Iowa Heart Volleyball Association Handbook
2009-2010

Club History,
Clinic Information,
Tryout Procedures,
Player Expectations,
Parent Guidelines,
General Information


History of Iowa Heart Volleyball Association (IHVA)
Marty Miller founded the Iowa Heart Volleyball Association in 1992. Since that time, countless Iowa youth have been inspired by Marty’s passion for the game of volleyball.

The guiding philosophy of Iowa Heart is to provide a challenging, nurturing learning environment that fosters physical and mental development and healthy competition. Iowa Heart provides volleyball training for the beginning to the highest skilled volleyball athlete in Central Iowa.

Structure of Iowa Heart
Iowa Heart is a member of USA Volleyball/Iowa Region. USA Volleyball is the national governing body for volleyball events in this country, and is administered by 40 Regions. USA Volleyball membership benefits include a one-year subscription of Volleyball USA (a quarterly publication) plus secondary sports accident coverage when you play in sanctioned events.

A volunteer board of directors runs Iowa Heart. A paid club director and staff recruits and works with our quality coaches, facilitates tryouts, coordinates clinics, directs tournaments, and serves as a liaison between coaches and parents.

Iowa Heart Coaches
Coaches for Iowa Heart are all IMPACT (Increased Mastery and Professional Application of Coaching Theory) certified through USA Volleyball/Iowa Region. Many hold coaching authorizations and other advanced training. Iowa Heart coaches are highly knowledgeable from their previous coaching experience or their former player experience in high school, club or college. Throughout the season, Iowa Heart provides continuing education for coaches through clinic opportunities, access to videos and books, and mentoring by other coaches in the area.

Iowa Heart Refund Policy
Refunds for 13U-18U tryouts or the 12s clinics will be granted if a written/emailed request is received prior to the tryout/clinic date. There will be no refunds of team fees once the season begins. For clarification purposes, the start of the season is the first practice/clinic after bids have been accepted. Please note that refunds will not be given even if a player is injured during the season, chooses to quit the team or has behavior that warrants being removed from a team.

What to Expect from Iowa Heart
Iowa Heart will maintain an up-to-date website, providing current information about practices, tournaments and cancellations to parents and players.

While it is impossible to schedule practice at an ideal time for every player on a team, Iowa Heart attempts to minimize scheduling conflicts.
Practices are typically held twice a week, beginning in November, only when local schools are in session. We cannot use some of the gyms when schools are closed.
There is one practice during the week, and one of the weekends. (If there is a tournament on a given weekend, practice may or may not take place on that weekend. The distance the team traveled to the tournament site, length of the tournament, etc will determine this.)
Iowa Heart will provide free, extra training opportunities during the season.
Iowa Heart will offer summer learning sessions (Dig Factory), which are optional and at each player’s own expense.
Practice sites are in Ames, Boone, United and surrounding communities.
Membership fees pay for coaches’ stipends, administrative fees, equipment, uniform top and bottoms, gym rental, tournament entry fees, and volleyball instruction.
Membership fees do not pay for playing time in tournaments. Playing time is earned, not purchased.
Teams from 13U-18U are typically comprised of nine players. 12’s are typically comprised of ten-twelve players.
Tournament schedules vary by teams. National teams compete in 9-10 tournaments, Regional teams compete in 7-8 tournaments, State teams play in 5-6 tournaments and 12 League teams play in a league in the Des Moines metro area on Sundays.
Tournaments are on weekends from January through April. Most tournaments are one day, but some may last for two - three days and require an overnight hotel stay
Travel to tournaments, food and lodging is the responsibility of the parents.
If a tournament is cancelled due to weather conditions or if we back out of a tournament due to weather conditions, Iowa Heart does not receive a refund. Therefore, there are no funds to schedule another tournament if one is cancelled or we are unable to participate.
Safety is a priority for Iowa Heart. In case of inclement weather, practice may be cancelled. Players come from all over central Iowa to participate on Iowa Heart teams. Even if the weather seems fine where you are, it might be dangerous at our practice site or for other players or coaches.

What Iowa Heart Expects from Players and Parents
All players and parents (13U-18U) and coaches will sign a code of conduct before practice begins.
Club fees must be paid before a player can practice.
Players are to attend all practices and tournaments, except for illness or approved absence.
The coach needs to be contacted in advance if a player will be absent or arriving late to a tournament or practice.
Players need to be at practice, ready to begin (with shoes and knee pads on), before practice starts.
Players are expected to keep their volleyball shoes clean. Please wear other shoes, boots or slides to get to and from practice and games.
Players will learn proper procedures for setting up and taking down nets and will be expected to participate in these activities.
All players must attend scorekeeping and refereeing clinics, realizing they will be officiating at tournaments when their team is not playing.
Scorekeeping, line judging and refereeing all require a degree of concentration. This is not an acceptable time to listen to an ipod, call or text on a cell phone, or engage in non-game related discussions.
Parents will be asked to volunteer at Iowa Heart tournaments.
Parents will be asked to provide food for players at tournaments.
Parents and players should demonstrate good sportsmanship by providing positive support for all players, coaches and officials.
Please remember that volleyball is a game and players should be having fun. Parents yelling at their own players or other players will not be tolerated.
Concerns or grievances should be brought to the coach’s attention. However, there is a time and place for everything. Remember that right after a match is NOT the time to talk with a coach. Please respect the 24-hour rule before contacting a coach.
After you and your player have had a chance to discuss an issue, if you believe the coach needs to be contacted, please do so when you are not in the heat of the moment (and 24 hours after the event).
If you, your player, and the coach are not able to resolve a conflict, please contact the Club Director or the president of the board.
The board reserves the right to remove any player from a team and to bar disruptive parents from practices and/or tournaments should there be sufficient cause. If a player is removed from a team, there will be no refund given.

Age Divisions
Can be found on the Iowa Volleyball Region website (http//iavbreg.org)

Teaching Clinics and Fielding Teams – 12U
To introduce the sport of volleyball to girls and boys, three teaching clinics are offered for those 12 and younger. There is a $30 fee to attend the teaching clinics. Attendance at all three clinics is encouraged.
Some participants come to the clinics to have fun and to learn some volleyball skills, but not to be part of a team. Others want to join a team and continue to develop their volleyball skills. All are welcome at the clinic!
After the final clinic, teams will be fielded from those participants who expressed an interest in being part of a team. The 12U teams will be grouped based on the results of assessments during the teaching clinics. It is the goal of Iowa Heart that every single player wanting to play volleyball at this age group is placed on a team. Coed teams may be formed at the 12U level.
If a player at the 12U level chooses to play for Iowa Heart, his or her parents will need to fill out paperwork with the Iowa Region. There is a $38 fee to join the region and this is required before players may practice. This fee paid to the region is separate from the clinic fee and team fees.

Fielding Teams – 13U to 18U
Iowa Heart believes in an open try out process. Every player wanting to be on a team is given a fair assessment by unbiased, knowledgeable evaluators. Parents are asked to not interfere with the tryout procedure (no clapping, coaching your child, stepping onto court, etc.). The board of directors and the evaluation staff reserve the right to ask parents to leave at any time during the tryout process.
Team selection and placement will be determined by the coaches hired to conduct tryouts. They will form teams based on results of the tryouts. Please note that teams may not be formed at all ages/levels. If there is enough interest at the 13U/14U ages, a boys’ team could be formed. 12U is the only age group for coed teams.

Tryout Fees/Paperwork for 13U-18U
There is a fee to participate in Iowa Heart’s tryout process. Please note that this fee includes an Iowa Heart t-shirt for those players registering prior to the deadline. Late registrations will receive a t-shirt if as supplies last. In addition, there is a separate fee paid to USA Volleyball/Iowa Region for registration and membership to USA Volleyball. No player is allowed into the gym for tryouts until IHVA and USA VB/Iowa Region paperwork has been completed and the corresponding fees have been paid. Forms will be available at tryouts for families unable to complete the process on-line. *Please note that the tryout fee and the region fee must be paid before a player is eligible to tryout.

Notification of Team Placement
12U Level – The Director of Coaching will contact every player by email (or phone if necessary) to notify him/her of team placement. Players and their families are asked to confirm acceptance of the team placement according to the directions indicated in the email or during the phone conversation.

13U and Above – Volleyball players will be contacted by the Director of Coaching via email (or phone if necessary) after tryouts and informed of team placement or waiting list status. If a player receives a bid for a particular team, he/she should respond with his/her intentions to accept or decline the bid by the deadline set by USA Volleyball/Iowa Region. These deadlines will be included with the bid.

It is essential that players and their families accept or decline bids according to deadline and in a timely matter.

What is “Playing Up”?
If a player wants to tryout out for a team beyond his/her age level, this is considered playing up. Players would need to tryout out with their own age group, in addition to trying out for the next age group. There is only 1 tryout fee assessed, regardless if a player tries out for two age levels. Please note if a 12U player wants to tryout with the 13U, he/she would need to follow the procedures for the 13s and above. Every age level (except for the 12s) must register with the region before trying out.

Team Meetings for Parents and Players
After the formation of teams, meetings will be held in November. Players will meet their teammates and coach or coaches. Parents will be expected to pay the club fees (either in one lump sum or in an installment plan) at the meeting. Samples of spirit wear will be on display as well.