FAQ
Tryouts • Registration • Program Logistics • Tournaments • Weather
Frequently Asked Questions
Read the S3 Volleyball FAQs. If your questions aren’t answered, please contact us.
Why Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball has been the fastest growing NCAA sport over the last 5 years. It also made the quickest transition from an emerging sport to a full championship status sport in NCAA history. With the growth of the sport comes more and more opportunities for junior level athletes to have the chance to play collegiate beach volleyball.
Here is a link to the current list of schools who offer collegiate beach volleyball programs:
https://www.avca.org/res/uploads/media/Varsity-Beach-VB-Programs-5-6-20.pdf
S3 volleyball has helped more athletes earn spots on collegiate beach rosters than any other club in the southern region.
LOCATION
Where does S3 practice?
S3 practices at four locations around the Atlanta area.
Lakepoint in Emerson
Address: 163 LakePoint Parkway Cartersville, GA 30121
Badger Creek Park in Canton
Address: 464 Blalock Rd. Canton, Ga. 30115
Georgia State University in Atlanta
Address: 149 Piedmont Ave SE, Atlanta GA 30303
Holy Spirit Preparatory School- Upper School Campus
Address: 4449 Northside Dr NW, Atlanta GA 30327
*This location is for spring/summer only, and not year-round*
TRYOUTS
Where are tryouts held?
Depending on what program you are trying out for-
Tryouts are held at either Badger Creek Park in Canton. Address: 464 Blalock Road Canton, Ga. 30115
OR
Lakepoint Sports Complex in Emerson. Address is: 163 Lakepoint Pkwy, Cartersville GA 30121
What should I wear and what should I bring?
Participants should wear either spandex, bathing suit bottoms, athletic shorts and/or leggings and a sports bra, tank or t-shirt. Participants should bring water, towel, flip flops and cover-up clothing. Sunscreen and sunglasses, if you have an afternoon tryout.
What should I expect?
We will be evaluating players on ball handling skills, setting, hitting, defense, serving and blocking. Don’t worry if you are new to sand, we will be sure you are caught up to speed on the drills and the tweaks that may need to be made when making a transition from indoor to sand.
What do I do if I have a schedule conflict with the tryout day or time?
We have several dates posted for tryouts. Hopefully at least one of our dates will work for you to attend. If there is absolutely no way you can attend any of the posted dates, please email info@s3volleyball.com and someone from our coaching staff will contact you by email or phone.
Will there be cuts?
Not everyone who participates in a tryout out will make it on to the team. Even though S3 would love to train everyone who expresses interest, that may not be feasible. The S3 coaches will be assessing each participant’s ability and gauging if they have the means to succeed in this sport.
I was offered a spot! What’s next?
Once a spot has been accepted, the player and family will receive a welcome letter or packet with further instruction regarding the Year-Round or the Summer Elite program.
YEAR-ROUND PROGRAM
What is the Year-Round program?
A travel sand club for athletes who want to play beach volleyball as their main sport. Available to athletes 12-18 yrs old with 2+ seasons of volleyball on a high level club or school team. This program focuses on building and improving skills that will equip our players to succeed at the highest levels of junior beach volleyball competition.
Is there a tryout process?
Yes, we do hold tryouts for the Year-Round program. We are looking for athletes with volleyball experience and who we feel can make a smooth transition into the game of beach volleyball.
When are tryouts held?
There will be multiple tryout dates between the middle of October and the first week or two of November.
When does the season start and when does it end?
The S3YR season, officially begins on Commitment Night, which is mid-November and will run to the end of June. Players who earn bids to National Championships will end their season in July.
Practice and fitness will start the first week of December.
Do I need to bring my own beach partner?
You do not need to bring your own partner.
How will I know if I have been selected for the Year-Round program?
Each tryout participant will receive an email within 24 hours of their tryout. If a spot is being offered, the participant will have 4 days to respond with their intent via an email. Occasionally the coaches may ask players to come in for a ‘call back.’ There will be no charge for a call back tryout.
A participant that is not being offered a spot is welcome to continue to train with us through our Summer Sessions, in May, June & July.
What is the estimated cost for the Year-Round program and what is included?
The cost for the S3 Year-Round season is $3,800.00 per athlete.
Cost Includes:
- A season that starts in November and runs through June and into July if the athlete will be participating in Nationals.
- USAV Beach Certified Coaching Staff
Speed, Agility, & Quickness (SAQ) Workouts built into practice - 2 National Beach Volleyball Memberships (USAV and AAU)
- Between 10 and 12 Coached Tournament Events
- S3 Player Uniform Package
- 200+ hours of volleyball instruction by our coaching staff
- For players attending National Championship level tournaments there may be an additional ‘coaching fee’ to cover coaching expenses. Trips to nationals can last from a few days to a few weeks, depending on how many events player participate in.
What is the practice schedule?
Because we practice out of Rally, we need to work in conjunction with their schedule and remain flexible. Practice days will change periodically throughout our season to accommodate Rally’s hosted events, or upcoming inclement weather. We have no restrictions for our practices at Badger Creek.
Sand/Court Practice
- Winter: 2 to 3 – two-hour practices in the sand. SAQ is incorporated in sand practices.
- Spring: 2 to 3 -two-hour practices in the sand and SAQ workouts each week.
- Summer: 2 two-hour practice in the sand each week.
What type of fitness is part of the Year-Round program?
SAQ (Speed, Agility, Quickness) will be included in practices and run by S3 coaches.
Do I have to attend all of the practices?
Attending practices is crucial for your growth in this sport. The design of each practice and workout takes every player on the roster into account. Consequently, when any player misses a practice, it not only affects the learning and growth of that player, but also impacts the other teammates. Players who frequently miss sand practice and SAQ, will be asked to meet with the S3 coaches to discuss priorities.
An athlete who plays a school sport or activity that may affect attendance will need to disclose that information at tryouts. Acceptance on to the team will be up to the discretion of the coaching staff.
No discounts, fee reductions, or refunds are given for missed practice.
How many tournaments do I have to participate in?
S3 does not have a “set” number of required tournament play for our athlete;. however, it is expected that players in our year-round program compete in a minimum of 5 tournaments over the course of the season.
S3 has a team-bonding tournament on our schedule in which we would like all of our players to participate. Registration and fee for this tournament is included in the YR season’s fee.
SUMMER ELITE PROGRAM
What is Summer Elite?
A travel sand program for athletes who want to play beach volleyball during the summer months. Available to athletes 13-18 yrs old with 1+ seasons of volleyball experience on a high-level club team. This program takes experienced volleyball players and allows them to train with our current year-round players, and attend events on the year-round team calendar.
When does the Summer Elite season start and when does it end?
The Summer Elite season begins in May and runs to end of June.
What is the cost for Summer Elite and what's included?
The cost for the S3 Summer Elite season is $750.00 per athlete.
Cost Includes:
2 two-hour practices per week
4 to 6 coached tournaments
S3 Summer Elite gear package of (2) S3 t-shirts and (2) S3 tanks.
Do I need to bring my own beach partner?
You do not need to bring your own beach partner. A friend that has also been accepted into the Summer Elite program can be a preferred partner for tournaments.
Why is there a tryout process?
The most competitive parts of the volleyball season are during the summer months. It is during this important time, that the Summer Elite players will be added to the year-round S3 players who have already been training and competing for the previous 4 to 5 months. As a result, the S3 coaching staff must ensure that the newly-added Summer Elite players are able to keep pace and participate in the advanced levels of play.
How will I know if I have been selected for the Summer Elite program?
Each tryout participant will receive an email within 24 hours of the tryout. If a spot is being offered, the participant will have 4 days to respond with their intent via an email. A participant that is not being offered a spot may continue to train with us through our Summer Sessions.
What is the Summer Elite's practice schedule?
Summer Elite practices on two days of Monday, Tuesday or Thursday evenings from 6:00 – 8:00pm.
How many tournaments will I play in?
Summer Elite follows the year-round tournament schedule. At the start of your season, the year-round players will have 4-6 coached tournaments remaining on their schedule. This will be a mix of local and travel tournaments. Summer Elite players will also receive a list of tournaments in the region that they can network a partner in order to participate. These tournaments are considered “on own” and will not have tournament coaching.
SUMMER SESSIONS PROGRAM
What is Summer Sessions?
A sand program for athletes who want to play beach volleyball during the summer months. Available to athletes 10-18 yrs old, preferably with 1+ season of volleyball experience. This program is ideal for athletes who want to try sand volleyball or have other summer commitments.
When does the Summer Session season start and when does it end?
The Summer Sessions season begins in early May, just after the NCAA Beach Championships, and runs to mid-July.
S3 will run 2 Summer Sessions within that time frame:
Summer Session A from early May to first week in June.
Summer Session B from first week in June to mid-July.
What is the cost for Summer Elite and what's included?
The cost for the S3 Summer Elite season is $750.00 per athlete.
Cost Includes:
2 two-hour practices per week
4 to 6 coached tournaments
S3 Summer Elite gear package of (2) S3 t-shirts and (2) S3 tanks.
What is the cost for Summer Session and what's included?
The per athlete cost is $285 per session.
Each session includes:
- 10 two-hour practice sessions
- Coaching at 2-3 local tournaments per session
- S3 Summer Session gear package consisting of a S3 t-shirt and a S3 tank top.
Is there a tryout process?
There is not a tryout process for the Summer Session players. All you need to do is sign up for the program. The players will be split according to the level of play and/or age at the practices to ensure they are being ‘pushed’ at the proper speed for the individual athlete.
Does the player need to come into the program with a beach partner?
Players can attend with or without a pre-arranged beach partner.
What is the Summer Session's practice schedule?
Summer Session practices on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:30 – 8:30pm.
No practice sessions on Memorial Day and 4th of July.
What about tournaments?
Each Summer Session will have 2-3 local tournaments that S3 will provide coaching. Each player will have access to the tournament schedule online. Players can choose to play in all, some, or none of these tournaments. S3 will assist in pairing players who did not come into the program with a pre-set partner.
FALL BALL PROGRAM
What is the Fall Ball Program?
A sand program that is designed to work around the high school indoor season. Fall ball practices twice per week- Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons. The level of play is for both beginners as well as experienced players. This is a drop in style program. We do ask players to register for sessions online so we can better plan for coaches.
WEATHER
What happens when the weather is bad?
The coaching staff does keep an eye on the upcoming weather and will try to make adjustments to an indoor facility or reschedule practice to a different day of the week. Practicing indoors may vary in location. The coaching staff will make every effort to reschedule a cancelled practice, but we are at the mercy of outside facilities having available space. Players and families will be kept updated by instagram or twitter when the weather is looking grim. Canceling a practice that is in session: Outdoor practice is cancelled if the temp goes below 40°. If we spot lighting, we will pause, take necessary cover and wait. Practice may resume after a 30 min “no lighting flash” rest. If the weather doesn’t look like it will clear up or starts to worsen, the remaining practice session will be canceled. Practice is not canceled or put on hold for rain.
How will I know about last minute practice shifts due to weather?
Twitter – Follow us @s3volleyball
TOURNAMENTS
What memberships will be needed to participate in a tournament?
Certain tournaments require a membership to play. Any USAV Junior Beach Tour and USAV ranked tournaments will require a USAV membership to participate, and any AAU tournaments will require an AAU membership to participate. ROX tournaments do not require a membership to participate, unless it is in conjunction with a USAV or AAU tournament.
USAV/SRVA
- If you played indoor club volleyball for the current season, your SRVA membership is your USAV membership and can be used for outdoor play until October 31.
- If you did not play indoor club volleyball for the current season, you can purchase a USAV outdoor membership for $25 through the SRVA website.
AAU
- Some indoor club volleyball programs also provided their players an AAU membership. If your team played in an AAU indoor tournament or will play in AAU Indoor Nationals – chances are you have an AAU membership that will be good until August 31.
If you did not play indoor club volleyball or your club did not provide an AAU membership, you can purchase an AAU membership for $14 through the AAU website.
What are tournament bids?
AAU, USA Volleyball, AVP First and ROX offer volleyball tours for juniors. The tournaments in these tours are qualifiers for their end-of-season national championships. Teams that finish high enough while participating in these tournaments earn a bid (spot) in that tour’s national championship. AAU and USAV are the two most sought bids to earn. AAU’s Nationals are held in Hermosa Beach, California. USAV’s location changes each year, AVP First is held in California and ROX is Dallas, Texas. National tournaments are held in July.
How are partners decided?
Coaches will be pairing partners within the S3 roster for all tournament play from December – March. The S3 coaches will offer partner suggestions as the season progresses and will assist any players needing to securing a partner for tournament play. Beginning in April, players will network their own partners to qualify or earn bids to nationals.
We do not recommend pre-locking a partner prior to the season. It is in the player’s best interest and growth for them to network various team-mates for partnerships. Unless a “team” has awesome chemistry and a consistent rapport, pre-locking a partner can lead to hurt feelings and a long season if the partnership runs into a snag.
OTHER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
I’m interested in playing for a college
At S3 our first focus is to help you improve and fall in love with the game of sand volleyball. If you wish to look into and pursue a collegiate playing career, our staff will use all resources at our disposal to help foster relationships and opportunities with colleges and universities.
What is S3 connection with Rally VB at Lakepoint?
S3 Volleyball and Rally Volleyball are separate entities. We are proud to say, S3 Volleyball is the first affiliate club to to be based at Rally Volleyball. While the two are separate, both S3 and Rally will always join forces when they can, to better the sport of volleyball and create a positive atmosphere for the athletes at the facility.