If your player is between 11 and 18 and loves volleyball, a club tryout is probably in your future. Here is the whole process, including the part nobody explains: what happens if she is not placed.
Club volleyball tryouts near Kalamazoo happen in late September and early October for girls and in early November for boys, cost about $30 to attend, and place players on 12U–18U teams that train November through spring and travel to tournaments. Next Level Volleyball Club (Kalsee Dome, Schoolcraft) runs boys 12u–14u club tryouts Tue Nov 3 · 6:00 PM for $30; Dead Frog Volleyball Club (Portage) and USA Michigan Volleyball (Kalamazoo) are the other established local clubs. Players who are not placed keep developing through Level Up training and Sunday open gyms, and many make a roster the following year.
Girls' club tryouts across Michigan cluster in the first two weekends of October, right after school seasons end, because USA Volleyball's region sets the earliest date clubs may make offers. Boys' tryouts follow in November. Clubs post dates in August; sign up early because many cap the number of players per age group. Next Level's girls' tryouts for the 2026–27 season were Oct 2–4; boys 12u–14u club tryouts are Tue Nov 3 · 6:00 PM.
| Item | Typical | Next Level |
|---|---|---|
| Tryout fee | $25–$50 | $30, registered online |
| Club season (dues) | $1,000–$3,000+ depending on travel level | Varies by team; payment plans available, details at the offer meeting |
| Travel | Hotels and fuel for 2–6 tournament weekends | Regional and state teams travel less; national teams more |
| Uniform and gear | $150–$300 | Included or itemized in dues depending on the team |
Ask any club two questions before you accept an offer: what exactly dues cover, and how many tournaments and practices per week the team commits to.
Touches, not tricks. Two or three sessions a week of serving, passing and hitting against players at or above her level is the whole plan. Near Kalamazoo that is Sunday volleyball open gym at the Kalsee Dome (1–3 PM, $15, split high school girls / boys / middle school coed) and the fall Level Up volleyball session. Sleep the night before matters more than a new pair of shoes.
Most clubs cut; it is arithmetic, not a verdict. The players who make a roster the next year are the ones who kept playing. The Next Level volleyball path for an unplaced player is explicit: Level Up training through the winter (ages 10–12 Beginner & 13–15, $379), Sunday open gyms, weekend tournaments, and a second look at the next tryout. Tell the coach you want feedback; good clubs give it.
Girls' tryouts cluster in late September and the first two weekends of October; boys' tryouts run in November. Next Level's boys 12u–14u club tryouts are Tue Nov 3 · 6:00 PM at the Kalsee Dome in Schoolcraft.
Tryouts are typically $25–$50. Season dues range from about $1,000 for a regional team to $3,000 or more for a national travel team, plus travel. Ask what dues include before accepting an offer.
12U through 18U for girls and boys, with regional, state and national level teams depending on the year.
Keep playing: Level Up training at Next Level (ages 10–12 Beginner & 13–15, $379 a season), Sunday open gyms ($15) and weekend tournaments, then try out again next fall. Ask the coach for specific feedback.
Youth & club volleyballStart Up and Level Up training, Sunday open gyms, tournaments and club teams 12U–18U.
Volleyball open gymSundays 1–3 PM, $15, split by age and gender.
Game Plan youth sports programsExplore, Start Up, Level Up and Compete: find your athlete's level in three questions.
Youth sports for ages 4–10: how to chooseMulti-sport or one sport, what it costs, what to look for, the local options.Training, open gyms, tournaments and club teams, all under one dome.
Serving families and players from Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo, Portage, Vicksburg, Three Rivers, Mattawan, Paw Paw, Plainwell, Richland, Galesburg, Marcellus, Centreville and across Southwest Michigan.
