach Schneck decided he would wait until the Interscholastic League aligned the RI High School volleyball season with the rest of the country.  This alignment is predicted to occur in the Fall of 2004.  Motivated to provide a club volleyball experience for his daughter, and to strengthen volleyball at the High School level, Coach Schneck began his endeavor in the 2001 season with the 12 & under Division in hopes that when the Jr players enter High School they would greatly impact their volleyball programs.   

Why play Juniors volleyball?: The most important reason to play Juniors volleyball is because it offers the opportunity to learn the game at a time when it is not otherwise offered in an organized way from experienced coaches.  Since Rhode Island does not currently offer middle school volleyball, playing Juniors gives girls the opportunity to play and develop in the years prior to 9th grade when they would otherwise not have the chance to do so.  Later on, in high school, club ball offers girls the opportunity to gain a much more valuable experience than can be attained just playing on a school team.  Since the club season runs from December through potentially early July, and is based on a tournament format, it allows for more practice and playing time than any school team will provide.  This extra experience, combined with the added exposure to college coaches Juniors' tournaments provide, increase the chances for  scholarship opportunities in college.  (For more information about Juniors volleyball in general, click here.)

When does Rhode Island Juniors operate?:   The Club season consists of Regional competition as well as competition outside of the region.  The season starts up in early December.  Depending upon the team, tournaments are entered in January & February.  The Regional competitive season starts in March and continues through May.   Our more aggressive teams will extend their season past Regionals and enter the East Coast Championships in June, and either the Junior Olympic National Championships, Festival or Invitational Tournaments in early July.   The current Regional schedule for the 2006 NERVA competitions is as follows:

Where will Rhode Island Juniors operate?  Rhode Island Juniors will be based out of South County using the facilities at the University of Rhode Island.   Regional competition takes place in RI, MA, CT, NH.  

What are the fees?  Fees vary depending upon the level of the team.  Club Fees are available in our tryout packet information.  There is a base program fee which includes uniform, all practices, coaching, insurance, operating expenses, and the Regional Tournament Schedule.  Each team has a separate fee which includes additional tournaments the team will be entering and expenses associated with each tournament for entry fee, transportation, hotel accommodations, meals, & coaching expenses.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in donating to the program let us know and we will provide them with sponsorship information.  (Previous Sponsors)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK:ELITE TEAM FLYER & FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

50 MILE RADIUS ELIGIBILITY MAP  (CLick Here)

If you have an interest in joining, please contact the club at 792-3972 or email us at SchneckVBall@aol.com.