Oakville and Halton Region
May 3, 2023
After a hectic six days attending Provincials in Toronto, our OVA indoor season has come to an end. It was an exciting season for our 11 teams, competing in tournaments throughout the Province and across the border. As we shift our focus to our summer programming, we will always keep one eye on our rep program and where we are headed for the 2023-24 indoor season.
Below are a few tidbits of information for you to consider as you weigh your options for Rep volleyball next season:
- Lakeside Volleyball Club (LVC) is one of three youth volleyball clubs in Oakville, ON. We have been an OVA member club since 2010 and have had more success in Division 1, Tier 1 OVA competition than our local competing clubs.
- LVC is led by Bear Davies, whom has played and coached volleyball at the highest levels for over four decades. Bear is FIVB Level II Certified, which is a globally recognized coaching certification. His attention to detail with regards to teaching core skills and fundamentals of the game is unmatched in this area.
- When considering annual fees for participating in rep volleyball, please keep in mind that not all programs are equal. Coaching and club philosophies vary greatly from club to club which presents a challenge for many to put a dollar value on. LVC annual fees are competitive with those of our neighbours however where we excel is in our instruction and training. All of our coaches follow LVC philosophies in their approach to teaching our players.
- Tournament Participation: All of our teams participate in all available OVA-sanctioned events throughout each season, including Ontario Championships. We are a JVA and AAU member club in the US and try to attend at least 1-2 US tournaments each season when possible. We also encourage each of our coaches to take teams to local friendly tournaments when the schedule permits to get as much game time exposure as possible. Although there is a lot of hype surrounding Volleyball Canada’s National tournament in May each season, LVC is not a huge proponent of attending Nationals for a couple of reasons:
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- The event is almost always held in Alberta for 15-18U, and is generally a watered-down version of the Ontario Championships where most of the quality teams are from Ontario and end up playing each other on days 2 and 3 of the event. For 14U and under, Nationals are split up into three separate events based on geography and therefore are not a true “Nationals”.
- There are a number of JVA/AAU events in May that are a 4-5 hour drive from Oakville that are just as big (usually bigger) than Nationals and the level of competition is not only better, but is also different than what we see in Canada. For example, we attend the Can-Am in Detroit most years which is a three day event, has 96 courts and 600 teams throughout all age groups. For a quarter of the cost to families, the overall outcome is very positive and teams tend to enjoy this event over Nationals.
- Typically, we will only consider bringing a team to Canadian Nationals if they are guaranteed a Division 1 placement at the event. This means that the team must finish in the top 10 in Ontario (Division 1 Tier 1). If this is not achieved, it makes much more sense to attend a tournament in the US to wrap the season than attend Nationals in a lower division.
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Upcoming Important Dates:
- July 1-31: OVA Re-signing window – clubs can make offers to players that played with their club during the 2022-23 season. Players are not eligible to sign with new clubs during this window.
- Aug 11-13: OVA Summer signing window for 16-18U only – clubs are permitted to sign new players that have participated in summer programs/training.
- Sep 8: Tryouts begin for the OVA indoor season.
- Sep 18-23: Offer period to sign players for the upcoming season – dates vary per age group.
If you have any questions about our Rep program, or would like more information about the upcoming season, please contact us at info@lakesidevb.com. We would be happy to answer any questions we can at this time.
