This page is meant to help answer some of the questions that you may have about the upcoming club season.
USA Volleyball Junior Age Definition NOTE: In most cases your daughter should play in the age group of whatever grade she is in school. Division Born on or after 18 July 1, 2006 - June 2007 17 July 1, 2007 - June 2008 16 July 1, 2008 - June 2009 15 July 1, 2009 - June 2010 14 July 1, 2010 - June 2011 13 July 1, 2011 - June 2012 12 July 1, 2012 - June 2013 11 July 1, 2013 - June 2014
Sponsorship - Houston Stellar is a Nike club, meaning that all players and coaches are required to wear Nike head to toe at practices and tournaments. We are privileged to have this relationship and take it very seriously. All players in the club are issued 100% Nike gear including club shoes. All players are issued the same practice tees, spandex, socks, shoes, backpacks and warm up. As such all teams/players are required to wear club issued tee shirts and either navy or black spandex at all weekday practices. On Sunday we allow players to wear any Nike colored spandex or Nike Tempo shorts along with club issued practice tee. Any Nike shoes may be worn during practice and games. There are consequences if a player does not wear issued practice gear. The consequence will vary by coach but generally involves some type of team cardiovascular improvement.
Q: When does the season start? A: We will ask coaches to hold mandatory team/parent meetings between November 18-21. The first on court practice starts the week after Thanksgiving starting on Monday December 2.
Q: When does the season end? A: For local and select teams the season ends after their last tournament on their schedule. Usually late April/early May. For Travel Teams the season ends after either USAV or AAU National Championships in June/early July.
Q: How many tournaments are scheduled? A: 18’s will have 8 tourneys, Travel Teams (12), Local and Select teams (10). 11’s will have 8 tourneys. See Team Grid for details.
Q: How many players are on a team? A: Generally, 10 or 11 players/team. In rare occasions we may have 12 on a team.
Q: Are parents allowed to watch practices? A: Yes, we ask that young children are supervised and not allowed to run through the facility alone.
Q: Can we bring food and drink into the facility? A: No, we do not allow outside food, drink or trash into the facility with the exception of personal water bottles. There is a outside dumpster in the back of the facility if you need to deposit trash from a restaurant, drinks etc.
Q: Are concessions available in the facility? A: Yes, beverages and snacks are available in the front lobby. Stellar has an on your honor system that allows people to serve themselves and deposit the money into the bag provided. All items are $1 or $2. We ask that you provide exact change so that we eliminate the touching of money as much as possible. We are extremely proud of our members honestly with this privilege and except that will continue.
Q: Can we purchase additional practice gear like, tee shirts, spandex, socks etc? A: Yes, you will be issued two practice tees, two pair of socks and 1 or 2 pair of spandex. You are welcome to purchase additional items from the store. The store is not opened every day of the week. Only if one of the owners or Asst. Directors are present.
Q: What out of state travel tournaments will Stellar attend? A: We have not finalized schedules yet; however, we mainly follow USAV qualifiers and look at bigger tournament options.
Q: Will I get my deposit and any payments back if my player commits to a team but decides during July-November not to play? A: No. The deposit is a non-refundable deposit that first and foremost, secures your position on the team. We also work early to secure tournaments and utilize the paymet with fixed expenses and purchase uniforms, apparel and equipment for the season. Any or all payments made prior to season will not be refunded, as those payments start going towards expenses that are made before season starts. (Tournament entries, etc...) We take commitments very serious and expect players to honor what they agree to upon team placement.
Q: Does Stellar move players up or down during the season? A: Generally, no. Only in the case of a team losing a player for the season would we ask another player to switch teams. Also, in that case member dues may change depending on the team. Additionally, if a team is short on players for a tournament, we may ask a player from another team to fill in.
Q: Does Stellar guarantee equal playing time during tournaments? A: No, playing time in tournaments is not equal nor guaranteed. Stellar coaches are asked to coach to win and put the best lineups on the court while ensuring that all players are provided opportunities to play when the coach sees fit. We utilize our practices to give players opportunites to earn more playing time.
Q: What is the 24-hour rule? A: We ask that no parents approach or discuss playing time, position changes etc. with a coach while at a tournament? We instead ask that the parent wait at least 24 hours after the tournament to discuss with the coach or Assistant Directors. If the issue is still not resolved, we ask that you follow the chain of command below.
Q: What is the chain of command if we have an issue? A: First, is always Player to Coach. Second: Player/Parent to Coach. Third, Parent to Assistant Director. Fourth, if necessary, Parent to Club Director. If a meeting is requested, it will be with the Assistant Director of the age group along with the coach.
Q: What is the Management Staff of Houston Stellar? A: Owners: Sara and Scott Zanon. Club Director – Sara, Business Dir.-Scott, Assistant Director/ Recruiting Director – TBD, Assistant Director- Christian Dunn, Claire Zanon (12’s-11’s and Developmental)
Q: Who do I contact regarding Recruiting questions? A: Sara Zanon is filling in this position for the time being. It's really a collective effort between Sara and Christian Dunn for recruiting questions at this time. We schedule a recruiting meeting for early spring before major tournaments kick up. If you have questions before then feel free to reach out to us.
Q: If I have questions about payments who do I contact? A: Robin Coonfield is our Finance Manager. Robin sends out all invoices and is responsible for all monthly payments. Robin’s email address is: [email protected].
Q: Does Houston Stellar provide any resources for famiies to possibly offset club dues for the season? A: Our live streaming source, Sporfie, is a great opportunity for families to sell scrolling sponsorship ads to companies, family members, or friends. Each ad is located on the bottom portion of the Sporfie screen and continues to scroll for the duration of the season. Families will get a portion of each ad sold, which goes towards their season dues. *Our cameras are on weekly in our gym, during all events, which allows for family members and players to log on and view and or go back and view.
Q: Are player travel expenses included in the dues? A: No, families are responsible arranging and paying for all transportation, lodging and food expenses for players. This is not included in the dues.
Q: Do we book our own flights if we are on a travel team? A: Yes, families are responsible for booking their own flights to tournaments. We will communicate the schedule once it is finalized. Q: Can we stay at any hotel we choose for out of town tournaments? A: Unfortunately, no. Most of the tournaments we attend are called stay and play. That means that we are required to stay at one of the approved hotels in order to play in the tournament. This is not an ideal process as many times we are at the mercy of what hotels are available from the tournament. We do our best to get quality hotels near the facility, but many times it is out of our control. Once we receive a hotel block it will be emailed to your team. You then must immediately reserve a room from the block by putting down your own credit card. We cannot stress enough the timeliness of making your reservation. Please do not wait. Once the room block expires, we cannot get those rooms back.