Q: What is Shank You Juniors Volleyball Club?
A:  Shank You Jr's Volleyball Club was established in 1995.  We provide teams for over 400 Jr. volleyball players ranging in age from 10 to 18 years of age.  We usually have our organizational meeting the first part of November.  Tryouts for this year will be in November.  They will be posted under general information when we have confirmed the dates.  Our club teams usually start practice in December and have the opportunity to play in 5 Northern Indiana Power League tournaments.  These teams will compete until the middle of march.  We also have travel teams and they can play until the first part of July , if they qualify for Nationals.

Q: What are the tryouts like?
A: To remove bias, a panel of experienced volleyball individuals (agreed upon by all high school coaches) has been selected to rank players by skill level. At the time of the tryouts, no special requests (i.e. practice location, transportation, etc.) will be considered. Cuts will be made and no teams will be added after tryouts are concluded.
In other words, high school coaches and club coaches have found a way to remove the “picking” and placing of girls on teams. This is how it will work.
We will have a panel of judges (so far, Adria Phillips, Merly Mears, and Mike Marks have volunteered) who will rank girls according to their skill level (1-10 with 10 the best). This panel will then compile their lists of rankings and a list of background information (name, grade, school, position, level played last year) to place girls on a team. The girls will be ranked on effort, athleticism, serving, serve receive, setting, attacking, defense, and blocking.
When the girls arrive at tryouts, they will sign the rank sheet with their name and desired position and will be given a number. Then, they will be grouped according to their numbers and will move from different stations. The judges will then rank them on the above skills only by knowing their number.
After the rankings have been completed, this panel will meet to further evaluate the girls using the coaches comment sheet. The panel will then place the girls on club teams.
After the placement by the panel (after the second tryout), the club coaches will then meet to discuss requests. After there  meeting, the teams will be posted on the Internet.

Q: What are the age group definitions?
A: This is posted on our web site under Age Definition.  As a guide, the 18-U division typically contains high school seniors and juniors, the 17-U division is juniors and sophomores, the 16-U division consists of high school sophomores and freshmen, the 15-U division consists of freshmen and maybe a few 8th graders, the 14-U division is made up of 8th and 7th grade [middle school] students, and the 12-U division contains 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd grades. The exception will be those students who are young for their grade level, and due to their birth date, can play at a younger division level.

Q: Who do I contact for questions?
A: For general questions, contact Club Director Ron Maure.

Q: How does a player get picked for a particular team?
A:  Shank You assigns players to teams based on a combination of tryout results and team composition needs.  The tryout results are determined from the  volleyball-related skills testing and volleyball game competition, and also by on-court evaluations by the panel of judges, of attitude, effort, ability to communicate, competitiveness and desire.  The team composition needs are determined by each individual coach's decision as to how many players are needed at each position (setter, middle blocker, outside hitter, libero, etc), with consideration given to such factors as physical height, and where they go to school. The goal is to assign players to teams where they will have the best chance of individual success and be most capable of making a significant contribution to the team's success, as well as to meet the needs of the teams to allow for the strongest possible lineup.

Q: Where are our tournaments held?
A:  Tournaments are held at a variety of locations.  For the club teams some of the locations are Elkhart, Mishawaka, Michigan City, Valpo, and Merriville.  For the travel teams, possible locations are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin.      

Q: When will we get tournament information?
A:  The timing for receiving tournament information such as gym location and start times primarily depends upon the respective tournament director.  Due to team cancellations, the tourney schedule is not set until usually Wednesday of the week of the tournament.  Changes can happen as late as Saturday so if you don't want to get up set then always plan on driving to the farthest site and then if you are fortunate to stay local you will be happy.  The reasons for the changes are that teams drop out.  Gyms become unavailable for various reasons, and many other odd circumstances.

Q: How often do we practice?
A:  Club teams practice once per week, typically on Sunday nights. When a tournament is played on a Sunday, there are no Sunday practices.  Travel teams will have two or three practices per week. Because there are so many teams in the club, and because we compete with basketball for gyms, we cannot guarantee that teams will practice the same day each week every month -- though we do our best to accommodate.

Q: Where do we practice?
A:  Specifically, practices are held at any of the following:  Elkhart Memorial,  Concord, Northridge, Goshen, Fairfield, West Side, Daly are some of the locations.

Q: How much does it cost?
A: Specific fee amounts can be found under the tab (brochure) and also will be discussed at our organizational meeting.

Q: What are the fees used for?
A:  Fees cover a variety of costs associated with participation in club volleyball, namely : tournament entry fees,  equipment such as uniforms, warm-ups, gym equipment, volleyballs and medical supplies ; coaches travel reimbursement, monthly expenses such as web site, phone, postage, printing and materials ; USA Volleyball National Office per athlete expenses such as insurance, Region team membership, and donations to school programs that allow us to use their facilities.

Q: What do the fees not cover?
A:  Players and their parents will need to consider costs that are not included in their fee payment, namely : travel costs (gas) for tournaments, food and drink, lodging for overnight stays if needed, personal playing equipment such as shoes, kneepads, volleyballs, and ankle support braces.

Q:  Can I approach the coach at tournaments or practice?
A:  If you desire to simply ask the coach a question to learn more about volleyball yourself, sure, do so on off times away from the court.  If you have a desire to challenge the coach's practices or are frustrated, PLEASE DON'T APPROACH THE COACH.  WE HAVE A 48 HOUR RULE AND AFTER THAT YOU NEED TO GO TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART AND PROCEED ACCORDINGLY.

Q:  Why haven't we had a team outing or team event?
A:   If you are asking yourself this question, then how about hosting a team event yourself?  We agree, it is great for the teams to have a pasta party, pizza party, bowling party, overnight party, etc.  Should the coach be required to do this?  Heck no, they are already booking their time with practices and tournaments and have their own family lives to, just like the rest of us. Though some coaches may give even more of their time and coordinate a team event, you do not have to wait for this.  Parents if you are thinking it, then go  ahead and plan one.  Talk to the other team parents and find someone who would like to host it, get invites out to the girls, etc.  Should the coach be invited?  We think it is a nice gesture, though remember they may not be able to attend.  Go ahead  without them.

Q:  Can I order our own team pants, sweatshirts, T-shirts etc.?
A:  Shank You requests that you approve it through the director first.