News from the Program and Member Development Department
Chuck McCracken
Carolina Region Indoor High Performance Program
As we are winding down the season, the Carolina Region High Performance Program is gearing up. The program's purpose is to identify the best players in the Region, expose them to the National team training techniques and select a team to compete in the U.S. High Performance Championships (Ft. Lauderdale this year). Our goal is to help the best players in the Region become the best they can be. We hope to accomplish this by: 1) identifying and training the best players, 2) helping to increase the average level of play in the Region (which is a necessary part of developing the top players) by training 30-60 players per age group and 3) providing opportunities for coaches to be exposed to and work with these athletes and training techniques.
The High Performance age groups are different that the JO age groups. The age group definition stays the same for two years and this is the first year of the two year cycle. Junior - women born in 1988 or 1989 and men born in 1987 or 1988, Youth - women born in 1990 or 1991 and men born in 1989 or 1990, USA Select - women born in 1992 or 1993 and after and men born in 1991 or 1992 and after. In our Region we also have a Pre-Select age group - women born in 1994 or after and men born in 1993 or after. We currently do not have enough boys to run a separate program for boys, but we have allowed boys to attend the clinics with the girls.
We offer Level I clinics which is the entry level clinic where they are evaluated formally, physical testing is done and they are considered for invitation to the A1 or A2 level. We also offer a Level II clinic for players who have been to a Level I clinic but were not invited into the A1 or A2 program. A1 is for the top 30 or so players in an age group and A2 is for the next 30 or so players. Players can play their way into (and out of) the A1 and A2 levels.
Here are the upcoming events:
- Level I & II - Saturday, April 22nd at Rosman High School, Rosman, NC and at the Triangle Facility, Morrisville, NC.
- Level I & II - Sunday, April 23rd at the Greensboro Sportsplex and the Marine Dome, Havelock, NC.
- A1 and A2 Training Weekend - Saturday, April 29th and Sunday, April 30th. This is by invitation only. We will be doing training as well as determining who will be invited to the A1 and A2 camps. The site will be announced with the invitations.
- Quest For Excellence Tournament - Friday, May 12th (evening practice), Saturday, May 13th and Sunday, May 14th. Players who are involved in the High Performance program and whose club teams are no longer playing may be invited to play on a team made up of other players in the High Performance program. These are NOT the High Performance teams but are designed to give players whose clubs are no longer playing the opportunity to stay sharp between the end of the club team's season and the camp.
- A1 and A2 Camp - This is by invitation only. Both camps will be held on the campus of Greensboro College. The A1 camp will begin on Friday afternoon/evening, June 9th and end on Monday afternoon, June 12th. The Carolina Region's High Performance Teams will be selected at this camp. The A2 camp will begin on Tuesday morning, June 13th and end Thursday afternoon, June 15th.
- U.S. High Performance Championships - This is by invitation only. The teams will get together to train for a couple of days starting Friday morning, July 14th and will head for Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday evening. The teams will practice a couple more times in Ft. Lauderdale with competition beginning Wednesday, July 19th and ending Saturday, July 22nd. Teams will be home on Sunday, July 23rd.
Carolina Region Junior Beach High Performance Program
We are also starting a Beach High Performance program this year. The 2006 USA Junior Beach Volleyball Tour has a full schedule and there are a few stops in the eastern part of the country:
June 3: Fort Myers, Fla. (National Tournament),
June 10: Clearwater, Fla. (South Zone Championships),
July 31-Aug. 2: Virginia Beach, Va. (AAU Junior Olympics - Triple Crown) and
Aug. 5: Ocean City, Md. (East Zone Championships).
There is also a High Performance camp July 27-30: HP Camp East: Virginia Beach, Va. Age groups are: under-15 (boys and girls born on or after Jan. 1, 1991) and under-18 (boys and girls born on or after Jan. 1, 1988).
Some of the outdoor tournament directors have been offering junior divisions at their tournaments for the past couple of seasons. The June Joust and the other tournaments in Greensboro are again offering junior divisions. Vh1Vball.com has added junior beach (sand) tournaments to their schedule of King & Queen and Reverse Coed tournaments this summer. They kick the junior season off with a Beach Volleyball 101 clinic on May 6th and 7th. Other junior tournament dates are: Junior Beach Volleyball Open: May 20th, 2006, Junior Beach Volleyball Open: July 15th, 2006 and Junior Beach Volleyball Championships: August 5th, 2006.