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OUR MISSION: The mission of the Rhode Island Junior Rams Volleyball Club is to identify and develop elite level volleyball players in a fun, challenging and professional atmosphere. The club aims to train and develop each athlete to their highest potential in the technical and tactical areas of volleyball, while simultaneously building each player's knowledge of the game, confidence, self-esteem, attitude, work ethic, and character. We hope players will learn skills and have experiences they will use throughout their lives while developing lasting camaraderie with their teammates. The club will develop potential scholarship athletes who will be exposed to and sought after by College Programs. HISTORY OF THE CLUB: Previously, in order for Rhode Island volleyball players to play club they had to travel north to join clubs in Massachusetts. Rhode Island Juniors was originally established in 1995 by University of Rhode Island Women's Volleyball Coach Bob Schneck. The program comprised of 9 teams for both boys and girls. The girls division consisted of a Regional & Local 18s team, one 16s team, and one 14s team. The boys division consisted of a Regional & Local 18s team, a Regional & Local 16s team, and a 14s team. The club proved to be a difficult endeavor as it was in direct conflict with the Rhode Island High School season. In Massachusetts & Connecticut, and across the country, Girl's High School volleyball takes place in the Fall. This allows for year round volleyball with the addition of club volleyball participation. With the RI girl's season beginning in the Spring, it conflicted with the club and Coach Schneck decided he would wait until the Interscholastic League aligned the RI High School volleyball season with the rest of the country. The RI Interscholastic League has promised to move volleyball to the Fall for the 2004 season. Currently the dual participation rule has been implemented which allows high school players to compete on a club volleyball team at the same time as their high school volleyball season. Motivated to provide a club volleyball experience for his daughter, Coach Schneck began his endeavor again in the 2001 season with the 12 & under Division in hopes that when the Junior players entered their High Schools they would greatly impact their volleyball programs. Rhode Island Juniors became a local option available to girls born September 1, 1988 thru December 31, 1990, giving them the same opportunities as their peers across the country. The 2001 team went on to become the Regional Champions in the 12 & under Division. In 2002, the club formed a 14 & under and a 12 & under team. Both teams performed very well with the 14s placing 3rd at the Regional Championships. Currently we have two 14 & under teams. Our 14-1 team in tournament play so far has placed 1st, 3rd & 2nd and is currently ranked 5th out of 23 teams. WHAT TEAMS WILL THE CLUB HAVE?: Rhode Island Jr Rams’ Volleyball Club offers teams at the following levels for the 2003-2004 season: 14’s (Born on or after Sept. 1, 1989) 15s/16s (Born on or after Sept. 1, 1987), 17s/18s (Born on or after Sept. 1, 1985). Players may “play up” in an older age group if their ability level warrants it. WHY PLAY JUNIORS?: Club Volleyball offers girls the valuable opportunity to gain additional experience that high school volleyball does not provide. Since the club season runs from December through early July, and is based on a tournament format, it allows for more practice and playing time than any school team will provide. This extra experience, combined with the exposure to college coaches that Juniors’ tournaments provide, increases the chances of participating and receiving athletic scholarships in college. WHEN WILL THE CLUB OPERATE?: (Details subject to change) In organizing the Elite Team we will be scouting RI players during their high school season. During this time, invitations will be sent out to our top recruits to invite them to join the Rhode Island Junior Rams Elite Team/s. To give opportunity to those eligible players from out of state and players who were not able to be seen, we will be scouting interested players who attend our summer camps in July & August and will hold an Open Invitation tryout on Saturday, August 2nd from 5-7pm at URI in Keaney Gym. Those players already selected to join will attend the Rhode Island Volleyball Camp as a team. In December we will start practicing 1-2 times/week. January & February we will practice regularly, 2 times/week, and plan to schedule home and away scrimmages/tournaments. The team will be off for the holiday vacations, except when a tournament is scheduled. When the high school season is running, we will cut back and practice only 1 day per week possibly on Sundays. We plan to participate in the Bay State Games which is typically the 2nd week of March. In March, April & May the NERVA league begins their season. There are a total of 7 tournaments, Power League Qualifier, 4 Regional Play Dates, State Championship and Regional Championship. All NERVA tournaments run on Sundays and last approximately 6 hours. We must compete in at least 3 tournaments in order to be able to compete at the Regional Championships. If we win Regional Championships, we get an automatic invitation to the Junior Olympic National Championships, location TBA. Most tournaments outside of NERVA run on Saturdays. In July we will prepare for the Junior Olympic National Championships (if we qualify). For the 2004-2005 Club Season, we will scout and recruit from our clinics and summer camps as well as scout & recruit during the high school seasons in RI, MA & CT. In late November/December we will hold tryouts for any open spots we have. The above process will repeat itself. With the alignment of volleyball in RI in 2004, there will not be any conflicts and the club will play a traditional NERVA schedule in March, April & May of the 2004-2005 club season. WHERE WILL THE CLUB PRACTICE?: Rhode Island Juniors will be based out of South County using the facilities at the University of Rhode Island. Tournaments take place all over New England. The club will also seek competition outside of the New England Region in areas such as Pennsylvania, New York etc. WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT JUNIORS? You can visit our website at www.SchneckVolleyball.com. Here you can educate yourself about our current Junior Program as well as follow links to inform yourself about Club Volleyball in general. HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE SHOULD PLAYERS HAVE? WHAT IF A PLAYER IS CURRENTLY IN 8TH GRADE?: The Elite Team/s will not be recreational. We will be looking for players who seriously desire to become an Elite volleyball player and exhibit this through their commitment to the sport. We will be scouting top female athletes. We will evaluate players based on their athleticism, technique, knowledge of the game, confidence, leadership, attitude and coach-ability. We realize that many 8th graders have not had prior experience with volleyball. For these players, we will hold a clinic/tryout and will evaluate the potential player based on their athleticism and volleyball potential. We encourage Coaches to refer & recommend athletes to us even if they are a coach from a different sport. HOW MUCH WILL THE PROGRAM COST? The Base Program Fee for 2003-2004 season will be $365.00. This includes: 36 practices - 2-3 hours each, 7 nerva tournaments, uniform shirt, short, kneepads, $30 NERVA membership Fee, Power League TEAM Entry Fee (IF APPLICABLE), program operating expenses, & facility rental fees. We have fundraising opportunities available to further reduce participant’s fees and/or apply to additional tournaments/scrimmages. RI JUNIOR RAMS ELITE 15s & 16s RI JUNIOR RAMS ELITE 17s & 18s 2004 HIGHLIGHTS
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