Serve City to hold boys, girls volleyball tryouts
Serve City Volleyball launches its fourth year of operations in the Chicago suburbs. The season tips off with tryouts for its boys program on Tuesday, Sept. 4, and continues with tryouts for middle-school girls Sept. 30 and high school girls Oct. 21 and 29. Tryout registration has begun for both programs.
Boys: The boys program is fielding a record total of eight teams in 2018-19, with athletes hailing from across the Downers Grove/Woodridge/Hinsdale area, including Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville and Aurora.
Teams will range from 14-and-under national and regional squads to 18-U national. The 14-U national team will train and compete from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1, and resume April 20 to July 7, while the 15-U to 18-U national teams will train and play from Oct. 1 to Feb. 24, and resume June 1 to July 7.
National teams' season will culminate at the USA Volleyball National Championships in Dallas, Texas.
For athletes interested in a shorter club season, it will be Oct. 1 to Jan. 1, for the 14-U regional team and Oct. 1 to Feb. 24, for the high school regional teams. Another first for the boys' program is its new three-court home facility at the Woodridge Park District.
The boys' teams will additionally reap the benefits of cross training this season through a new partnership with Chicago Sand Volleyball. Each boys squad will train once or twice a month in the sand at Downers Grove Sand Club to improve their strength, agility, leaping ability and overall quickness and athleticism.
Serve City is also offering private lessons for athletes interested in refining current skills or learning new skills from a qualified trainer.
Boys tryouts for all middle school and high school teams will take place Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the Wheaton Park District Community Center, 1777 Blanchard St. The cost is $15.
Middle school tryouts run from 6 to 7:40 p.m., and high school tryouts are from 7 to 9 p.m.
An informational meeting will be from 7:15 to 7:35 p.m. for parents of all tryout participants.
Volleyball registration has begun, and spots are limited. Families must sign up online to reserve a spot at tryouts.
Boys in sixth, seventh and eighth grades are invited to try out for Serve City's 14-U teams, and boys in ninth to 12th grade are eligible to try out for the 15-U, 16-U, 17-U and 18-U squads.
Visit www.servecityboysvolleyball.org for full details on teams, practices, tournaments and fees, or contact' Director Jake Cloh at jcloh@servecityvolleyball.org for information.
Girls: After running a pilot national program in 2017-18, the Serve City girls program is launching its first national team program in 2018-19. Serve City will furnish both national and regional teams at the 12-U, 13-U, 14-U, 15-U, 16-U and 18-U age levels at its Wheaton/Carol Stream training locations.
Serve City will also host national teams at its Des Plaines practice location, as well as regional teams at its Elgin branch.
The girls regional team season will run Nov. 26 to April 14, while the girls national team season will take place from Nov. 26 to April 14, and, after a three-week break, resume from May 5 to June 16. The national season will conclude at the Asics National Championships June 14-16 at Navy Pier in Chicago.
For the second straight year, Serve City will feature girls teams at practice facilities in Wheaton/Carol Stream, Elgin and Des Plaines, with athletes representing nearly 30 suburban communities, including Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Carol Stream, Bartlett, West Chicago, Winfield, Elgin, Aurora, Naperville, Downers Grove, St. Charles, Geneva, South Elgin, Dundee, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect.
Serve City will kick off middle school girls tryouts at three locations Sunday, Sept. 30. Wheaton tryouts will take place at the Central Athletic Complex, 500 S. Naperville Road in Wheaton. Serve City 12-U tryouts will run from 4-5:30 p.m., followed by 13-U from 5:45-7:15 p.m. and 14-U from 7:30-9 p.m.
Serve City will also hold middle school girls tryouts in Des Plaines from 9 to 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 30, at its practice facility at Oakton Community College. Girls in sixth to eighth grade are eligible to try out.
The Elgin middle school girls tryouts are scheduled for 3:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30, at The Centre of Elgin.
Girls makeup tryouts will also be available Monday, Oct. 1, and Saturday, Oct. 6, at Serve City's main campus in Wheaton.
High school girls tryouts then tip off Sunday, Oct. 21, for athletes who aren't competing on a high school varsity team. Wheaton tryouts will take place at the Wheaton Park District Community Center, 1777 S. Blanchard St.
Tryouts for 15-U (high-school freshmen) run from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., followed by 16-U and 17-U tryouts from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Des Plaines high school girls tryouts will hit the courts for 15-U, 16-U (sophomores) and 17-U (juniors) from 9 to 11 a.m. at Oakton Community College. Elgin tryouts for 15-U to 17-U are from 3:30-5 p.m. at The Centre of Elgin.
High school varsity players interested in playing for a Serve City team in Wheaton, Elgin or Des Plaines are eligible to try out after their school season ends Monday, Oct. 29, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Wheaton.
Varsity athletes whose season continues beyond Oct. 29 can contact Serve City to set up another makeup tryout.
Girls' tryout registration has begun. Spots are limited, and families must register online to reserve a spot.
Visit www.servecityvolleyball.org/introduction-girls for details on teams, practices, tournaments and fees, or contact Director Jeff Smith at jsmith@servecityvolleyball.org.