What is Westmoreland Elite Volleyball Club (also known as West E)?
Westmoreland Elite is a girls Junior Olympic volleyball club in southwestern Pennsylvania and is within the Keystone Region Volleyball Association which is governed by USA Volleyball.  The club provides volleyball players the opportunity to participate in practices and tournaments around the region.

Where are you located and where do you practice?
We are at the Murrysville SportsZone Complex at 4491 School Rd S Export, PA 15632. You can find us right behind the Sheetz!

How do I join?
All players are required to have (at minimum) a tryout membership through USA Volleyball.  Once the decision is made for the player to participate, a full membership can be purchased through USA Volleyball.  Membership fees are the responsibility of each player.

Do I register for tryouts?
Yes!  Tryout information and a link will be available on this website in August for the next season!

What do I need for tryouts?
When you register for tryouts, you will be given a list of things that you need to bring with you to tryouts.  We ask that you bring confirmation of a tryout or full membership with USAV, a completed medical release form and tryout fee. 

How do tryouts work?
Tryouts are held in October (14 and under) and November (15s to 18s).  There are multiple tryout days for each age group that the players can attend.  Each player will be evaluated by our coaching staff.  The Wednesday after the tryouts are held, invitations or wait list emails are sent to all girls that tryout.  Once invitations are sent, players have the option to accept or deny the offer.  Once you accept an invitation to a club, you are locked in to play for that club for the entire season.  Please see KRVA FAQs for more information.

Does West E send out invitations to players prior to tryouts (aka "Loyalty Offers")?
West E elects to wait until the tryout period is over to send out all invitations to all age groups with the exception of 18s.

How/When are the teams selected?
Once all offers have been responded to, we finalize each age group. To split the players into specific teams, we have a few practices where coaches evaluate the players further and then the girls are placed onto a team in December.

What age group does my daughter play in?
When you create a membership through USA Volleyball, the age group will be determined on the membership card.  To view quickly, take a look at the "Age Definitions" document available on the KRVA website HERE. *These are subject to change next season*

How many teams do you have per age group?
The amount of teams varies by age group.  We typically have at least 1-3 teams per age group

How many players are each team?
We like to keep between 8-10 players on a team.

Can girls play up or be waived down an age division? 
Unfortunately, players cannot be moved down an age division per the Region rules.  West E likes to keep girls within their own age division but there are exceptions where players may be moved up an age division based on their level of play.

How many coaches will each team have?
All teams will have a head coach and potentially receive an assistant coach as well.

What certifications do your coaches have?
Each coach has a membership through USA Volleyball where they go through a background screening and Safesport training. West E requires that all coaches have current clearances. 

How many practices a week does each team have?
Each team has one weeknight practice on Wednesdays and one weekend practice on Sundays. The younger age groups tend to practice earlier and the older age groups have the later practices.

Do athletes receive strength and conditioning training during the season?
This is something that we have been working on incorporating more during practices. Stay tuned for more details coming soon!

How long does the season last? 
We begin tryouts in October/November timeframe and run from November until the first week in May with practices and tournaments. 

How many tournaments will each team participate in?
Each team typically has a minimum of 5 tournaments for 13U and the older ages have 6-8 tournaments that they will participate.  The tournament schedule is not finalized until December timeframe.

How many multi-day tournaments will each team play in?
In the past, each team attends at least 1 multi-day tournament.  Depending on the team, they could attend 2-3 throughout the season.

How many “stay to play” tournaments will each tournament play in?
At West E, we try to avoid the “stay to play” tournaments but cannot guarantee that we will not schedule.

Who is responsible for hotel payment during overnight tournaments?
Parents are responsible for hotels and travel/meal expenses for their athletes.

Who is responsible for arranging hotel accommodations for the families?
The club will reserve blocks of rooms for tournaments where there are many West E teams participating.  Team parents can reserve a block of rooms for their team.  More information is provided on hotels as we approach the tournament season.

How much does it cost to be a member of West E?
Club dues/tuition is dependent upon the age group and team within that age group.  The amounts will be available to all parents during tryouts. 

Is fundraising available?
Yes, we do provide a fundraising opportunity for the season. 

What is included in the uniform package for players?
All players receive two jerseys, volleyball shoes or warm-up outfit (depending on availability), socks, spandex, kneepads, one warm-up shirt (pending availability) and a backpack (only if the player is new to the club). We have a gear sale once during the season where many different pieces such as hoodies, t-shirts, sweatpants, etc. are available for purchase. 

How can I become a team parent?
Once we finalize teams, we ask if anyone is interested in being the team parent. If you are selected as the team parent you play a few roles. Emails are often sent out from the club directors with information to the team parent and we ask that they inform the other parents on the team. Also, it is very helpful for the coach and team parent to communicate often so that they are always on the same page in regards to tournament start times, schedules, etc. A team parent also tends to take the lead on organizing team activities on away tournament weekends such as fun games and activities at the hotel or dinner at a restaurant.

If there is bad winter weather, will practice get cancelled?
If the weather is truly bad, we will delay the start time or cancel for the safety of our coaches, players and family members. If it looks like the weather is going to get bad at the end of practice or beginning of practice, we will sometimes end early/start later. If the weather is bad specific to where you live and it is too dangerous to drive to practice, please put your safety first and do not risk it to drive. We ask that you have your player contact their coach to let them know.  Delays or cancellations will be posted on the website at least 2 hours prior to the start of practice.