For parents of girls who play volleyball
A compliment can turn into an invoice within a season.
Club teams, camps, showcases, private lessons. Everybody tells you what your daughter needs. Nobody tells you what it costs, or what's actually worth it.
From the first youth season through high school, recruiting and eligibility.
Sound familiar?
Everybody has advice. Get the whole bill before you pay.
Before long you've paid club dues, bought the shoes and knee pads the team recommends, booked a hotel you didn't pick, and signed up for lessons, and you still don't know if any of it is helping her get better or keeping her excited to play.
Maybe you haven't signed with a club yet. Maybe you already have and the first tournament is on the calendar. Either way, you deserve straight answers before the next check goes out.
I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm here to show you what to look at.
Inside the book
A few things you'll learn
The real odds of college volleyball
About four percent of high school players go on to play in the NCAA, and about 1.3 percent reach Division I. Those are participation estimates, not scholarship odds or a forecast for your daughter. What should they change about how you spend?
Why size at ten doesn’t settle her future
How birth month, growth timing and early selection shape what you see at Saturday tournaments, and what to watch instead.
When middle school has no volleyball team
For a few important years, her club coach may be the only coaching she gets. What to ask before you trust that one voice.
Counting the arm swing
Baseball has pitch counts. Volleyball has no broadly adopted national limit on swings or jumps. A five-question check to run after a tournament weekend, and when to get qualified help.
Five kinds of camps that all use the same word
Clinic, college skills camp, prospect camp, showcase and national team pathway program. Which one she's ready for, and eight questions to ask before you pay.
Choosing what she does between seasons
What beach volleyball and swimming each add to her total workload, and how to choose without turning the break into another season.
Included
In the back of the book
Causes and Solutions Matrix
At-Home Drills
The Plan
Questions Parents Ask
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Plain answers for sports parents, camps worth knowing about, and new books when they come out. Free, and you can leave any time.
About the author
I've been the parent who didn't know what to ask
I'm Sam Duffey, founder of Prime Path Athletics. I'm a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 3. I coached youth football and basketball for 15 years and helped start a youth athletics program. I played junior college basketball at Navarro College and Cisco Junior College before I left school to enlist after September 11th.
My oldest son wanted to keep playing past high school. He didn't get to, and at the time I didn't know how to help him. That's a big part of why Prime Path Athletics exists.
My measure of a good season was never the record. It was whether kids kept coming back and parents trusted what I told them.
Before you buy
Is this book for you?
This is for you if
- Your daughter plays volleyball and a club has asked her to join
- You've already joined a club and the costs keep surprising you
- You want her shoulders and knees healthy and her still loving the game in high school
- You've heard "she'll fall behind" and want a straight answer
This is not for you if
- You want a coaching manual. There are at-home drills in Chapter 7 and Appendix B, but this book is about decisions.
- You want someone to pick a club for you
- You want someone to promise a scholarship. Nobody honest can.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What exactly do I get?
A 161-page book with 16 chapters and four appendices: a causes-and-solutions matrix, at-home drills, a year-round plan, and an index of the parent questions answered in the book. Get it as an EPUB ebook ($14.99) or as a 6x9 paperback that includes the PDF ($19.99).
What ages is it for?
It starts with the first youth season and runs through high school, recruiting and eligibility. Most families get the most from it in elementary and middle school, before the big money decisions.
You coached football and basketball. Why a volleyball book?
I say that plainly in the book too. The volleyball rules, costs and injury research were looked up from scratch for this book, not carried over from another sport. What doesn't change from sport to sport is families spending real money without anyone giving them the plain version first.
Are you telling me to skip club volleyball?
No. Club ball can be right for the right kid on the right team. I just want you to know what you're paying for, and what it's actually buying, before you pay it.
The Real Cost of Youth Volleyball
A Parent's Guide to Club Ball, Camps, and Keeping Her in the Game
- 161 pages, 16 chapters, 4 appendices
- Exact questions to ask, and who to ask
- Plain language, no fluff
One last thing
You can make the money back. You can't get the days back.
Don't let somebody else's calendar or sales pitch make this call for you. Get the questions and the numbers first. Then decide.
P.S. Before you sign with a club, ask one thing: "Besides dues, what will we pay this season for travel, hotels, uniforms and memberships?" The answer tells you a lot. The book gives you the rest of the questions.
Good luck this season.
Sam Duffey, Prime Path Athletics