Portage Volleyball Club
2009 USA Volleyball Season

The Portage Volleyball Club is ready to offer another season of participation to area volleyball players in USA Volleyball for the 2007 season.  
The season runs from December to mid-May.
The younger teams (13 - 15's) will practice on  Sundays starting in December through February at Streetsboro High School.  Beginning in March, there will be 2 practices per week in the evening (7-9:30 pm). 
The 16' - 18's teams will practice Sundays and at least one day of the week at Hiram College during January and February.
All teams will be registered for at least 8 tournament days, including the Regional Tournament.  Most tournaments are all day, either on Saturdays or Sundays, but some teams will be entered in 2-3 day tournaments.

All Tryouts will be held at Hiram College on 11/2/08 and 11/9/08.

The tryout fee is $10.  We plan on having 10- 12 (2 13's, 2-14's, 2-15's, 2-16's, 2 17's, 1-18's) teams.  It is necessary for the player/parent to pre-register for the appropriate age level.  We will be limiting the number of players at any tryout time to approximately 60, so that we can give every player a fair tryout.

Please Pre-register by emailing the player's Name, School, Date of Birth, Grade, and a Phone Number to Bill Smerglia at BillSmergs@aol.com (preferred) or call 330 656-4152.  Make sure you receive an email or verbal confirmation that you are pre-registered for the session you request.

The player's parent/guardian must complete and sign a Waiver and Release of Liability and pay the $10 tryout fee before the player will be allowed to participate in the tryout session.  The Waiver form can be obtained ahead of time at the ovr.org website under forms.  Registration begins half hour before the tryout session.

     According to USAV rules, players are entitled to 10 days after the tryout date to make a commitment to a club if they are offered a spot on  a team.  A player forgoes the 10-day period if they indicate that they are accepting a spot before the 10 days have expired.  Please plan on taking this commitment seriously by not planning to go to any other tryouts or accepting any other offers once you have accepted our offer.  We do not plan on releasing any players because they have changed their mind or feel they would like to play elsewhere or for any other reason once they have committed to PVC.

Questions regarding the Portage Volleyball Club programs should be directed to Bill Smerglia at:

    Email:  BillSmergs@aol.com    Hm. (330) 656-4152    
Wk (330) 422-2410 x6430    Cell (330) 607-0141

Club Director: Bill Smerglia-Streetsboro
Club Advisor: Ellen Dempsey

Coaches:  Ben Rodeffer-Hiram; Betsy Smerglia & Dale Walter - Maple Hts.; Wanda Hoffman - Crestwood; Brenda Ward-Field; 

Other Coaches to be announced

The Portage Volleyball Club 13's - 15's will practice at Streetsboro High school on Sundays and during the week, when those practices begin in February.  The 16's - 18's will practice at Hiram Colege.  We will be making every effort to prepare our players to be very competitive in the tournaments that we participate in, by providing the most competent coaches possible.  The quality and the amount of practice time that the players receive is one of the best in the area.

The Portage Volleyball Club teams will compete at the Regional & National  levels of competition of the USA Volleyball sanctioned tournaments.  The caliber of competition available at the Regional level is very good and allows us to to keep Club fees and travel down.  There are normally more than 150 teams competing in the Ohio Valley Region at each of these age levels.  We will also compete at the National level, with most teams doing so on a regional basis.  Some of the National (17's, 18's & possibly a 16's) teams plan to travel out of he OVR Region, which will involve some additional costs and travel.
We are usually able to register for tournaments that are within a 2-hour drive.  This helps to keep the cost of travel and over-night stays to a minimum.  Transportation is the responsibility of the parents/players.

The Portage Volleyball Club participation fee has been tenetively set as of 10/18/08.  The increase of tournament entry, adding a tournament day, building use, inclusion of a hoody or warm-up jacket, and  fair coaches fees all impact the cost of player's fees.  The cost will be different for the Regional and National teams.  The fees will include: uniforms, USAV player and coach registration fees, building use fees, tournament entry fees, a hoody or warm-up, and a ball for each player to keep at the end of the season.
The cost for the 13's, 14's, and 15's Regional team is $575.
The cost for the 16's and 17's Regional teams is $650.
The cost for the 15 National team will be $750.
The cost for the 16 and 17 National teams is $800.
The cost for the 18 Regional team is $925, which plans on carrying 9 players.
All of the National and 18 Regional team are planning on going to the 3 day national qualifier in Indianapolis.  The 15 National team's qualifier is in Columbus.  These teams are also planning on being in at least one or two more 2 day events.  A second uniform, tournament fees,  and coaches expenses have been accounted for in these team costs.
Participation in the Club's program involves a commitment.  It will be necessary for the player/parents to plan on submitting half of the fee owed PVC by November 23, 2008 and the balance by January 4, 2009.

USA Volleyball participation should be an extension of your high school program, providing a high level of competition with exposure to college and adult volleyball.  Though we expect an athlete to meet the responsibility of their school sports' teams, we also expect a commitment to their club team.