Guidelines and Policies

Participation in the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club is a privilege that is earned by following the standards set by the club, coaching staff, AAU, JVA and USAV. As a member of the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club, sportsmanship, respect and integrity will be required while participating in club activities.

Eligibility

  1. An athlete must be in good standing with Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club, AAU, JVA and USA Volleyball and completed all forms set forth by the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club.
  2. An athlete is encouraged to maintain passing grades in all classes.
  3. We recommend athletes complete a medical physical exam with physician’s signature and parents’/guardians’ consent signature, prior to workouts and competition.

Participation Guidelines

  1. Expectations of Players
    • Be on time for all practices and tournaments. Ten minutes before practices and one hour before tournaments.
    • Have all required equipment.
    • No jewelry of any kind, hair clips, or any items that could cause injury. Even though USA and AAU Volleyball associations have made allowances to this rule. The club regards these items as a potential risk to the player therefor we enforce this rule.
    • Parents consider the length of fingernails, if to long they will be broken causing serious injury.
    • Once your player arrives at practice or a tournament, she is to be with her team only.
    • Display good sportsmanship on and off the court.
    • Display respect & show a good, positive attitude toward the sport, teammates, and coaching staff, officials and the public.
    • Prepare mentally for competition and take care of details prior to match.
    • Notify your coach if you will be late or not attend a Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club event. This includes practices and tournaments. No notification by the player is considered an unexcused absence and may impact an athlete’s future play time.
  2. An athlete will be ineligible for athletic participation or practice for the following:
    • The possession or use sale/distribution of alcohol, tobacco products (including e-cigarettes) or any controlled or illegal substance by any athlete is strictly prohibited. The Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club has a zero-tolerance policy.
    • The possession, use or sale/distribution of any controlled or illegal substance or any form of weapon is strictly forbidden. The Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club has a zero-tolerance policy.
    • The improper respect and lack of sportsmanship toward coaches, officials, administrator, teammates, fellow competitors.
    • Illegal or inappropriate behavior that would detract from a positive image of the team or be detrimental to its performance objectives.
  3. Immediate dismissal from the club could result from any the following:
    • Insubordination towards any member of the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club including the coaching staff and chaperones, referees, fans, etc.
    • Obscene gestures; profanity or swearing
    • Fighting
    • Stealing
    • Unexcused missed practices or games
    • Nonpayment of membership dues- Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club enforces a “no pay, no play” policy.
  4. An athlete who is removed from the team for disciplinary reasons will not be eligible to practice or play with another club until the athlete adheres to the guidelines for changing clubs under the AAU, JVA USAV policy.
  5. However, if a parent is requesting a player release from the club, that parent/family must be up to date with all club fees in order to request a release form.
  6. If a parent is one of our club coaches and is coaching to help pay club fees but is no longer able to coach or has been removed for various disciplinary reasons. That parent/coach must make sure that they are paid in full of any outstanding fees that they may owe the club in order to request a player release. Each case is different, and the outcome might vary from coach to coach.

Practice & Tournaments

  1. Each athlete will play at the coach’s discretion. The coach will determine the amount of playing time. All athletes are required to be at all practices in order to compete in the following tournament. Any player missing any practices between tournaments will sit out at the coach’s discretion.
  2. **Any communication with a coach regarding grievances or playing time should not be made at a tournament. The Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club requires 24 hour waiting period following a tournament. Grievances shall be handled in the following manner. If an athlete has a problem with playing time, playing position, etc., the athlete shall talk to her coach about it first. Most of the time, this approach takes care of the situation without the parents or club director getting involved. If there is still a problem after the athlete talks to her coach, the parents may schedule a time to meet with the coach to discuss the situation. Finally, if the parents feel there is still no resolution to the problem, they may schedule a time to meet with the club director.
  3. Practice attendance is very important for athletes to get the maximum benefit of the program. School Activities come first for the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club athletes so if there is a conflict with school activities that you are required to participate in, please discuss with your Head Coach beforehand. Continuing to miss practices will hurt the athlete because she will miss out on the repetitions necessary to improve her skills. Practices are where skills are learned and polished. Also, it is not fair to the athlete that attends all practices to sit out, while an athlete not attending practices gets to play. Missing practices may result in loss of playing time, loss of skill development, and eventually dismissal from the team if persistent absenteeism develops.
  4. If an athlete is injured during a club or non-club event, it is mandated that the athlete obtains a medical release from their physician to return to regular club training. If the athlete is in need of rehab, the athlete will still attend all club training but wear a red shirt indicating to the coaches that the athlete is not fit to enter training.
  5. Playing time in tournaments is NOT guaranteed to athletes. Athletes are paying for practice time, and instruction, but must earn playing time. Areas that will affect an athlete’s playing time are as follows: attitude, skill, practice attendance, position, and status of payment.
  6. High school age players will not be allowed to patriciate in any summer school open gym programs until July 1. School tryouts happen sometime in August for most school programs.

Private Lessons

We specialize in custom athlete-specific training that enhances each fundamental aspect of the game.  Training in private 1-on-1 lessons or small groups allows our professional coaches to give your athlete the competitive edge over other players and develop exceptional skills.  

If a parent/guardian wishes to take their athlete to a camp or lesson outside the club during the official club season, we mandate that the parent/guardian sign an athlete release form for the dates and times their athlete will be receiving that training.

Fees

  1. An athlete’s payment of membership dues and acceptance agreement commits the athlete to this club and requires both athlete and parent to adhere to all guidelines and policies set forth by the club.
  2. All fees must be paid to continue your Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club membership. If a player’s account is not kept current, the player will be suspended from practice as well as tournaments until the account is made current.
  3. Failure to pay contract agreement may result in expulsion from Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club and further participation with this club or any AAU, JVA, USAV club until all fees are paid.
  4. Philosophy of this club is that the athlete is paying to provide her/him the opportunity improve her/his volleyball skills. The athlete is not paying for match playing time, but for the betterment of herself in the sport of volleyball.

Parents

  1. All parents are expected to adhere to all rules and regulations set forth by the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club and AAU, JVA, USAV.
  2. All parents are expected to support the director and coaching staff 100% and respect the decisions made by these individuals. The player of a parent that does not adhere to the club rules, may cause the player to be removed from the club.
  3. Parents must understand the difficult decisions the coach must make for the team. These decisions involve individual players and the entire team. The coach must make decisions for the good of the team. The team is the most important aspect of our club. We must have your support on these decisions if we want to have a successful club program.
  4. When parents sit in the stands, they should support the team in a positive manner. Parents are not allowed on the bench with the team or allowed near the team while play is commencing.
  5. The coach will dismiss her/his team from practice or tournaments. If a parent needs to take a player early, please speak with the coach first. Sometimes team will have to play another match (tie breaker etc.).
  6. No parent is allowed to fund-raise using the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club name without permission from the Club Director.
  7. Athletes are responsible for their own uniform. Any lost items must be paid for by the athlete in order to purchase new uniform. Team uniforms are only to be worn for games or on team events.
  8. No parent or private company/individual is allowed to utilize the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club name, acronym, logo or any identifiable slogan or phrase that would be considered intellectual property of the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club without permission from the Board of Directors. The Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club is trademarked with the State of Arizona.

Social Media

  1. Electronic communication (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.)  should not contain or relate to any of the following:
    • Drugs, tobacco, e-cigarette or alcohol use.
    • Sexually-oriented conversation; sexually explicit language, sexual activity;
    • Inappropriate or sexually explicit pictures.
    • Bullying or degrading other players, coaches or Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club.
  2. The guiding principle- ask: “Is this communication something that someone else would find appropriate or acceptable in a face-to-face meeting?” or “Is this something you would be comfortable saying out loud to the intended recipient of your communication in front of the intended recipient’s parents, the coaching staff, the directors or other athletes?”
  3. Coaches and players should not be “friends”/ “followers” etc.
  4. A violation of this policy will be grounds for dismissal of player from the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club.
  5. Players may “like” official team page on Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram.
  6. All chats and groups created by parents or coaches, will only be used for club business purposes. Any misuse deemed inappropriate will be sent to the club board of directors for review.

Travel Guidelines

Local Travel – Players and/or their parents/guardian are responsible for making all arrangements for local travel. It is the responsibility of the parents/guardians to ensure the person transporting the minor player maintains the proper safety and legal requirements. The coaches or directors, who are not also acting as a parent, should not drive alone with an unrelated minor player.

Team Travel – Team travel is overnight travel that occurs when the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club team travels so that our team can compete regionally or nationally.

  1. Travel to/from a tournament is up to the parent. The Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club will have a designated hotel for team. The players need to stay with their parents or guardians.
  2. Regardless of gender, a coach shall not share a hotel room or other sleeping arrangements with a minor player unless the coach is the parent, guardian or sibling of the player.
  3. Individual meetings between a coach and a player may not occur in hotel sleeping rooms and must be held in public settings or with additional adults present.
  4. No coach or chaperone shall at any time be under the influence of drugs or alcohol while performing their coaching and/or chaperoning duties.
  5. Prior to any travel, coaches will make players and parents aware of all expectations and rules.
  6. If disciplinary action against a player is required while the player is traveling without her parents, then except where immediate action is necessary, parents will be notified before any action is taken, or immediately after. Dismissal from the trip and immediate return home will be at the athlete’s expense.
  7. Team members are reminded that when competing in tournaments, traveling on trips and attending other club-related functions, they are representing both themselves and the Arizona Saguaros Volleyball Club.  Athlete behavior must positively reflect the high standards of the club.