Central Alberta Grass Volleyball Tour – Summer 2025
Our summer grass volleyball tour involves weekly training as well as weekend tournaments throughout Central Alberta. Each tournament will be hosted in a different location, and teams will have the chance to win prizes and improve their ranking.
Training
Each athlete will have the opportunity to train weekly in their community. These sessions will be divided by level to allow each athlete to grow and improve. See below for schedules for your community! Athletes are allowed to train multiple times per week by signing up for multiple locations!
Tournaments
The grass volleyball tour involves 5 grass volleyball tournaments throughout the June-Aug season. Each tournament will take place on a Saturday. Grass volleyball is played as a 3v3 game, on a slightly smaller court than indoor volleyball. See below for more info! Tournaments are for level 3+ players only. Level 1-2 is a training program without tournaments.
Level 1-2 Programs: The exact weekday and time for each level 1-2 program is listed near the bottom of this page, because each location has a slightly different schedule. The level 1-2 programs start during the first week of July, and the last week of the season is August 18th-22nd.
Level 3+ Programs: The day and time for practices varies based on the location. See the info sheets at the bottom of this page for details for your city. Level 3+ programs start at the beginning of June, and the season ends with the final tournament on August 23rd.
Want to train multiple times per week? Athletes are welcome to train in several locations to practice more than once per week. Registration for a second location is $195 for level 3+, because your clothing and tournament registration has already been covered, and we give a bit of a discount on your practice fees. Email us if you’d like to play in multiple locations!
Level 1-2 Programs: Fees for the season will be $145. This includes weekly 1 hour training sessions and clothing.
Level 3+ Programs: Fees for the season will be $370. This includes weekly 1.5 hour training sessions (level 9-10 is 2 hours), 5 tournaments, and clothing.
Want to train multiple times per week? Athletes are welcome to train in several locations to practice more than once per week. Registration for a second location is $165 – because your clothing and tournament registration has already been covered, and we give a bit of a discount on your practice fees. You can register for additional training while registering for the program.
**CASC does not let finances prevent any youth player from joining** Please contact us if you need financial assistance.
There will be 5 total tournaments throughout the summer. Level 3+ athletes will be eligible to play in all 5, while Level 1/2 players will only have 2 tournaments with a suitable division for them to participate in. Tournament registration costs are included in season fees for all players – no extra fees will be charged for the tournaments. We understand that athletes may have summer vacation plans, and there is no expectation for players to attend all the tournaments if they are unable to. Tournament dates (subject to change) are listed below.
Red Deer – June 28th
Sylvan Lake – July 19th
Lacombe – July 26th
Location TBC – August 9th
Sylvan Lake – August 23rd
For grass volleyball, each team is comprised of 3 players. There are no subs, which means that each player will get plenty of time playing! See below for answers to some FAQ’s about teams! If you have questions that are not answered below, please email us at info@centralalbertasportsclub.ca
Do I need to have a team of 3 confirmed before registering? No. Most athletes do not have teams set up before joining us. We will assist athletes with forming teams with other players who have complementary skills. Teams do not have to be formed before the training starts.
Do I need to play with the same players for each tournament? No. You may form different teams for each tournament. In fact, we expect that there will be very few teams who have the same 3 players all season. Many families have summer vacation plans, and our system accounts for that!
Do I need to play with other players who are the same age, gender, and from the same city? No. You can play with anyone you choose. We recommend playing with others who are somewhat similar in level for the best possible experience. Keep in mind, the teammates you choose will impact your ranking heading into a tournament. More on this below.
How does CASC determine seeding for each tournament? Each athlete will receive a certain number of ranking points when they are assigned to a level. They will also receive ranking points based on their results in each tournament. These points are assigned to each individual, and when a team is formed, their ‘team points’ are the average score of each athletes individual points. Example: Player 1 wins a level 5 tournament and receives 500 ranking points. However, Player 2 and Player 3 both played on a level 4 team and received 395 ranking points for the tournament result. If player 1, 2, and 3 decide to team up for the next tournament, their average points would be 430 – which would rank them below average in the next level 5 tournament even though player 1 had previously won the level 5 tournament. If this does not make sense to you – don’t worry – we’ll take care of all keeping track of all the points.
How do I move up to a higher division for the next tournament? If your team ranking points are in the top 3 of your division, you have the option to move up to a higher division. Don’t worry – you don’t need to calculate your team points. CASC will contact you if you are eligible to register for a higher division!
NEW for this season: CASC has re-designated our levels to allow them to be more granular and specific. Level 1’s from the spring season are now classified as either level 1 or level 2. Leve 2’s from the spring season are now classified as either level 3 or level 4. Etc… This allows each level to be a smaller range of abilities.
NEW PLAYERS will need to attend a placement tryout with CASC. The goal of these tryouts is not to ‘cut’ players – instead, we work to place each athlete at the correct level!
There are several different tryout dates that athletes may attend. To sign up and pick a tryout date, please head to the registration link at the bottom of this page!
RETURNING PLAYERS who are currently playing with CASC do not need to attend a tryout. We conduct evaluations during the season to determine who would be best suited in each level! Returning players may sign up below.
We often get asked about what our coaches are looking for at tryouts in order to assign each player to a level. The list below shows some of the things we are looking for, and it is generally ordered from basic to advanced. This is a general list and it applies to many ages, and some of these points do not apply to grass volleyball. For younger or less experienced athletes, we are only looking to see if they have the skills near the top of the list.
- Awareness of the court, ball, and teammates
- Calling the ball (“mine!”) before playing it.
- Ability to pass the ball on your arms (not your hands!)
- Ability to set the ball
- Ability to serve the ball over the net (underhand or overhand)
- Ability to do a correct attacking approach and hit the ball over the net.
- Ability to pass and set accurately in a controlled environment
- Ability to hit the ball without spin (float serve) and with spin (attack)
- Ability to back set and side set
- Ability to pass accurately in any direction by angling your platform.
- Ability to do correct blocking footwork (quick 1, shuffle 2, big 3) and a clean block “press”
- Ability to set a high ball consistently to either pin using hands or forearms.
- Ability to receive serves consistently with good technique
- Ability and willingness to call short/mid/deep/dropping when the opposing team is serving towards one of your teammates.
- Ability to call an attacking option mid-game consistently (High, Go, Black, Shoot, Hut, 1, 3, 6, Red, A, Pipe, C, D, Wide, etc)
- Ability to adjust attacking timing based on which play the team is running
- [Setters] Ability to quickly choose and execute the correct footwork option
- [Attackers] Ability to see the court and blockers and choose a good attacking option
- Ability to read the attackers and servers on an opposing team
- Ability to make in-game adjustments to blocking and defensive strategy based on tendencies or adjustments that the opposing team makes.
- Ability to identify in-game adjustments that need to be made based on the options the opposing team is giving you.
We are looking for parents who may want to assist with either coaching and/or tournament setup/management AND advanced high school athletes who may want to assist with coaching younger athletes. See below for more details about each role! Depending on the level of involvement, we offer partial season fee discounts for your kids or completely free season fees for your kids. Advanced high school athletes who work with us may be eligible for an official summer job. Contact us if you’d like to be involved! info@centralalbertasportsclub.ca
Grass Volleyball Assistant Coach
All training and tournaments will be lead by CASC coaches. However, there are openings for assistant coaches during training sessions and tournaments. Assistant coaches are expected to fill the following roles:
- Attend training sessions in your community
- Connect with the players, and help motivate them to focus, put in full effort, and listen to instructions.
- Help reinforce the concepts, technique, and strategy that the CASC lead coaches explain and demo.
- Attend tournaments (when you are available) and help give teams feedback in between games. Grass tournaments don’t involve mid-game coaching.
Tournament Setup/Management Roles
For each of the 5 tournaments this summer, we will need some assistance with the following roles. These roles take place throughout the day for each tournament, but it is not a full day of work. This is a great role for parents who have kids who are participating in tournaments – you will still have plenty of time to watch your kids play! No volleyball experience is required, but some physical mobility and organizational skills are required.
- Setup and Takedown: Nets, Lines, Flags, Canopies, and other items need to be set up and taken down. This is a significant task, so we’d like several people helping here to ensure that nobody has too much work to do. People who take on these roles will need to arrive early for the tournament or stay late. We will train you on how to setup and takedown each piece of equipment.
- Scheduling and Game Result Recording: CASC staff will make the schedule and arrange all the games, but we need some assistance with
(i) helping to answer athlete/parent questions about when the next games are
(ii) recording game results
(iii) ensuring the correct teams are playing and the correct teams are reffing. These three tasks are very simple and involve being able to read the schedule. We will train each individual in this area.
We divide players into levels based on their tryouts (new athletes) and spring end-of-season evaluations (returning athletes). We take skill level, mental awareness, maturity, and age into account to determine the appropriate level. There will be some mixed ages within each level.
NEW for this season: Athletes will have the opportunity to move up to a higher level during the season, based on their tournament results and coach feedback. There is no limit to how much a player can progress.
NEW for this season: CASC has re-designated our levels to allow them to be more granular and specific. Level 1’s from the spring season are now classified as either level 1 or level 2. Level 2’s from the spring season are now classified as either level 3 or level 4. Etc… This allows each level to be a smaller range of abilities. We will often have two consecutive levels training at the same time with the same lead coach, but they’ll be on different courts.
At CASC, we understand that many families have summer vacation plans that will cause athletes to miss part of the grass volleyball season. CASC will discount your registration to account for missed practices and tournaments! To claim this offer, please register for the season, and then contact us to notify us of the week(s) that you’ll be away so that we can apply the discount to your account. info@centralalbertasportsclub.ca
NEW for this season: CASC has re-designated our levels to allow them to be more granular and specific. Level 1’s from the spring season are now classified as either level 1 or level 2. Level 2’s from the spring season are now classified as either level 3 or level 4. Etc… This allows each level to be a smaller range of abilities. We will often have two consecutive levels training at the same time with the same lead coach, but they’ll be on different courts.
In the event of bad weather — including high winds, heavy rain, hail, or storms — practices may be cancelled.
We will post all cancellation notices on our Facebook, Instagram pages and through TeamSnap, so please check there before heading to practice if the weather looks questionable.
If your practice is cancelled due to weather, you’re welcome to attend any other practice at a different location that same week to make up for it.
For tournament days, if poor weather prevents play, we will do our best to reschedule the tournament to a later date and communicate that with as much notice as possible.
We appreciate your flexibility and understanding!
Location-Specific Information
Check out our schedules for each location and level! Players are allowed to play in any city they choose, and they are also allowed to participate in multiple locations – if you register for one city, you’ll be able to train in a second city at a discounted rate. For info about playing in a second location, see the ‘Season Fees’ section above!
New to CASC? Join us for placement tryouts. Your tryouts may not be in your home city, but you will be able to select which city you sign up for when you register for the season!
Tryout times:
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM for ages 8-12
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM for ages 13-17
For the following dates:
- May 12th – Red Deer, Hunting Hills High School
- May 13th – Sylvan Lake, Ryder’s Field next to Lady of Rosary
- May 14th – Lacombe Upper Elementary
- ADDITIONAL TRYOUT – May 30th – Lacombe Junior High School