About Juniors VB

Age Groups: Junior Volleyball teams are formed based on age and ability. Below are the cut-off dates for the age divisions for the 2005-2006 season:

A player may "play up" to the level of her ability, meaning she may play in an older age group (i.e.: a 16 year-old may compete on a 17s or 18s team). No player may compete below their age group, however.

USA Volleyball Membership: Each athlete competing in Junior volleyball must be a member of USA Volleyball through their region - in this case NERVA. The same is true for team coaches.

Locals: Locals is the largest level of Juniors participation. The term "Locals" refers to the fact that the travel required to get to tournaments is kept to a minimum. For Rhode Island teams, that would most likely mean Massachusetts south of Boston, and perhaps Connecticut (although there may be some exceptions). Players at this level are usually the least experienced and skilled, as this is generally the more developmental group. Sometimes, however, higher quality players will elect to play Locals because it has a less intensive travel schedule and lower costs. The largest age groups are the 15s and 16s, usually equivalent to high school freshman and sophomore ages. In most cases, there are no cuts at the Locals level. Players are, however, assigned to teams based on ability, as there are different levels of play within the Locals group. Some Locals teams, through outstanding play, may earn the right to play at the Regional level.

Regional: In the 16s and 18s age groups (and sometimes others if there are enough teams to warrant it), the strongest teams in the area play at the Regional level. These teams are considered "travel" squads, meaning that they will be scheduled to compete further away than Locals teams for NERVA tournaments. That can mean as far away as New Hampshire and Vermont. Try-outs are used to pick the teams and each is required to qualify through an early-season tournament in order to compete at the Regional level. This ensures that all teams play at the level appropriate to them. In 2000, there were 12 Regional teams in the 16s age group, and eight in the 18s age group (see below regarding the Power League). Thanks to a promotion and relegation mechanism, Locals teams who perform well can move up to the Regional level, replacing Regional teams who do poorly.

Power League: In the year 2000 NERVA introduced a regional Power League which comprised the top eight 18s teams (determined by a January qualifying tournament). The intent was to improve the overall level of competition amongst the elite teams by avoiding the situation where the Region's top teams were repeatedly playing much weaker opposition. In 2001 a similar move will be made at the 16s age level. Furthermore, to try and increase the competition even further, out of Region teams are being invited to compete in Power League tournaments - something not done at any other level. As is the case between Regional and Local levels, there is a promotion and relegation mechanism for the Power League. Teams that perform well at the Regional level can earn promotion to the Power League, replacing teams who have struggled.

Locals/Regional Schedule: NERVA runs several tournament dates per year within the Region.

Qualifiers: Power League and Regional qualifying tournaments are run in January and February.

Regular Season: The primary tournament season comprises two tournaments each in March and April. All of these tournaments are single-day events, taking place on Sunday, usually running about 6 hours in length. The standard format is four-team round-robin pool play in which each team plays two games against the others in its pool. In most cases, the top two finishers in each pool will advance to the cross-over play-offs. Teams will therefore play a minimum of 6 games, and could end up playing 10 or more.

State Championships: In late April or early May a tournament is run within each state at the Local level to determine a champion at each age group. Those champions then advance to the Regional Championships.

Regional Championships: In May NERVA runs its final tournament of the season. All Power League and Regional teams automatically qualify for this tournament and are joined by the state champions.

Inter-Regional: This third group is actually a sub-component of the Regional group. It comprises teams, usually among the Region's strongest, which compete in tournaments that are not part of the NERVA schedule (usually in addition to those NERVA dates outlined above). Some may take place within New England. Most, however, do not, requiring significant travel. Most such dates are also multi-day events, meaning overnight hotel stays. These tournaments are generally more prestigious, offering a higher level of competition, and therefore they attract more and higher level college coaches. The level of play at the inter-regional level is higher, and oftentimes there will be more games per day than in Regional tournaments.

National Tournaments: USA Volleyball does not just oversee Juniors volleyball. It also sponsors a number of events annually. The largest is Junior Nationals which are held each year around July 4th. That tournament brings together hundreds of teams from all age groups competing to be the country's best. Each Regional Champion earns an automatic bid to Nationals. There are also a series of qualifying tournaments held around the country through which a team can qualify for one of the at-large bids as well.

System of Play: Juniors volleyball is played under USA Volleyball rules. That means all games are "rally" score, which dictates that each play, regardless of who served, will result in a point. For those who have only ever played "side-out" scoring, it is a bit of an adjustment, but it does not change the fundamental way the game is played. College teams have used rally scoring in Game 5 of matches for years now. Also, the new Libero position has been implemented. The Libero is a pure back-row specialist who only passes and plays defense.

Want more information?: Check out the NERVA Juniors home page or the USA Volleyball Juniors web site. Alternately, you can drop us a line with any questions your might have to SchneckVBall@aol.com.