If you are receiving this email, it is because you or your son(s) are registered for the 2021 Badger Region High Performance tryouts this Saturday at the New Berlin Sports Plex (2900 S. 163rd St., New Berlin). Parking is tight, so please be safe and conscious of where you are parking your vehicles in the lot or along the road.
In a normal year, I would host a parent meeting at the start of tryouts. Since we cannot accommodate an in-person meeting at the start of tryouts, please consider the following information as the details that I would have shared had we been in person:
A. We are selecting 20-24 athletes (per age group) who the coaching staff considers ready to compete at a five-day international tournament this summer. Since we only get about four days to train with these athletes, we must base our decisions off what we see now, not what we might be able to foresee if we had an entire season to train with an individual.
B. We are also looking for athletes that we see are taking good feedback, working hard and following all guidelines set by the coaching staff. We must take into consideration that we are going to be with some of these athletes two days at training camps, two days at an overnight camp and seven days in Phoenix. We want everyone to be respectful of each other and the rules (i.e. mask wearing) that we all must follow. We don’t know right now what USAV’s mask rules/spectator numbers will be, as they are still working with the City of Phoenix on all of that.
C. The rules at HP are different. By international rules, we are only allowed SIX subs per set. That means that coaches must be very conscious of their selections knowing that most athletes must have the potential to play six rotations. Having players who can play multiple positions is a positive since we can only take 10 athletes to Phoenix. Liberos are also not allowed to serve in the international game. Middles must serve on their own or a serving sub can be made — but again that takes away another substitution from that set.
D. Other random international rules that you may not have known: If the ball hits the ceiling it is out of bounds, we play two best-out-of-five matches per day, simultaneous contact on a ball (usually on a dig or serve receive) is considered two hits. The libero is designated for the match and cannot be changed set to set.
A handful of athletes have been required to self-quarantine due to close contact at school or at other volleyball events, so we have had a lot of athletes switch over to video-only tryouts. That is OK. We want to emphasize following guidelines and safety protocols. We will make sure those athletes get a proper evaluation through the video-only process just like the other athletes who are playing in other club tournaments this weekend.
I think that is all for now. See you all tomorrow!
+++++++++++++
Good afternoon,
If you are receiving this email, it is because you or your son(s) are registered for the 2021 Badger Region High Performance tryouts this Saturday (April 24) at the New Berlin Sports Plex (2900 S. 163rd St., New Berlin).
We are VERY excited to get the High Performance season going this weekend and look forward to some upcoming, high-level training opportunities in the very near future.
Tryout registration remains open through Wednesday night if you have any other friends or teammates interested. After that, we will only accept walk-up registration at a higher fee.
A reminder that tryouts for the YOUTH age level (boys born in 2003-2004) is from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Registration opens at 8:15 a.m.
For the SELECT age level (boys born in 2005-2007), tryouts start at 12:30 p.m. and will go to 3 p.m. on Saturday as well. Registration for this will open at 11:45 a.m.
At registration, here are some steps that you will need to follow:
1. Change into a numbered Badger Region HP tryouts t-shirt
2. Verify your date of birth and the primary position that you are trying out for
3. Start stretching and warming up — an athletic trainer will be on site starting at 8:30 a.m.
4. We have a very large number of athletes trying out and therefore will not be allowing spectators for the tryout
If you have signed up for the “video feedback” option, coaches’ feedback will be emailed to you after seeing the athlete try out in person. Feedback from in-person tryouts will be combined with the pointers from the videos submitted and sent to you a few days after the tryout. Athletes who signed up for “in-person tryout only,” will not be given written feedback. On another note, athletes who do not receive an offer for the training camps are permitted to ask where they might sit on the waiting list as there is a chance that someone has to back out for various reasons.
The boys HP season has a VERY quick turnaround. Once offers are made (could be 20-24 athletes per group), confirmation of the offer and acceptance will need to be quick as the first training date will be at Burlington High School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 1. That is where some paperwork and payment will be turned in. The second training date will be at Nicolet High School on May 15. Cost of attending the two training sessions is $150.
From the final training date, a 10-player team that will travel to Phoenix for the HP Championships will be chosen at each age group. In addition, two alternates per group will also be chosen to attend the overnight camp. Cost for the overnight camp for the boys is expected to be about $250 (date and location being finalized as we speak). The cost for individuals who are selected to go to Phoenix is roughly $675. The Phoenix fee includes the athletes’ flight and housing at the HP Championships as well as tournament entry fees and region admin, as well as apparel and gear needed for the event.
I will be going through all registrations this week to verify membership and payment of all tryout fees and will reach out if needed to those that are incomplete in some way.
I think that is all for now. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out or check out our HP website: http://badger-archive.com/programs-high-performance-general-information/. I will follow up later in the week with more details about the High Performance program in general since we will not be able to have an in-person parent meeting before the event like in years past.
I look forward to seeing you all in the gym on Saturday!
