Woodbury Athletic Association

Junior volleyball, formerally known as JO or Junior Olympic volleyball, is youth competetive volleyball that is played in the United States. USA Volleyball is the governing body for youth volleyball. In Minnesota we play in the North Country Region. It is the largest region by numbers with over 13,000 girls registered at all ages. Anyone under the age of 18 can play Junior volleyball. There are many levels of volleyball played and trained under the Junior title, from Elite clubs that cost thousands of dollars per year to area clubs to community programs that cost several hundred per year.   The Woodbury Volleyabll Club is a local, community club that strives to provide girls excellent coaching, the opportunity to play at a higher level than recreational volleyball, with access to local practice facilities, all at a reasonable price. 

For kids that are very serious about playing volleyball, especially at the high school level, playing Juniors is typically a critical step in their development.  Junior volleyball participants typically practice between 3-4 hours per week, play in a weekend league on 5 different play dates, and attend at least two weekend tournaments during the season. 

Our goal is to make the Woodbury club experience the best value in volleyball training in the area without regard to the high school boundary.

Like all WAA sports Woodbury volleyball is open to all girls who live or go to school in the city of Woodbury. First preference to being placed on a team goes to girls who meet this criteria. If there is room for players on teams, other girls from the surrounding area are also welcome.

Changes for this season

There will be a few significant changes to the Woodbury Volleyball Club Junior girls program this year. 

1) In addition to forming teams at our traditional 12-16 age levels, we will be forming a 17’s team.  In the past, many of our 17s would be high school juniors playing elite clubs like Kokoro, M1, or Northern Lights; however, for many reasons, many families may find our club is a better fit for thier lifestyle than some of these elite clubs. 

2) In order to prevent a program fee increase over last year and in recognition of the many spring sports conflicts that many of our athletes have in the month of April, our Junior season will end after the last Power League Play Date at the end of March. 

3) Instead of the NCR Area Championship tournament at the end of April, we are planning on an overnight, one day, skill-level appropriate tournament for each team, most likely either in Duluth or Rochester.  The out of town experience helps build team cohesion and allows the families to get to know each other.  The entry fee for the tournament will be covered by the program fees, but accommodations will be organized by a parent volunteer on each team and will be the responsibility of the families.  I am confident that for families that may be unable to make the overnight trip for whatever reason, their daughter will be able to bunk in with another family. 

4) In an effort to keep cost increases down in future years, we will be assigning a permanent number to each athlete and will attempt to reuse uniform tops for future years.  We hope to be able to keep the same style uniforms for a number of years.  In future years, uniform expense will be taken out of the program fees and handled separately.

5) Instead of “one team, one court” practices, we will be running more clinic-style practices in December.  This will allow us to get more court time for each player,  standardize our coaching methodology, and work toward my goal of being the best passing club in Minnesota.

6) Finally, we are seeking a volunteer to run conditioning sessions, specifically in November and December, and possibly during the spring and summer as well.