Kansas City Club Volleyball Tryouts 2026: The Complete Parent Guide

In the Kansas City area, the club volleyball tryout cycle follows a predictable timeline each year:

May–July: Open gyms begin. This is the low-pressure season where clubs host open gym sessions so players can get reps, meet coaches, and explore different clubs. Open gyms are not tryouts. Think of them as a chance to test-drive a club before committing to try out. Most open gyms cost around $10 per session.

July–August: Attend formal tryouts at your top-choice clubs. Receive and accept an offer. Pay commitment deposit. Attend mandatory parent meeting.

August–September: School volleyball starts. Some clubs still looking to fill spots.

→ See all upcoming tryout dates

Open gyms are informal. Players show up, play volleyball, and get a feel for the club's coaching style and culture. There's no evaluation pressure, no roster decisions being made. They're a great way for your player to get comfortable before the real tryouts.

Tryouts are formal evaluations. Coaches are actively assessing every player: skills, athleticism, coachability, attitude. Players will go through structured drills (passing, hitting, setting, serving, defense) and play in scrimmages. Coaches take notes and use the tryout to determine team rosters.

Even though open gyms aren't formal tryouts, coaches are watching. A player who shows up consistently, works hard, and has a positive attitude at open gyms is already making an impression.

Athletic shorts or spandex and a t-shirt. Many parents ask about this. Keep it simple. Comfortable athletic wear that allows full range of motion.

Volleyball shoes are strongly recommended. Court shoes with gum rubber soles. Running shoes or basketball shoes work in a pinch, but volleyball shoes provide the lateral support and traction players need.

Knee pads. Bring them even if your player doesn't usually wear them. Tryouts involve a lot of diving and floor work.

Water bottle. Tryouts are intense and gyms get hot, especially in July.

A positive attitude. Coaches are evaluating more than skill. They're watching how your player responds to coaching, how she communicates with other players, and how she handles mistakes.

Proof of HOA membership. Clubs are required to verify membership at check-in. Have your membership confirmation email or card accessible on your phone.

What NOT to bring: Parents, leave the coaching to the coaches. Most clubs ask parents to watch from a designated area or even wait outside the gym. This is normal and healthy. It lets your player perform without feeling watched.

After tryouts, the club's coaching staff meets to determine team rosters. Here's how it typically works in the HOA region:

Offers are made through the HOA's official vStar system, not directly from the club. The offer arrives as an email from vStar and specifies which team the player is being placed on (e.g., 14-1 Premier, 14-2 Select). See the "How the HOA Offer Process Works" section below for a full breakdown of how vStar works, what to expect, and how to accept or decline.

Families have a set window to accept or decline. The HOA region establishes commitment rules each year that specify how long a family has to respond to an offer. This is usually 24-48 hours.

Commitment deposits are typically due when you accept. Most clubs require a deposit ($100-$300) to hold your player's spot on the team.

If your player doesn't receive an offer from their first-choice club, don't panic. Many clubs hold second-round tryouts or have spots open up as players commit to other clubs. The process is more fluid than it feels in the moment.

For a detailed breakdown of how offers, acceptances, and deadlines work through the HOA vStar system, read the next section below.

The Heart of America region uses a system called vStar to manage all official tryout offers. This is the only system that counts. A text from a coach, a phone call, or an email directly from a club is not an official offer. Only a vStar offer is binding, and only a vStar acceptance locks your player into a club.

Here is how the process works step by step.

Step 1 — Make Sure Your Player Is in the System

Your player must have a current HOA membership to try out and to appear in the vStar database. An HOA membership is your USA Volleyball (USAV) membership through the Heart of America region. It is one membership, one registration, one fee. If she played in HOA last season, her membership is still active and she is already in the system.

If she is new to club volleyball, you will need to purchase a summer membership before tryouts. Look for the "HOA-S3 Summer Junior Player" or "HOA-S8 Summer Junior Player (SafeSport Required)" option when registering at hoavb.org. Both cost approximately $15 to $20 and expire on August 31. If your player makes a team, you will need to purchase the full indoor membership for the upcoming season starting in September. The summer membership is non-refundable.

Important: after you purchase a membership, it takes approximately 24 business hours for your player to appear in the vStar database. Do not wait until the day before tryouts to register.

Step 2 — Get Your Email Ready (Do This Before Tryouts)

You do not need to create an account or register with vStar. The club handles everything on their end. Your only job is to make sure the right email is in the system and that you can receive the offer when it comes.

Before tryout weekend, do two things. First, confirm that the email address you plan to give the club at check-in is the same email tied to your player's HOA membership. If they do not match, the offer may not reach you. Second, add offers@hoavb.vstarvolleyball.com to your safe sender list or contacts. Offer emails come from the vStar system, not directly from the club. If you are only watching for an email from a coach or a club domain, you will miss the offer. Check your spam and junk folders after tryouts just in case.

Step 3 — Offers Are Sent Through vStar

After tryouts, clubs send official offers through the vStar system. For the 2026-27 girls season, offers can be sent starting July 11, 2026 at 8:00 AM. For boys, offers can be sent starting July 25, 2026 at 8:00 AM.

The offer arrives as an email from the vStar system, not from the club. Check your inbox AND your spam/junk folder. If you completed the Email Opt-In in Step 2, delivery should be reliable.

Clubs may also contact you by phone, text, or email separately to let you know an offer is coming or to share details about their program. Those communications are not the official offer. The vStar email is the only one that matters.

Step 4 — Accepting or Declining an Offer

When you open the vStar offer email, the acceptance process has a few steps that can be confusing if you are not expecting them.

First, you will see the offer details. You will not see an Accept button right away. You need to click the link that says "Click Here to view HOAVB Terms of Acceptance to Activate Accept Button." This expands the terms and conditions. After you read and agree to the terms, the green Accept button will appear.

The Decline button is available at any time. There is also a "Wrong Player" button in case the offer was sent to the wrong person.

For the 2026-27 girls season, the acceptance timeline works like this:

Offers can be sent starting July 11 at 8:00 AM. However, players cannot accept any offers until July 14 at 8:00 AM. This three-day waiting period is intentional. It gives families time to attend tryouts at multiple clubs before anyone has to commit.

All initial offers sent between July 11 and July 14 expire on July 15 at 8:00 AM. If your player has not responded by then, those offers go away automatically.

After July 15 at 8:00 AM, any new offers sent by clubs have a 24-hour response window from the time they are sent. This is common during the second wave of roster building, when clubs are filling spots opened up by players who committed elsewhere.

Step 5 — What Happens When You Accept

When your player accepts an offer from one club, all other outstanding vStar offers from other clubs are automatically declined by the system. This is not optional. Accepting one means declining all others instantly.

Once a vStar acceptance goes through, your player is committed to that club for the season. If you later change your mind, it requires a formal transfer process with a written release from the club. This is not a simple process, so make sure you are confident before accepting.

The club will typically ask for a commitment deposit at the time of acceptance or shortly after, usually in the range of $100 to $300.

A Note About Verbal Offers and Early Communication

During tryout weekend, coaches may approach you or your player and say something like "we would love to have her on our team." This is a verbal offer and it is allowed under HOA rules during the Permitted Recruiting Period. However, it is not binding for either party. The only binding commitment is through vStar.

Do not feel pressured to commit verbally on the spot. You have until the acceptance window opens to make your decision, and you have until the offer expires to respond through vStar.

→ Read more about how the HOA region works

"I never received an offer email." Check your spam and junk folders first. The email comes from the vStar system (offers@hoavb.vstarvolleyball.com), not the club, so it is often filtered. If the club confirms they sent an offer and you still do not see it, contact the club and ask them to resend the offer to a different email address. The club can update the email and resend through vStar on their end. Also verify with the club that the email address they entered matches what you provided at check-in.

"I cannot find the Accept button." You need to click the link in the email that says "Click Here to view HOAVB Terms of Acceptance to Activate Accept Button." The accept button is hidden until you read and agree to the terms. This is by design, not a glitch.

"I accepted an offer but now want to change clubs." Once you accept a vStar offer, your player is committed. All other offers are automatically declined. Changing clubs after acceptance requires a formal transfer with a written release from the current club. Contact the club director directly to discuss.

"My player does not appear in the vStar system." She may not have a current HOA membership, or the membership was purchased less than 24 business hours ago. Verify that her name in the system matches her SportsEngine profile exactly. Names with apostrophes or hyphens can cause search issues.

"The offer expired before I could respond." Initial offers expire at the deadline set by HOA (July 15 at 8:00 AM for the 2026-27 girls season). After that date, new offers have a 24-hour window. If your offer expired, contact the club directly. They can resend a new offer through vStar if they still have a spot available.

Yes. Players are allowed and encouraged to try out at more than one club. This gives your family the ability to compare coaching styles, facilities, team culture, and costs before committing.

Some strategic tips: Try out at 2-3 clubs that fit your priorities (location, cost, competitive level). Attend open gyms at each club first so your player walks into tryouts already familiar with the coaches and environment. Keep simple comparison notes. What did your player think of the coaching? The other players? The overall vibe?

Before accepting an offer, ask:

• What is the total all-in cost for the season, including uniforms, tournaments, and any additional fees?
• How many practices per week, and where are they held?
• What is the tournament schedule? How many tournaments, and how many require overnight travel?
• What is the club's philosophy on playing time?
• What happens if my player has a conflict with a school event or family obligation?
• What is the refund policy if my player gets injured or needs to leave the team?
• Who is the head coach for this team, and what is their background?
• How many open spots does this age group have? Clubs are required to announce this at tryouts, but asking directly shows you are informed.
• When will vStar offers go out? Some clubs send offers the moment the window opens. Others wait until after all their tryout sessions are complete. Knowing the club's timeline helps you manage expectations.

→ How Much Does Club Volleyball Cost in KC?