What is club volleyball?
Club volleyball offers athletes the opportunity to learn the game of volleyball beyond their short school season. In east Texas, we play under the North Texas Region governed by USA Volleyball. In this arena, club teams practice and participate in sanctioned events. Currently, the North Texas Region has over 100 clubs and more than 10,000 registered athletes! With the addition of college beach volleyball, club has grown to include both indoor and beach activities.
Who is East Texas Alliance 1?
ETA1 is entering its 9th season! It is our desire to share the sport of volleyball with in Tyler and the surrounding communities. We offer both indoor and beach training with clinics, lessons, and club teams. ETA1 is not a start up, satellite, or an extension of another club hours away. We started from the ground up and built our program to focus on the needs, desires, and ambitions of the athletes right here in our own community.
ETA1 has had tremendous success in just a few years since our inception. We have consistently qualified for regionals, Tour of Texas, and have ranked higher than any other club in all of East Texas. We captured an AAU National Championship by winning the Classic division for 17's and most recently punched our ticket to USAVB Nationals by winning the 16 American Division at the 2022 Lone Star Classic in Dallas!
Why play club?
Let's face it, club sports can have a huge impact on players. In addition to learning skills, we want players to learn life lessons that go beyond the court. Hard work, determination, teamwork, navigating both success and failures are all part of sports and valuable life skills. Whether you want to improve for your school team or have aspirations to play in college, club volleyball reaches beyond the gym.
How long is the season?
Due to the new requirements set forth by our region, tryouts will be held in July. Please click on our calendar for dates and locations. You must register for tryouts, check our website for updates! Please contact us if you have summer plans that conflict with our tryouts.
Our competition season runs from January-April with the exception of post season participation in regional bid tournaments and Nationals. A few teams may choose to have a tournament in the month of December to accommodate their season schedule. We typically add a few warm up practices in October, November and December.
How often and where do you practice?
Teams will practice two times a week. Our typical practices run Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings in Tyler. Practices are mandatory.
How many tournaments do you play in?
Our tournament schedule varies for different age groups. Younger teams will play in 5-6 while our older teams will play in 7-8 with the option of adding post season tournaments. The younger teams (13 & Under) will play both in both 1 & 2 day tournaments while our older teams (15 & up) will play in 2 day tournaments. Two day tournaments start on a Saturday with either a morning OR afternoon pool. Sunday play times depend on what bracket the team qualified to play in (gold plays in the morning while silver and bronze will typically start around noon). The majority of our tournaments are in the DFW area.
What does it cost to play on a team?
Cost vary from 800-2000 depending on the age and level of commitment. Once you have made a team and paid your down payment, ETA1 offers a monthly payment plan for your convenience. Payments will be drafted from your account on the 20th unless other arrangements have been made.
Fees cover gyms, tournament entry fees, coaches, uniform, equipment, etc.
Dues do not cover tournament entry fees for spectators, or travel (including transportation, lodging or meals).
What age group am I? (Updated for 2022-2023)
Please register your player for her correct division. We need to know her legal age group when we make teams. We will consider any athlete for a higher division regardless of their age.
If your player is a 14 and you would like them to attend tryouts for the 15 division, please email us at info@eta1.net for approval.
PLEASE CLICK ON OUR AGE DEFINITION CHART ON THE FRONT PAGE OF OUR WEBSITE TO CONFIRM YOUR PLAYERS AGE DIVISION
12 & Under: Born on or after July 1, 2011
13 & Under: Born on or after July 1, 2010
14 & Under: Born on or after July 1, 2009
15 & Under: Born on or after July 1, 2008
16 & Under: Born on or after July 1, 2007
17 & Under: Born on or after July 1, 2006
18 & Under: Born on or after July 1, 2005 or born on or after July 1, 2004 and a high school student in the 12th grade during some part of the academic year.