I just received an invitation from Western Loudoun Volleyball Club to attend pre-tryouts for this season. After an awful experience last year, we won’t be going. In looking at the possible coaches and their online resumes they looked “embellished” to me. I found the following obvious discrepancies:
Sara Bolen or Sarah Bolan? The WLVBC.org site states she is/was the Varsity coach at HeritageHigh School in Leesburg. There is no coach Bolan at Heritage. The coach is Allison Smith and the previous coach was there for ten years and was not named Bolan or Bolen. I have no idea if she played in college as stated or not.
Hope Marquart? Last year at tryouts she told us she had played volleyball in college and was a freshman coach at Woodgrove High. Her online resume also states she was a Freshman Coach at Woodgrove. I could not find a Coach Marquart affiliated with WoodgroveHigh School. She was a team manager for the freshman team in 2012. I could find no record of her playing in college.
Bob Daniels? His online resume states he has coached volleyball for 25+ years. My research shows he was a JV coach at Woodgrove in 2012. He only coached at Woodgrove for one year. He was also an assistant coach in 2012 at Western Loudoun and coached a team last year for Western Loudoun. Not sure where he coached for the other 20+ years.
Dave Mengel is the current JV coach at Woodgrove, and his resume looks legit. Same for Mr. Fortunato, Koons, and Mrs. Blankenship.
SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS REPORT for an EXCERPT FROM THE WLVBC Website. Wlvbc.org as viewed on October 1, 2014.
I made the mistake of picking Western Loudoun Volleyball Club over several other volleyball clubs last season. My daughter had her heart set on playing for a much more prestigious club/team, however Western Loudoun Volleyball Club was less expensive, and I had a friend whose daughter was a volunteer at the club. Therefore, we tried it. You get what you pay for. In the end it was a waste of my daughter’s time to be a member of this club.
We were sorely disappointed when we learned that the team was dominated by the children of the coaches, the children of the volunteer staff and the friends of those children. This was true for every team. I have no idea why Western Loudoun Volleyball Club has open tryouts, when the teams are mostly pre-selected.
As the season unfolded it became obvious that playtime was not evenly distributed or distributed by statistics, but rather the coaches’ daughters (and friends) and volunteer’s daughters played all of the time. The remaining girls were left to sit on the bench and offset the fees of the coach’s children, volunteer’s children, friends etc. Sadly this is typical of club teams when parents or a close friend of a child is coaching. They are coaching for the benefit of their children, not yours.
As time went on, it became apparent that while some of the coaches had played volleyball and were in it for the good of everyone, the majority of the coaches were not qualified to coach above a recreation league level. Yes, your child will get to practice, and they may even get to play, but do not expect them to learn technique or to improve their game rapidly. If they need to improve to make or keep a spot on their high school volleyball team, or if they want to play in college, this is not the club to get you there.
When looking for a club team for your daughter, consider the person who is coaching your daughter, their motivation to coach and their experience. Do not rely on an online and easily embellished or fabricated resume to tell you who they are. Do some research online and with other parents.
The following is an EXCERPT FROM THE WLVBC Website. Wlvbc.org as viewed on October 1, 2014.
Our Coaches
Western Loudoun Volleyball Coaches for 2014-2015
WLVBC 12/13s Head Coach Sara Bolan
Coach Sara Bolen will lead the 12s/13s team in 2014-2015. Bolen is an experienced volleyball player at both the high school (LoudounValley) and college (FrostburgState) levels. Her coaching experience includes serving as the assistant and varsity coach at HeritageHigh School. This is her first season with WLVBC.
Coach Greg Fortunato and Assistant Coach Bryan Koons will lead the 14s in 2014-2015. Fortunato is an experienced coach at both WLVBC (3rd season) and Loudoun Youth Volleyball (XX seasons). Koons is in his third year at WLVBC (two with a club team, one year as an assistant with the Saturday Skills and Scrimmage program). He is also in his third season coaching Loudoun Youth Volleyball. Koons played club volleyball in college
Coach Aubrey Blankenship and Assistant Coach Noelle Blankenship will lead the 15s in 2014-2015. In 2014, they were the coaches for WLVBC’s 14s team, which found success at many levels at CHRVA tournaments. This is their third season with WLVBC.
WLVBC 16s Head Coach Dave Mengel & Assistant Coach Karen Mengel
Coach Dave Mengel and Assistant Coach Karen Mengel will lead the 16s in 2014-2015. David Mengel brings many years of experience coaching youth sports to WLVBC. He is the currently JV Coach at WoodgroveHigh School. He has coached women’s volleyball, all levels of Loudoun Youth Volleyball (LYV), and club volleyball from 13u-15u. He has also coached the Skills and Scrimmage program for WLVBC during its inaugural year. David has also played volleyball for more than 25 years, and brings insightful technical knowledge from all perspectives. Karen Mengel has also coached LYV and club volleyball for NVVA and WLVBC for ages 12u-15u.
WLVBC 17′s Head Coach Bob Daniels & Assistant Coach Hope Marquart
Head Coach Bob Daniels and Assistant Coach Hope Marquart will lead the 17s in 2014-2015. Both coaches are experienced WLVBC Coaches (4th year). Daniels is a CAP II certified coach, involved in coaching volleyball for 25+ years, and served as Woodgrove’s Junior Varsity Coach. Marquart has served as Woodgrove’s Freshman Coach and coached the Skills and Scrimmage program for WLVBC.
The 'new director' to the organization has a questionable reputation at best, at least one coach and many of the girls who played on the team he was administer for last year will not be back under any circumstances, ever. He fabricated statistics for his own daughters benefit, but even after a parent complained it was not addressed. Most of us were not concerned about it at first because it did not impact our children's play time directly. It became blatantly obvious and once it was noticed that the embellished statistics for his daughter impacted the teams ability to win we all started wondering why the team coach did not address the obvious issue. The only answer would be to ensure his coaching spot for the 2014-2015 year.
I did online research on this club and found this article as well as the one on rip off report. My daughter was offered a spot after tryouts for one of the teams so we thought we would give it a try. This is a sketchy organization at best. Keep looking and do not make a mistake of settling in hopes that it will work out. Or you can wait for some of the admonition to move along, the small numbers on the teams are a direct result of the some inherent problems as mentioned by many in the various postings.
Western Loudoun Volleyball Club Reviews
I just received an invitation from Western Loudoun Volleyball Club to attend pre-tryouts for this season. After an awful experience last year, we won’t be going. In looking at the possible coaches and their online resumes they looked “embellished” to me. I found the following obvious discrepancies:
Sara Bolen or Sarah Bolan? The WLVBC.org site states she is/was the Varsity coach at HeritageHigh School in Leesburg. There is no coach Bolan at Heritage. The coach is Allison Smith and the previous coach was there for ten years and was not named Bolan or Bolen. I have no idea if she played in college as stated or not.
Hope Marquart? Last year at tryouts she told us she had played volleyball in college and was a freshman coach at Woodgrove High. Her online resume also states she was a Freshman Coach at Woodgrove. I could not find a Coach Marquart affiliated with WoodgroveHigh School. She was a team manager for the freshman team in 2012. I could find no record of her playing in college.
Bob Daniels? His online resume states he has coached volleyball for 25+ years. My research shows he was a JV coach at Woodgrove in 2012. He only coached at Woodgrove for one year. He was also an assistant coach in 2012 at Western Loudoun and coached a team last year for Western Loudoun. Not sure where he coached for the other 20+ years.
Dave Mengel is the current JV coach at Woodgrove, and his resume looks legit. Same for Mr. Fortunato, Koons, and Mrs. Blankenship.
SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS REPORT for an EXCERPT FROM THE WLVBC Website. Wlvbc.org as viewed on October 1, 2014.
I made the mistake of picking Western Loudoun Volleyball Club over several other volleyball clubs last season. My daughter had her heart set on playing for a much more prestigious club/team, however Western Loudoun Volleyball Club was less expensive, and I had a friend whose daughter was a volunteer at the club. Therefore, we tried it. You get what you pay for. In the end it was a waste of my daughter’s time to be a member of this club.
We were sorely disappointed when we learned that the team was dominated by the children of the coaches, the children of the volunteer staff and the friends of those children. This was true for every team. I have no idea why Western Loudoun Volleyball Club has open tryouts, when the teams are mostly pre-selected.
As the season unfolded it became obvious that playtime was not evenly distributed or distributed by statistics, but rather the coaches’ daughters (and friends) and volunteer’s daughters played all of the time. The remaining girls were left to sit on the bench and offset the fees of the coach’s children, volunteer’s children, friends etc. Sadly this is typical of club teams when parents or a close friend of a child is coaching. They are coaching for the benefit of their children, not yours.
As time went on, it became apparent that while some of the coaches had played volleyball and were in it for the good of everyone, the majority of the coaches were not qualified to coach above a recreation league level. Yes, your child will get to practice, and they may even get to play, but do not expect them to learn technique or to improve their game rapidly. If they need to improve to make or keep a spot on their high school volleyball team, or if they want to play in college, this is not the club to get you there.
When looking for a club team for your daughter, consider the person who is coaching your daughter, their motivation to coach and their experience. Do not rely on an online and easily embellished or fabricated resume to tell you who they are. Do some research online and with other parents.
The following is an EXCERPT FROM THE WLVBC Website. Wlvbc.org as viewed on October 1, 2014.
Our Coaches
Western Loudoun Volleyball Coaches for 2014-2015
WLVBC 12/13s Head Coach Sara Bolan
Coach Sara Bolen will lead the 12s/13s team in 2014-2015. Bolen is an experienced volleyball player at both the high school (LoudounValley) and college (FrostburgState) levels. Her coaching experience includes serving as the assistant and varsity coach at HeritageHigh School. This is her first season with WLVBC.
WLVBC 14s Head Coach Greg Fortunato & Assistant Coach Bryan Koons
Coach Greg Fortunato and Assistant Coach Bryan Koons will lead the 14s in 2014-2015. Fortunato is an experienced coach at both WLVBC (3rd season) and Loudoun Youth Volleyball (XX seasons). Koons is in his third year at WLVBC (two with a club team, one year as an assistant with the Saturday Skills and Scrimmage program). He is also in his third season coaching Loudoun Youth Volleyball. Koons played club volleyball in college
WLVBC 15s Head Coach Aubrey Blankenship & Assistant Coach Noelle Blankenship
Coach Aubrey Blankenship and Assistant Coach Noelle Blankenship will lead the 15s in 2014-2015. In 2014, they were the coaches for WLVBC’s 14s team, which found success at many levels at CHRVA tournaments. This is their third season with WLVBC.
WLVBC 16s Head Coach Dave Mengel & Assistant Coach Karen Mengel
Coach Dave Mengel and Assistant Coach Karen Mengel will lead the 16s in 2014-2015. David Mengel brings many years of experience coaching youth sports to WLVBC. He is the currently JV Coach at WoodgroveHigh School. He has coached women’s volleyball, all levels of Loudoun Youth Volleyball (LYV), and club volleyball from 13u-15u. He has also coached the Skills and Scrimmage program for WLVBC during its inaugural year. David has also played volleyball for more than 25 years, and brings insightful technical knowledge from all perspectives. Karen Mengel has also coached LYV and club volleyball for NVVA and WLVBC for ages 12u-15u.
WLVBC 17′s Head Coach Bob Daniels & Assistant Coach Hope Marquart
Head Coach Bob Daniels and Assistant Coach Hope Marquart will lead the 17s in 2014-2015. Both coaches are experienced WLVBC Coaches (4th year). Daniels is a CAP II certified coach, involved in coaching volleyball for 25+ years, and served as Woodgrove’s Junior Varsity Coach. Marquart has served as Woodgrove’s Freshman Coach and coached the Skills and Scrimmage program for WLVBC.
unethical leadership
The 'new director' to the organization has a questionable reputation at best, at least one coach and many of the girls who played on the team he was administer for last year will not be back under any circumstances, ever. He fabricated statistics for his own daughters benefit, but even after a parent complained it was not addressed. Most of us were not concerned about it at first because it did not impact our children's play time directly. It became blatantly obvious and once it was noticed that the embellished statistics for his daughter impacted the teams ability to win we all started wondering why the team coach did not address the obvious issue. The only answer would be to ensure his coaching spot for the 2014-2015 year.
2015-16 NOTHING HAS CHANGED
I did online research on this club and found this article as well as the one on rip off report. My daughter was offered a spot after tryouts for one of the teams so we thought we would give it a try. This is a sketchy organization at best. Keep looking and do not make a mistake of settling in hopes that it will work out. Or you can wait for some of the admonition to move along, the small numbers on the teams are a direct result of the some inherent problems as mentioned by many in the various postings.