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WHAT IS OUR CLUB’S VISION AND PHILOSOPHY?

Focus Volleyball Club offers youth boys and girls the chance to learn the game and compete within the club system. We form teams that pursue excellence and aim to help every athlete reach their full potential. Our primary focus is on building competitive, performance-driven teams. When resources allow, we also provide recreational teams and experiences that emphasize social connection, enjoyment, and skill development in a fun, supportive environment. Look out for our updated Policies page which is coming soon.

WHERE IS FOCUS BASED OUT OF?

Focus Volleyball Club is based in the Burnaby and Tri-Cities area.  We are open to having athletes from all areas of the Lower Mainland involved in our various club teams.

WHAT IS CLUB VOLLEYBALL?

In BC, club volleyball is under the guidance and leadership of our provincial sport organization, Volleyball BC.  Club volleyball provides opportunities for players to train and compete, beyond the school season, with approved club teams that cater to various levels of play.  There are over 70 clubs located throughout BC.

WHAT CLUB TEAMS ARE WE RUNNING? WHAT ABOUT TEAM COMPOSITION AND NUMBER OF PLAYERS ON A TEAM?

We provide club teams at the 13U to 18U levels for both boys and girls, providing we have the coaches to support the various age groups.  The availability of teams depends on the availability of coaches and their preferences for coaching at the various age categories.  Where we are able to run more than one team at an age level, the teams are based on performance level and are tiered.  We run teams of various ability levels.

For the 2026 season we are targeting to offer:

• Three 13U Boys teams
• Three 14U Boys teams
• Three 15U Boys teams
• Three 16U Boys teams
• One 17U Boys team
• One 18U Boys team
• One 13U Girls team
• Three 14U Girls teams
• One 15U Girls team
• Two 16U Girls teams

The teams will be divided by ability.

Each team will have 10 to 14 players depending on the coaches’ decisions.

WHAT ARE EARLY SIGNING OFFERS?

Early signing offers can be offered to athletes 15U and who played for us last year as per Volleyball BC policy.  These offers will be given to players who have demonstrated excellent team contributions in the past and we feel merit a spot on one of our teams.  Our club limits early signing offers to the top athletes from our last season’s division 1 and upper division 2 teams.  This means that our top teams will still have approximately 8 spots open while our other teams will still have 12 open spots.

WHAT TIMEFRAME DOES THE CLUB SEASON RUN FROM?

Club season runs from January to late April/May (depending on when the Provincial Championships are scheduled) although some teams begin training in December to finalize rosters. Provincial Championships, which take place in late April or early May, culminate the club season. Teams may also choose to attend post-Provincial Championship events such as the National Championship or the Emerald City Classic Tournament in Washington State. The indoor season officially ends May 31st.  At that time all seasons and tournament play must be completed.

WHAT COMPETITIONS/TOURNAMENTS DO FOCUS TEAMS ATTEND?

Each team will participate in 3 to 6 tournaments, including the season-end Provincial Championships in late April or early May.  Some teams will also participate in some playdays, which are mini inter-club tournaments.  Teams also have the option of participating in a post-season event such as National championships. These tournaments may be offered by Volleyball BC (VBC) or other clubs.  Teams that are competing in the lower divisions of play do have the option of avoiding travel, participating in local events.  The Focus Club aims to send our teams to at least 2 of the 3 Super Series tournament events, which are run by Volleyball BC, one of which will require travel to Vancouver Island or the Interior. The results from these Super Series events are used to determine seeding going into the Provincial Championships. If teams choose to attend all 2 Super Series events, additional travel will be required. In addition, coaches may choose other club tournament/playday events depending on their remaining team budget.

Tournaments take place on the weekends (Saturday/Sunday).  A typical tournament day runs from around 8:30am to 6pm.  The second tournament day often finishes earlier to allow visiting teams to travel home.  Local tournaments may be one day events.

DOES MY ATHLETE NEED TO TRYOUTS? AND IF SO, WHEN ARE TRYOUTS AND WHAT IS THE SELECTION PROCESS?

Because of the demand and the limited number of coaches, facilities and equipment the Focus Volleyball Club holds tryouts for team spots. Tryouts for Focus Volleyball Club take place in November and early December, following the guidelines set by Volleyball BC.

Each tryout session runs for 1.5 to 2 hours and have a limited number of spots due to court and facility capacity limits. Here are the few highlights:

• REGISTERING ONLINE is the recommended way to secure your spot. A non-refundable participant fee will be applied at the time of registration. A tryout information and a registration link will be posted on our website home page by mid-October
• ONE TRYOUT SESSION per participant please - we ask that you only register for ONE tryout session to allow slots for other athletes.
• REGISTRATION DEADLINE applies to online registrations, which close 9pm the day prior to the tryout session.
• TRANSFERS to another tryout session can be done provided there is room in the session and it is before the registration deadline. Please register for your preferred tryout session and provide us with your original tryout session information (e.g. Nov. 29 from 9am to 11am at HJSC) during the registration process. A credit of original participant fee less a $10 change fee will be processed.
• IN PERSON REGISTRATION can be done provided there is room available in the tryout session. An additional administration fee of $10 will be charged to register onsite. Please arrive early to allow time to fill in the necessary forms.
• CALL BACKS will be by invitation only to athletes who will be asked to attend another tryout session for further evaluation. There will be no additional fee for the call back session.

To ensure a fair and thorough evaluation process, a selection committee — comprising team coaches, additional club coaches, and volleyball volunteers — will oversee athlete assessments. Coaches with any potential bias are excluded from selection discussions to maintain impartiality. All athletes will participate in the same drills and activities, and teams are not pre-selected. Selections are based solely on attendance and performance during tryouts.

Athletes are required to attend one initial tryout session. Based on their performance, some may be invited to a second session, commonly referred to as a ‘call back,’ for further evaluation. There is no additional cost to attend a call back session, but only athletes who receive an invitation should attend. In some cases, an athlete may receive a team offer based solely on their performance in the initial tryout.

We encourage all athletes to try out, regardless of their experience level. For younger age groups (12U to 14U), the focus is on developing fundamental skills and gradually introducing athletes to competitive play. Athletes will be evaluated on a variety of criteria, including technical ability, physical attributes, decision-making, tactical understanding, attitude, and their willingness to learn and work as part of a team.

Athletes who are selected for a team or invited to a call back will be contacted via email. Those who are not selected will receive a group email indicating that no position is available at this time. Due to the high volume of tryout participants, coaches are unable to send personalized emails to each athlete.

To ensure safety and that every athlete has a fair opportunity to be evaluated, we place a cap on the number of participants per court during tryouts. While we are open to parents attending tryouts, certain facilities have occupancy limitations due to safety regulations. At certain facilities, parents may be asked to return or asked to observe from a particular area. If parents do have questions, coaches and staff are available before or after tryouts to answer any inquiries.

Even after the main tryout period concludes, we may offer late tryouts in December or early January to fill any remaining open spots. Additionally, new teams may be added or positions may become available later in the season. Therefore, we recommend checking our website regularly throughout November and December for updates and additional tryout opportunities.

Following the completion of tryouts, athletes who are selected for a team will receive an official offer letter via email, which will include registration procedures and next steps. Again, please remember that athletes must be registered for a tryout in order to be considered for team selection. 

Questions can also be sent to focusvolleyball2017@gmail.com 

CAN I STILL TRYOUT IF I PLAYED FOR ANOTHER CLUB LAST SEASON?

YES. If you played for another club previously, you are permitted to try out for another club for the 2026 club season.  Only athletes who have pre-signed (committed / accepted an early signing offer) with another club are ineligible to attend the tryouts.

WHAT CAN AN ATHLETE DO IF THEY ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND A TRYOUT?

If you are unable to attend one of the scheduled tryouts, you can contact focusvolleyball2017@gmail.com to make alternate arrangements, provided the tryouts have not ended.

WHAT ARE THE AGE CATEGORIES FOR CLUB VOLLEYBALL?

Volleyball BC and Volleyball Canada have established these age categories for the 2026 season:

• 12U - Athletes born September 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014
• 13U - Athletes born September 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013
• 14U - Athletes born September 1, 2011 to December 31, 2012
• 15U - Athletes born September 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011
• 16U - Athletes born September 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010
• 17U - Athletes born September 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009
• 18U* - Athletes born September 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008 (*team may also take up to 2 athletes born in 2006)

Some athletes may attend tryouts in two age categories to increase their chances of being selected if they are born September to December e.g. a player born in 2011 may try out for the 15U but if their birthday falls on September to December, they may also try out for the 14U team as well.  The athlete would have to register separately for both age groups tryouts.

CAN A PLAYER PLAY UP AN AGE CATEGORY?

Yes, a player can try out for an older age category but they should first register in their own age group and then the age up group.  This will help ensure they are evaluated both with their peer group and the higher age category.  This will also improve your chances to be selected and play for one of our teams.

We encourage athletes to play with their own age group but where an athlete demonstrates exemplary skill and maturity they will be considered to play in an older age category.

WHAT IS REQUIRED OF YOUR COACHES?

Our coaches are screened and must have completed:

• a Criminal Record Check
• Safe Sport Training Module
• Making Headway in Sports (Concussion protocol) training
• Making Ethical Decisions
• Volleyball Coaching (as required by Volleyball BC)

All of our coaches are expected to be part of the National Coaching Certification program.

In addition, our coaches are required to meet the coaching education requirements outlined by Volleyball BC.  This involves sport specific courses.  By the end of their second year of club coaching, we expect our coaches to be fully certified as a Development level coach through the National Coaches Certification Program (NCCP).

WHEN AND WHERE ARE FOCUS PRACTICES?

Teams generally have two practices per week.  Each practice session lasts from 90 minutes to 2 hours in length. The location of practices vary. We use Elementary, Middle and Secondary schools in the Tri-Cities, Burnaby and Surrey areas. Our younger teams practice sessions are between 5:30pm and 9pm, while our older teams generally practice from 7pm to 10pm.  Our regular practices take place on weeknights.

WHAT ARE THE CLUB FEES?

Club fees are determined based on the athlete’s age category and may vary accordingly. These fees typically cover essential costs such as registration for a minimum of three tournaments (including Provincial Championships), gym rental for practices, equipment, sport insurance, coaching fees, and a basic travel budget for coaches. Additional variations in fees may occur depending on the age group and the uniform package provided. In some cases, teams may collect extra funds to support participation in additional tournaments. A detailed breakdown of club fees is included in the Athlete Offer Sheet, which is sent to players who are selected to join one of our teams. Please note athlete and spectator travel costs are not included in club fees.

Still have a question that we haven't answered here, then contact us or email us.