General Tryout Info

All tryouts will take place on their assigned dates from 6:00-8:00pm at Davis Street School in New Haven (35 Davis St. New Haven, CT – enter through the side entrance). Doors will open at 5:45pm so parents may complete the registration documentation if they have not done so ahead of time.

Please note that although there are club dues once a player makes a team, we do not charge for players to participate in our tryouts. However, regardless of which team a player is trying out for, there are some items that are non-negotiable for them to be able to participate in the tryout. They are listed below in order of importance.

1. Purchase a USAV Membership

As a member of the New England Region Volleyball Association (NERVA), it is required that all players trying out or participating in a full season with the team purchase a New England Region USAV Membership. Before they step onto the court or touch a ball, they must have either a USAV tryout membership ($15) or a USAV full membership ($60) through the New England Region. This is a country-wide requirement under USA Volleyball, not only a New Haven Juniors requirement.

If a player is unsure about whether or not they will be able to commit to the team beforehand, but would like to attend tryouts anyway, we highly recommend purchasing the tryout membership. A player may always convert their tryout membership to a full membership by paying the difference between the two (and it is in fact mandatory to do so should they accept a spot). A tryout membership will not allow them to participate in practices or tournaments should they make the team, but a tryout membership still allows them to partake in tryouts. Without at least a current tryout membership, players will not be able to tryout.

Please note that parents are required to create a free SportsEngine account to be able to purchase the membership on behalf of their child. PARENTS: When purchasing a membership for your child, be sure to fill in your child's information (Name, DOB, etc.); otherwise the membership will be under your name and your child will be unable to participate even if you have spent $15 on a membership. Once you have purchased a membership for your child, they will be assigned a USAV number. Keep track of that number, as it is a required part of the tryout registration form.

2. Pre-Register for Tryouts

As we have seen tremendous growth in previous years, we now ask players to pre-register prior to the first tryout date. This helps us track numbers and better serve players throughout the tryout process. Please be diligent about this! If we have 20 players pre-registered for tryouts, coaches will plan for 20 players; if 35 show up when we were expecting 20, it complicates tryout plans and makes it more difficult for coaches to properly assess each player.

3. Bring a Parent to Tryouts

There are multiple forms for parents to fill out before or on tryout day. If you cannot print the forms and fill them out beforehand, we will have some available at tryouts. However, parents must be present to fill them out and sign them. Additionally, as one of the required forms is a medical release form, parents are advised to bring their player's medical insurance card to ensure they are able to fill out the form completely. Please see our Tryout Documents page to view all three required forms.

Although parents are more than welcome to stay and watch for the duration of the tryout after they hand in the forms, they are not required to stay once the forms are filled, and are free to choose whether they would like to watch or come back and pick their child up at the end.

4. Notify Coach Kiana of Attendance at Make-Up Tryout If Still in High School Season

Due to CIAC rules, players who are still competing in their conference or state tournament during our tryout dates are not allowed to come to tryouts until their school season is officially over. This is, again, non-negotiable. Plus – you wouldn't want to be sore or injured in the last few days of your clearly very competitive season!

Girls make-up tryouts have historically happened the Monday after Thanksgiving, but in an effort to solidify the team roster earlier, we will likely be shifting make-up tryouts for the 2023-2024 season to early in the week of Thanksgiving. Please email newhavenjuniorsvbc@gmail.com ahead of time to ensure you are expected at the make-up tryout.

Girls Tryouts

Tryouts for our girls 14U and 18U travel teams typically take place the week before Thanksgiving, with makeup tryouts occurring the Monday after Thanksgiving. For 18U, tryouts are a two-day process on the two days of the week that regular team practices will likely be. For 14U, tryouts are a one-day process on the day of the week the 14U team will regularly be practicing. NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE NO 14U TEAM FOR THE 2023-2024 SEASON.

Players will receive notification of their tryout results via email no later than one week after the final date of tryouts attended. In that email, parents and players will receive more details regarding the player's most likely role on the team, practice and tournament schedules, payment plans and deadlines, and, most importantly, next steps for accepting a spot on the team.

We ask all parents to fill out the pre-registration form by the Friday before the first tryout date. Our gym has one court, so coaches will only plan for however many people have signed up on the pre-registration form. Safety and fairness of assessment are our top priorities with tryouts. Therefore, if the volume of athletes exceeds a safe number to have on one court and we must split the tryout, we will do so. However, we can only make those adjustments if everyone fills out the pre-registration form.

The form for the 2023-2024 pre-registration is now closed. This season, girls 18U tryouts are split into two sessions each on the dates below. All players who have pre-registered have been assigned a session to attend on the first date. If you have not pre-registered, due to space and time constraints in each session, we will unfortunately have to turn you away at the door.

Monday, November 13th, 2023
Session 1: 5:55pm - 7:00pm
Session 2: 7:10pm - 8:15pm

Friday, November 17th, 2023
Session 1: 5:55pm - 7:00pm
Session 2: 7:10pm - 8:15pm

Boys Tryouts

Tryouts for our new boys 18-1 travel team will likely take place in mid-late October, with tournaments beginning in late November. Tryouts will be a two-day process on the two days of the week that regular team practices will be. Because boys club season and boys high school season occur at two different times, there will not be any official make-up tryouts for the boys 18U team. Players who are ill at the time of the tryout must email newhavenjuniorsvbc@gmail.com in order to schedule a make-up tryout.

Our gym has one court, so coaches will only plan for however many people have signed up on the pre-registration form. Safety and fairness of assessment are our top priorities with tryouts. Therefore, if the volume of athletes exceeds a safe number to have on one court and we must split the tryout, we will do so. However, we can only make those adjustments if everyone fills out the pre-registration form.

Players will receive notification of their tryout results via email no later than one week after the final date of tryouts attended. In the email, parents and players will receive more details regarding the player's most likely role on the team, practice and tournament schedules, payment plans and deadlines, and, most importantly, next steps for accepting a spot on the team.

Because tryouts have passed, the pre-registration form has since closed. This season, boys 18U tryouts were on the following dates:

Tuesday, October 24th, 2023

Thursday, October 26th, 2023