As a parents of young athletes trying to navigate the complex world of club sports, we learned the hard way that your child's experience has so much to do with the coach. Even the very best clubs can have coaches that just do not quite mesh with your child. Vice versa, lesser known clubs may have coaches that you would have never guessed would gel with your child in amazing ways.

Simply put, the coach - athlete relationship, especially at the young ages of club athletes (10 - 18 years old) has a immense impact on your child's experience. A great coach for your child can have such a positive impact not only on their athletics, but also on their life in general.

Making this more complex and challenging for club athletes and parents, particularly in girls' volleyball, is the tryout process. In club volleyball, coaches often coach the same age group year after year. Meanwhile, the athletes are moving up to the next age group each year. This creates a challenging dynamic in that club volleyball players have to tryout for a whole new set of coaches each year as they move up in age group. This can be highly stressful on both parents and young athletes.