Girls Tryout Information
It is IMPERATIVE that you read all the information on this page, as well as the FAQs page, carefully!
If you’re new to club volleyball, you’re not alone. Most families who visit this page are just trying to figure out what it even is — and whether it’s right for their child.
Club volleyball is an off-season program that gives players a chance to keep learning, practicing, and competing after the school season ends. It runs during the winter and spring, and our travel teams practice once a week and play in one-day weekend tournaments.
Let’s say your daughter played on her middle school team and loved it. Club volleyball gives her a way to keep that going — to keep learning, meet new teammates, and grow her confidence on the court. Some players come in with lots of experience. Others are just starting out, especially at the younger age levels (12s–14s). Everyone’s there to learn.
It is a commitment. There’s a cost. There’s time involved. And we expect players to show up, on time, ready to work. But it’s worth it for the growth you’ll see — not just in skills, but in confidence, teamwork, and resilience.
If your child is into volleyball and wants to play more — or if they’re just curious — we believe North Jersey Volleyball Club is a great first step, as well as the perfect club for multi-sport athletes.
Age of Eligibility Calculator
The best way to start is to know what your daughter’s age of eligibility is. In club volleyball, your child’s age group isn’t based on how old they are right now — or even what grade they’re in. It’s based on a national system set by USA Volleyball.
Age eligibility is determined by your child’s age on July 1st of the upcoming club season. That means your 13-year-old 7th grader might actually qualify for the 14s age group — or vice versa. It’s not always intuitive.
To make it easy, we’ve built a simple tool that tells you exactly what age group your child should register for. Just plug in their birthday and you’re good to go.
Why this matters:
Teams are formed by age group, and tryout schedules are set accordingly. Knowing your child’s correct age group will help you sign up for the right tryout and avoid confusion later on.
Still not sure? Go ahead and use the calculator. It’s quick and takes the guesswork out of it.
TENTATIVE - Tryout Dates (Travel only)
12 And Under
If your child’s age of eligibility is 12 or under (INCLUDES ALL AGES UNDER 12), here’s what the tryout process will look like:
One-Day Tryout
Sunday, Sept. 21
9:30am – 12pm
After this session, we’ll email you a follow up with one of two things:
- A notice that you have made the travel team, and instructions on how to accept the spot
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
12s and under must attend the one-day tryout – no exceptions.
What Happens Next
If your child is placed on a travel team:
- Parent/Player Meeting Sunday, Nov. 23
- First Practice Sunday, Dec. 7
If your child is not selected for a travel team:
- You’ll have the option to join a practice-only team instead. You will receive the registration before it is published to the public.
- First practice for non-travel teams are Sunday, January 4, 2026
13
If your child’s age of eligibility is 13, here’s what the tryout process will look like:
Round 1: Sunday, Sept. 21
Two groups (Players will be split in half)
- Group A: 1pm – 3pm
- Group B: 3pm – 5pm
After this session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to the final round of tryouts, or
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
Final Round: Sunday, Sept. 28 from 9:30am – 11:30am
Those that can only attend the second round will be handled and accepted on a case-by-case basis.
What Happens Next
If your child is placed on a travel team:
- Parent/Player Meeting Sunday, Nov. 23
- First Practice Sunday, Dec. 7
If your child is not selected for a travel team:
- You’ll have the option to join a practice-only team instead. You will receive the registration before it is published to the public.
- First practice for non-travel teams are Sunday, January 4, 2026
14
If your child’s age of eligibility is 14, here’s what the tryout process will look like:
Round 1: Sunday, Sept. 28
Three groups (Players will be split in thirds)
- Group A: 12:30pm – 2:30pm
- Group B: 2:30pm – 4:30pm
- Group C: 5pm – 7pm
After this session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to a second-round tryout, or
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
Second Round: Sunday, Oct. 5 from 9:30am – 11:30am
Those that can only attend the second round will be handled and accepted on a case-by-case basis.
What Happens Next
If your child is placed on a travel team:
- Parent/Player Meeting Sunday, Nov. 23
- First Practice Sunday, Dec. 7
If your child is not selected for a travel team:
- You’ll have the option to join a practice-only team instead. You will receive the registration before it is published to the public.
- First practice for non-travel teams are Sunday, January 4, 2026
15
If your child’s age of eligibility is 15, here’s what the tryout process will look like:
Liberos Only: Sunday, Oct. 5
At this age group, we have way more liberos tryout than any other position. This requires us to have a libero only tryout. The libero tryout still encompasses all other positions – outside hitter, setter, etc.
Liberos Only Tryout on Sun., Oct 5
- 12:30pm – 2:30pm
After the libero-only session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to the first-round tryout, or
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
First Round: Sunday, Oct. 19
Three groups (Players will be split into equal groups)
- Group A: 9:30am – 11:30am
- Group B: 11:30am – 1:30pm
- Group C: 2pm – 4pm
After this session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to a second-round tryout, or
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
Final Round: Sunday, Oct. 26
- 9:30am – 11:30am
After this session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to join the travel team
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
Those that can only attend the final round will be handled and accepted on a case-by-case basis.
What Happens Next
If your child is placed on a travel team:
- Parent/Player Meeting Sunday, Nov. 23
- First Practice Sunday, Dec. 7
If your child is not selected for a travel team:
- You’ll have the option to join a practice-only team instead. You will receive the registration before it is published to the public.
- First practice for non-travel teams are Sunday, January 4, 2026
16
If your child’s age of eligibility is 16, here’s what the tryout process will look like:
Liberos Only: Sunday, Oct. 5
At this age group, we have way more liberos tryout than any other position. This requires us to have a libero only tryout. The libero tryout still encompasses all other positions – outside hitter, setter, etc.
Liberos Only Tryout on Sun., Oct 19
- 2:30pm – 4:30pm
After the libero-only session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to the first-round tryout, or
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
First Round: Sunday, Oct. 26
Three groups (Players will be split into equal groups)
- Group A: 12:30pm – 2:30pm
- Group B: 2:30am – 4:30pm
- Group C: 5pm – 7pm
After this session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to a second-round tryout, or
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
Second Round: Sunday, Nov. 2
- 9:30am – 11:30am
After this session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to join the travel team
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
Those that can only attend the second round will be handled and accepted on a case-by-case basis.
What Happens Next
If your child is placed on a travel team:
- Parent/Player Meeting Sunday, Nov. 23
- First Practice Sunday, Dec. 7
If your child is not selected for a travel team:
- You’ll have the option to join a practice-only team instead. You will receive the registration before it is published to the public.
- First practice for non-travel teams are Sunday, January 4, 2026
17
If your child’s age of eligibility is 17, here’s what the tryout process will look like:
Round 1: Sunday, Nov. 2
Two groups (Players will be split in half)
- Group A: 12:30pm – 2:30pm
- Group B: 2:30pm – 4:30pm
After this session, we’ll follow up with one of two things:
- An invitation to a second-round tryout, or
- A notice that your child didn’t make the travel team this season
Second Round: Sunday, Nov. 16
- 9:30am – 11:30am
Those that can only attend the second round will be handled and accepted on a case-by-case basis.
What Happens Next
If your child is placed on a travel team:
- Parent/Player Meeting Sunday, Nov. 23
- First Practice Sunday, Dec. 7
If your child is not selected for a travel team:
- You’ll have the option to join a practice-only team instead. You will receive the registration before it is published to the public.
- First practice for non-travel teams are Sunday, January 4, 2026
TRYOUT LOCATION
For Travel Teams, we also practice in Nutley:
390 Washington Ave, Nutley, NJ 07110
Important Notice - Varsity Waiver
FAQs: Click here
North Jersey Volleyball Club is committed to the health and safety of our players. Varsity players, we will waive you to round 2 of tryouts if you fulfill the criteria below.
If your season is ongoing due to County or State Playoffs, you will be waived to round 2.
Note that there are two criteria to a waiver:
- You are a varsity starter, or receive regular minutes (defensive specialist, etc) on varsity. Going in once in a while does not count.
- Your season must have a chance of going to the state playoffs (your varsity team is over .500, which means you have more wins than losses)
Age Groups 12s, 13s and 14s
Pay To
Includes / Description
Amount
NJVBC
Tryout Fee
$ 60
NJVBC
40 hours of practice (Two and a half hour practices on Sundays)
Four one-day tournaments, events, or friendlys
Two jerseys
One T-Shirt
One warm-up long sleeve
$ 1,250
USA Volleyball
Yearly Membership
$ 75
AAU
Yearly Membership
$ 22
TOTAL COST FOR THE SEASON
$ 1,407
Age Groups 15s, 16s, and 17s
Pay To
Includes / Description
Amount
NJVBC
Tryout Fee
$ 60
NJVBC
40 hours of practice (Two and a half hour practices on Sundays)
Five one-day tournaments, events, or friendlys
Two jerseys
One T-Shirt
One warm-up long sleeve
$ 1,320
USA Volleyball
Yearly Membership
$ 75
AAU
Yearly Membership
$ 22
TOTAL COST FOR THE SEASON
$ 1,477
FAQs
Where can I find the full FAQ list?
We have a full list of the most commonly asked questions here.
Is registration open for my daughter’s eligibility age?
Registration for tryouts will open September 10th.
What time will my daughter’s practice be? Who will be her coach? What days are tournaments?
We practice once a week – Sundays only.
High school coaches cannot coach their players in the offseason in NJ. As a result, we must first have tryouts and then place coaches with teams that do not roster any of their high school kids. We cannot assign coaches until after tryouts occur.
That also means we don’t know what time their team will practice. During the 2024 – 2025 season, the window for practices was 12pm–9pm at both the Nutley and North Haledon locations. Practices are 2.5 hours long. The younger kids practiced earlier in the afternoon, and it progressed until the oldest kids practiced at night. This may need to change in the future.
Tournaments cannot be booked until December 1st, so the schedule will not be finalized until December 15th. Tournaments are only on Saturdays or Sundays. We try to book one tournament a month from January – May.
Are there payment plans?
Yes, we offer payment plans for all programs, including non-travel teams. You can pay the whole season up front, or we can split the payment over four months. The first payment is due at the first team practice. Payments 2, 3, and 4 are due over the following three months. The payments are due each month on the 15th (or the practice after the 15th, whichever is later).
Where do you practice?
We have two locations for travel team practices:
- Abundant Life Academy, Nutley
- Mary Help of Christians Academy, North Haledon
I want to choose my practice location (Nutley or North Haledon), or my daughter wants to play with her friends. Is this possible?
These requests cannot be accommodated. We know what it takes to compete with other regional club teams. If your child makes a travel team, they will be assigned a location and a team based on their level. If this does not work for you, the other option is to decline the travel team spot and switch to the non-travel team.
She is a beginner. Is she ready to tryout?
Only you and your daughter can answer this. If you do not think she is ready, please see the information at the top of this page regarding the non-travel, practice-only team.
Do you offer travel teams for ages 11 or under?
If your age of Eligibility is 11 or under, you will follow the “12s and Under” schedule above. Please reference our Age of Eligibility Calculator above to determine which travel team you can try out for. Currently, the earliest age group we offer travel teams to is 12. If your player is younger and interested in travel, we encourage them to try out for the 12s travel team. Please note that if you are 11 or younger by the Calculator, we highly recommend starting with our practice-only, non-travel squad to learn the fundamentals.
As a girls’ travel team player, what is the total obligation (financial, fundraising, etc.)?
We will have several fundraisers throughout the year, which can significantly reduce your dues. We have a few players every year who fundraise enough that they pay nothing in dues. These fundraisers usually include SnapRaise and a parents only Bag Bingo.
Additionally, if you make the travel team, you can sign up for an optional sleepaway tournament. If you are interested, add an additional $350 to the cost in the chart above.
Why do you run tryouts so late? Other clubs run them in early August.
We do not want to risk any injuries to high school players before their high school tryouts. We do our best to work around the high school girls season.
Why can’t I register for tryouts until September?
In the past, we opened our registration in early August. Girls would register, then accept other clubs travel team spots. We would not be informed if they were not attending our tryout. Opening registration late will give us a better idea of how many girls are attending our tryouts.