Travel Team FAQ
Our most frequently asked questions about travel teams, tryouts, and everything volleyball
Wondering about what the change to OVR means for you? Read on below
Frequently Asked Questions
Wondering about how club volleyball works? Looking for extra information? You've come to the right place!
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If your question isn't answered here, feel free to chat us or send us a note at info@renaissancevolleyball.com.​​
Travel Teams
How many travel teams does Renaissance have?
The number of teams varies from year to year depending on the number of interested athletes. Across all locations, we typically offer 8 teams per age group at a variety of levels. For ages 13-17U we typically offer 4 teams in Greentree, 2-3 teams in Cranberry, and 1-2 teams in Beaver County. For ages 12U, you'll usually find 2 teams in both Greentree and Cranberry. Our Greentree location is the only place we offer a true 11U and 10U team, but encourage these athletes who want the Cranberry location to play on one of our 12U teams in Cranberry. Renaissance also offers a few shorts season teams for athletes who can't commit to a full season.
What does it cost to participate on a travel team? What is included in the cost?
The participation cost can vary significantly depending on the team. All costs are disclosed prior to any commitment and are typically posted on our website prior to tryouts and included in any written offer that is made to your athlete. Your tuition payment to Renaissance covers everything your athlete needs to play for the season (including uniform), except for their own knee pads, shoes, travel to/from practices and tournaments, any hotel accommodations, meals at tournaments, spectator fees, etc. and any required USAV/JVA/AAU memberships.
What tournaments do teams attend?
Tournaments depend on the team's age, level, and location. Our younger and more regionally-based teams will compete mostly in single day events within a couple hours' drive. Our oldest USAV Bid teams may travel to locations like Indianapolis, Louisville, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Columbus. If a team qualifies for USAV Nationals, they will travel to wherever the tournament is being held that year.
What is a USAV Bid team and does everyone play the same schedule?
In short, no. We offer teams across a variety of levels so that athletes of all skill sets and commitment levels have an opportunity to learn and compete. Typically, Greentree Black and Red are our USAV Bid teams (this is a little different at the 10-12U level). These are teams that work throughout the season for a chance to qualify to attend USAV Nationals. Sometimes all of our teams will attend the same tournament, but we do our best to place each team in the most appropriate division for them. We want everyone to be challenged, yet find success!
How often do teams practice?
Practice frequency depends on the location, age, and level of your team. Our high school aged teams practice 3x weekly, while our younger teams typically practice twice weekly. If your team plays in a tournament, they will not have their practice that weekend. More detailed practice schedules are/will be posted on the individual team pages.
Who coaches the team?
We love our experienced and professional coaches and hope you will too! You can check out our staff page to learn all about the people who work at Renaissance. While coaches manage the details and day to day pieces of practice and competition, Renaissance senior staff (like the Training Directors) also help teams work toward their potential by providing mentorship for coaches, oversee practice plans, maintain our drill database and technical training manual and much more. Our teams typically practice or overlap with other teams. This gives athletes the opportunity to learn from more coaches.
How many athletes are on a team?
Typically, each team will have 9-11 athletes. There are a variety of factors that influence the building of a roster - what offense system the team will run, how many attackers may need a defensive sub, etc. We've found that this number of athletes is ideal as it helps protect the team in event of illness or injury, provides good competition at practice, and offers depth at tournaments.
What membership(s) will my athlete need?
The base membership all athletes will need to purchase to participate in the season is an OVR (USAV) membership. If you receive an accept an offer, Renaissance will provide you a link to register and complete the membership. Certain teams may also be required to purchase an AAU athlete membership, based on the requirements of the tournaments they attend. All athletes must have a valid USAV membership for tryouts. This can be from any region (i.e. KRVA or OVR).
General Tryout Info
What age group should my athlete register for?
Age groups are determined by your athlete's birthday (and sometimes grade) based on rules set by our region and the USAV. Head over to our age chart to see your athlete's age group.
How do tryouts work?
Renaissance offers a single day tryout for our Beaver County teams and a two day tryout for our Greentree and Cranberry based teams. After an on-court evaluation, Renaissance will begin inviting athletes to join the club for the upcoming season. For the two day tryout, athletes will show their skills through positional-based drills on day 1, followed by team play on day 2.
What does my athlete need to attend tryouts?
You will need to register for athlete for tryouts via the Renaissance website. Your athlete will also need to show proof of a current USAV membership at the tryout check-in.
Can my athlete attend July tryouts?
All athletes interested in playing for a 14U-18U team are welcome to attend our July tryouts. We will host an additional round of tryouts for these age groups in the fall, as well. Athletes looking to play on a 10U-13U team must try out in the fall.
Other clubs don't have 14U July tryouts. How does Renaissance?
Renaissance is able to offer 14U tryouts in July due to our participation in the Ohio Valley Region of USA Volleyball.
How do invites/offers work?
During the approved offers period, Renaissance will communicate with each family about their athlete's tryout results. If we are able to extend an invite to join a team, you may receive an offer for a specific team or the club in general. You will have a specific amount of time to respond to your athlete's invite. We also always appreciate a response whether it is a yes or a no. If we are unable to extend an invite for a team to your athlete, we will communicate that to you.
My athlete didn't play at Renaissance last year. Can they still try out?
Yes, absolutely! Our main tryout weekend for Greentree and Cranberry based 14-18U teams follows the same timing as other Pittsburgh area clubs, July 18-20, 2025. Athletes who are not Renaissance returners are encouraged to sign up for tryouts and then attend both days of their age appropriate try out. Our Beaver County tryout is held on July 12, 2025 and is open to all 14U-18U athletes.
We missed Summer Tryouts. Can my athlete still try out?
Yes! We offer a fall tryout for all teams in all locations. Registration for the fall tryout usually opens in August/September.
Summer Tryout Info
Who can attend Summer Tryouts?
All athletes interested in playing for a 14U-18U team are welcome to attend our July tryouts. We will host an additional round of tryouts for these age groups in the fall, as well. Athletes looking to play on a 10U-13U team must try out in the fall.
What is the Invite Tryout for Renaissance returners?
Renaissance is able to offer an Invite Tryout for athletes who played on a Renaissance travel team during the 2024-25 season. This replaces the Day 1 positional tryout being held on July 18th or 19th. Athletes who choose to come to the returners' tryout are still asked to attend the regular Day 2 tryout on July 19th or 20th with their age group.
What are the details on the 14U July tryouts?
Beaver County tryouts remain unchanged. We will be offering a July tryout for our Greentree and Cranberry based 14U teams. This tryout is not mandatory and athletes who prefer to try out in the fall are welcomed to do so. Renaissance will extend offers to athletes after the 14U July tryout, but spots will remain on all Greentree and Cranberry based teams until after the fall tryout. 14U athletes trying out in July may receive an invite to join a specific team, an invite to join the club, or a deferral letter asking them to join us at the fall tryout. We have found that many athletes continue to develop over the school season and at the 14U age, athletes may not be sure about committing to club until the fall.
Why would you offer a July tryout for 14U if you also offer a fall tryout?
Some athletes know that Renaissance is the place they want to play and we see an immediate fit for them in our program. We are utilizing the opportunity to host a July tryout in order to provide as many athletes as we can with the certainty that they have a home at Renaissance for the upcoming season. We choose to also offer a fall tryout as we are committed to include all athletes in our program. The fall tryout might be a perfect fit for an athlete who is new to club and wasn't ready to commit in July or someone who developed their skills over the school season.
Joining the Ohio Valley Region
What is the Ohio Valley Region?
USA Volleyball, one of the governing bodies for youth volleyball, operates 40 regions across the country. Each region's leadership oversees their own geographic area. Ohio Valley Region or OVR encompasses Ohio, West Virginia, and the westernmost parts of Pennsylvania.
Why is Renaissance joining the OVR?
Renaissance sits right on the border between OVR and another region (Keystone). The way in which our staff is structured, where we practice, and how the governing rules apply, among other items, have necessitated this change.
What does this change mean for me?
The majority of our teams and athletes will see very minimal changes. In fact, our Beaver County based teams were already part of the OVR! For our Greentree and Cranberry based teams, you will purchase your athlete's seasonal USAV membership through the Ohio Valley Region. For tryouts we accept memberships from any region. For USAV Bid teams, you'll see your typical KRVA events replaced by OVR events. For all athletes trying out for a Greentree or Cranberry based team, you will see small changes to our tryout practices, including timing and the way we extend team invitations. Read on below for more information.
How will this affect tryouts?
Our Beaver County based teams will have no change to their tryouts. The change to OVR will affect the way in which we extend invitations to join a team and allows us to add an early tryout opportunity for our returning Greentree and Cranberry athletes. Additionally, we will be offering a July 2025 tryout for our 14U age group across all of our locations.
How does joining the OVR change the travel team invite/offers process?
The OVR invite process works a little differently than what you may be used to or find at other Pittsburgh area clubs. Renaissance can extend any athlete an offer or invite to join a travel team at any time following the start of tryouts. The offer must stay open for consideration until a specific time or for 48 hours, whichever is longer. For offers made in July 2025, this date is Tuesday, July 15 at 6:00 PM.
Will the move to OVR change my team's travel schedule?
Possibly. The biggest difference in travel schedule will be for our USAV Bid teams which will no longer travel to Spooky Nook or the PA Farm Show for KRVA Bid. Instead these teams will compete in appropriate tournaments in an effort to earn a spot in the OVR Bid tournament. For our teams that do not compete for USAV Bids, we will be targeting events that help teams earn a spot in the OVR rankings. In this way, each and every team has something to work toward all season long.
What about USAV Memberships?
Athletes will be required to have a valid USAV membership for tryouts. This can be from KRVA, OVR, or another region. For the travel season, all athletes will be required to have an OVR membership. For our July tryouts, your athlete's prior year USAV membership is valid. If you are attending a fall tryout or your athlete needs to purchase a USAV tryout membership, we recommending choosing the OVR $10 tryout membership as that cost is taken off the total due if/when your athlete were to upgrade the membership. Memberships are not transferrable between KRVA and OVR.
Get in some reps and get to know us!
Is your athlete thinking about trying out at Renaissance for the first time?
Do you want the chance to interact with our staff and learn more about us?
Check out our upcoming chances to be on the court below!