Winter Volleyball

Practice Schedule

Practices begin Nov. 30th and run through Feb. 1st

A schedule will be posted after try-outs are completed.

Player Fee

• Cost is $800 per player for the 2026 season.

• This includes gym rentals, tournament fees, USAV player fees, etc.

• If a player is chosen to our program, $400 deposit will hold the player's spot and a written commitment will be needed.

• We will collect these after tryouts are completed and players are selected to our program.

• The remaining $400 of Player Fee will be collected by the Parent's Meeting around February 2nd.

Please review the Parent/Player Expectations. Bring any questions you have!

D LEAGUE PHILOSOPHY: Our club will be based on a PROCESS which is a series of actions, changes and functions bringing about a result that is based on principles that build confidence in our players to be successful both on the court and in life. That they learn to love the game, work hard, are fundamentally sound, personal accountable with high volleyball IQ.

Overall: Work Hard and Willing to Learn. We are here not to overstep your school coaches and sometimes, someone else may say something new and it clicks for you. Be open to new positions for your club team, an overall player is the most valuable player. Every player always gets reps in all aspects of volleyball. Any CONCERNS please come talk to us yourself(player or player/parent). 

Tournament Expectations:

If we play the first game, we are ready on the court, half an hour early. If we ref, be there ready to go 20 minutes prior to our ref time. If we have the first game off, we are arriving by the first game start time, find court, get ready.

Throughout tournaments we will sit as a team/ or teams. Coaches will give players breaks for food, phone usage and parents but we are going to sit and cheer for our teams as groups. Scout other teams and look for their tendencies, what they excel in and what we could capitalize on when we play them, etc.

Playing time: up to coaches and we should not get any questions from parents, if a player has a concern the player can visit with their respective coach. We feel confident with teams of 9 up to 10 players, we will be able to work everyone into a set, or rotate who sits out but we play the tournament to win.

Positions: honestly, we offered some of you players spots, because we saw a spark or a particular part of your game that was elevated and we intend to use you in that way to help the team and push a certain part of your game to the next level and it might not be your primary position during jr high/ or high school, which is OK – as it’s an asset to be an all-around player. For example, maybe we use a setter as a Defensive Specialist or as a Hitter. So mentally take the challenge. HOWEVER, in practices we will always allow time for everyone to work on all skills, and at times we will split by position to be more specific drill focused or/and when we scrimmage. Communication is the key and as a player communicate with your respective coach if there is a specific skill or position you would like to try at practice let them know.

Tournament Schedule from the site is not released until Thursday morning of that week at the latest, with at times adjustments. So, please know we will communicate to you the schedule once we receive it, however always check again the day before and that morning as last minute changes do occur. Tournament cancellations due to weather. For the most part, every tournament goes on. Over the last 3 years, we have had one tournament get cancelled for snow and one with a later start time. So, expect for the tournament to go on.

Game Uniforms:

D-League Jersey that we will assign you. That Jersey is be turned in at your last tournament. 17’s players do get to keep their Jersey😊as a ‘thank you’ for being a part of Nebraska D League. 

Black spandex is preferred, just keep in mind needs to cover your entire booty. When purchasing be mindful of the inseam. A favorite from experience is Adidas Brand and Nike Team Brand as they have wider waist bands and wider band around your thigh. 

Shorts can technically be anything black. But have to be solid black. You could wear shorts or pants, but they need to be SOLID black, (the logo can be white, black, or grey)

Knee pads: black or white

Socks: black, white, red or grey

Shoes: good court playing shoes, do not necessarily need to be volleyball specific.

Hair: tied back, if you went to prom the night before, take your prom hair out.

Practice Philosophy:

Try everything, Try the positions asked, Try the technique we are coaching. (Every coach has a technique they might lean towards they feel works for their school/club. For example, they prefer a 3-step approach, which we are coaching the 4 step – be open to what is being taught to you at the time).

Practice format we will start ON TIME and have supplied our entire practice and tournament schedule with you already. We will have Pre-Practice warm up that players will be expected to do before practice. (In February, we will give the players time to learn the Pre-Practice warm up; along with any other warm up drills each respective coach might have for their players to be completed prior to their practice start time.) So, please NOTE to arrive in time to complete what you need to before your respective practice time starts. For example: if it takes you 5 minutes to put on your shoes and equipment and another 10 minutes to warm up, need to be showing up 15 minutes prior to start time of practice. 

Nets: Will be our responsibility of putting up and taking down the net systems, so do your part and help when you see something needs to be done. Once the nets go up, the courts are ours. And once the nets are all put away and equipment everyone if free to leave. 

Absences: make sure your Coach knows both for practices and tournaments and we want to hear from the players as that starts to build a relationship with Coach and Player. It also gives the players a sense of responsibility, and opportunity to communicate with their Coach. If it is a tournament that you will miss, you need to let them know WELL in advance. Also, please include in that communication with Coach Buss and Coach Kuester if you will miss a tournament, so we can keep a count to make tournaments work. Emergencies may happen, just communicate as soon as you find things out.

Missing a practice, just remind your Coach. We just hate the idea especially for the players that drive themselves, that you left home, and didn’t make it here and we couldn’t figure out where you went. So, expect a text if you forget to remind the Coach you were not attending – FYI.

We do expect players to attend as many practices as they can so they can improve on their skills, not to just come when it’s convenient. A sense of commitment is to the TEAM and players are relying on you both at practice and at a tournament. 

Players COMMUNICATE with your COACH😊.

Attitude – remember what is your WHY? However, in the end it will not be tolerated and at times we might ask you to step off the court to take a break, take a deep breath, go to the bathroom, just regroup. THEN, we will always communicate with you on why we asked you to step away, give you some suggestions/encouragement and we both move forward. 

Weather cancellations: we will email player/parents and check our website. Also,we will post information regarding cancellations out on our Social Media Sites. 

General rule be there to practice (unless it is really bad) so your parents have to make the ultimate decision. There are going to be places where it is worse, parents really have the ultimate say on practices due to weather, especially if Norfolk weather is OK. Players just need to communicate that prior to practice time to their respective Coach.