FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions:
When are Tryouts?
Friday, October 13th, 2023
Saturday, October 14th, 2023
Sunday, October 15th, 2023
Times and Locations specific to age group will be announced soon!
Where are Tryouts?
TBD
Once Registration Opens you can pre-register, pay for Tryouts, and find all the details of what to bring with you on our website, anthemunitedvbc.com.
We encourage everyone who can to attend the main tryout so your child can be around other potential teammates and experience our club culture. However, if you cannot attend our main tryout date, accommodations may be able to be made. Email anthemunitedvbc@gmail.com
What are the Club Fees for the season?
11s: $1,800 (5 tournaments)
12/13s: $2,000 (6 tournaments)
14s and Up: $2,300 (8 tournaments)
At the time of team placement and verbal commitment, a deposit will be due to hold player's spot. After the initial deposit, club fees can be paid in 3 additional smaller installments if needed. Club fees cover coaching expenses, SRVA coaching fees, tournament entries, warm up shirts, equipment, hotels and gas coverage for coaches, gym rental, coaches training, website, and other administrative fees.
What to bring to Tryouts?
The following should be completed online prior to arriving at Tryouts:
Registration Form through Anthem United website
Pay Tryout Fee of $50 online (includes T-shirt to be worn at tryouts) Cash or Checks can be brought to Check-in.
Printed SRVA Membership Card
Is fundraising available to offset club costs?
Yes. We have one optional fundraiser each year for our families to help offset the cost of Club. All of the sales go directly to your club fees. Details will be announced after teams are formed.
How many practices a week?
For practices, you can expect two practices a week at the lower age groups. Your daughter will also be invited to some Master Coaching sessions where she will be in a small, more concentrated session with multiple coaches helping girls who play specific positions for that practice. These small group sessions are great tools for more one-on one coaching and will probably be about 1x/month for 13U and 2x/month for 14-18s girls. Master coaching sessions are included in your club fees.
Practice Locations/Days/Times: We typically practice in the Chattanooga/Ringgold, North Georgia, or Dalton Areas. Due to the wide range of players driving from different areas to play for our club, we try to give each team one Dalton practice and one Ringgold practice each week to be fair to all. A few gyms we plan to use are Christ Church Presbyterian in Dalton, Tiger Creek Elementary in Ringgold, Silverdale Cumberland Presbyterian in Chattanooga, Christian Heritage in Dalton, and Graysville Elementary in Ringgold. We are still working on more gym space and locations. Your specific team schedule will be shared once your player is placed on a team.
Teams practice mostly M, T, TR evenings 5:45 or later. Some teams will practice Sundays after church time (between 1-6).
In addition to team practices, we also hold Master Skills sessions which are an opportunity for our athletes to hear different coaching voices and work with other Anthem athletes in small, positional specific groups. These are offered at no additional cost. In addition to positional training, these sessions will also include speed/vertical training.
What does a typical tournament schedule look like?
For tournaments, you can expect 6-8 tournaments total for the year depending on age division and level/cost of tournaments (see club fees above for exact numbers). The tournaments will run from January through April. We try to plan for a good amount of local area tournaments if they are quality and fit the level of the team. We almost always head to Gatlinburg for an overnight tournament and attend a few 1 day tournaments in the Atlanta, Nashville, and Knoxville areas. This of course varies based on the level of play, as our older, more elite teams will have to travel further to find the higher level tournaments.
After each team is formed, the tournament schedule will be created to fit that team's skill. Some tournaments may be chosen to build confidence, while other tournaments are chosen to challenge players to rise to a higher level of play. We want to push our teams to rise to their competition and experience pressure situations. Some teams may only play club while others will play more power. If your team attends Junior Nationals, the season will finish in June or July.
How many players will each roster have?
All of our team decisions are based on player interest, quality coaching availability, and gym space. In general, if we have enough qualified players to make a team, and a qualified coach available to coach them, we will field a team in that age group. Depending on team age, skill level, and positions, we will place anywhere from 9-11 players on a team. We prefer a max of 10 unless positions of players require an 11th player. Our roster sizes are smaller than some clubs as each player is kept with a certain role in mind to help the team.
How many teams will you keep?
As of now we plan for
11s: 1 team
12s: 2 teams
13s: 2 teams
14s: 2 teams
15s: 2 teams
16s: 2 teams
17s: 2 teams
18s: 1-2 teams
Do you ever move players to an older age group?
Yes, but this is not the norm. When it is decided to move a player up a division, it is on an individual basis. The most likely reasons to move a player to an older age group would be: (1) specific position needs on a team in an older age group that the player would fill, (2) allowing a player to play with their grade level. Please note that we require a player to attend at least one tryout in her age group determined by her birthdate before possibly being invited to the older division tryouts. Please trust our staff, the process, and know all decisions are prayed over and carefully made. We always act in the best interest of the teams as a whole. Our general purpose of keeping players in their age divisions allows solid competitive teams for the season. Age definitions can be found on our website and are clearly marked on our registration forms.
Can my team from last year stay together? Can I request to be on the same team with my best friend/sibling? Can I request a specific coach?
Please note that we cannot grant any requests for specific coaches or teammates. Our team decisions are based primarily on skill level and evaluations from tryouts. While we loved all of our teams last season, every year we start fresh and provide a fair tryout where all girls are evaluated. No returners are guaranteed a spot on a team. Our goal is to form the most competitive teams possible. We are occasionally able to honor requests for players to be on the same team within our beginner program. Please trust our staff, the process, and know all decisions are prayed over and carefully made.
When will practices begin?
Team parent meetings and regular team practice schedules will begin within a few weeks of tryouts being completed. You can expect some time off for Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.
Do I need experience to try out?
Depending on the age of your player, experience may or may not be needed. From age groups 13 and under, we are looking for hard workers who display coachability, athleticism, and great attitudes at tryouts. For the older age groups, tryouts will be more competitive and experience will definitely help earn your child a spot on a team.
Beginner’s Program
For those ages 8-11, we will be running a beginner program again this season. These athletes will have two, one-hour practices each week with Coach Tony and other Anthem coaching staff/some of our older more experienced athletes. They will be learning all the fundamental skills of the game. Scrimmages and mini-tournaments will be set up. These athletes will not attend a tryout and will have a shorter season running December-Mid March.
What do I do after accepting a position?
When you accept a position, within a day or two you will receive two emails. The first is an invitation to join our Club's directory. The second email will allow you to officially accept the invitation to play for Anthem. Once you accept this second invitation you will need to upgrade your “tryout” membership to the appropriate Full membership. This will make your daughter an eligible player in our directory so that we can assign her to our team rosters. Prior to Tryouts you only need to purchase a Tryout membership through SRVA.