How Players Can Prepare Physically for Club Tryout Season

Club volleyball tryouts in the Philly area typically happen in late October or November. By that point, the high school season is wrapping up and players are transitioning from school ball into the club evaluation process.

The players who show up physically prepared stand out. Not because they’re the biggest or the strongest, but because they move well, they don’t gas out, and they can perform their skills consistently over a two- to three-hour tryout.

Here’s how your daughter can prepare her body for tryout season, whether she’s a first-timer or a returning player.

🗓️ When to Start

Six to eight weeks before tryouts is a good window to ramp up physical preparation. That puts the start date somewhere in early September for most Philly-area players, right around the time the high school season is in full swing.

If she’s playing school volleyball, she’s already practicing daily. The physical prep work described here supplements that. It’s not a replacement for volleyball practice, and it shouldn’t be so demanding that it affects her school season performance.

If she’s not playing school volleyball, the prep window is even more important. She needs to build a fitness base before showing up to a tryout cold.

🏃 Conditioning: Don’t Gas Out

Club tryouts are physically demanding. Players run drills, scrimmage, and perform skills for two to three hours, sometimes back to back over multiple days. The players who fade in the second half of a tryout put themselves at a disadvantage, no matter how talented they are.

What to do:

Build aerobic fitness first. Jogging, cycling, or any sustained activity for 20 to 30 minutes builds the base. She doesn’t need to be a distance runner. She needs the endurance to recover between bursts.

Then add interval work. Volleyball is a sport of short, explosive efforts followed by brief recovery. Sprint-and-recover drills mimic this pattern. Try 30-second sprints followed by 30 seconds of walking or light jogging, repeated 8 to 10 times. Or run court-length sprints (sideline to sideline on a basketball court) with a 15-second rest between reps.

Tip: Shuttle runs are the gold standard for volleyball conditioning. Set up two lines 20 feet apart. Sprint to the far line and back. That’s one rep. Start with 6 to 8 reps with 20 seconds rest between each. Build up from there.

🦵 Lower Body Strength: Jump and Move

Volleyball rewards explosive lower body power: jumping to hit and block, moving laterally to dig, and getting low to pass. Strength training doesn’t mean a heavy weight room program for a 12-year-old. It means building functional strength through bodyweight exercises and controlled movements.

Key exercises:

Squats. Bodyweight squats are the foundation. Focus on form: chest up, knees tracking over toes, full depth. Start with 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps. Add a light dumbbell or a loaded backpack as it gets easier.

Lunges. Forward lunges, reverse lunges, and walking lunges all build single-leg strength, which matters for approach footwork and lateral movement. 3 sets of 10 per leg.

Box jumps or jump squats. These build explosive power. If she doesn’t have a box, jump squats work fine. Squat down and explode upward, landing softly. 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. Focus on soft, controlled landings to protect her knees.

Lateral shuffles. Not strictly a strength exercise, but lateral movement drills build the hip and leg strength needed for defensive positioning. Set up two cones 10 to 15 feet apart and shuffle back and forth for 30-second sets.

Wall sits. A simple endurance builder for the quads. Hold for 30 to 45 seconds, 3 sets. This builds the strength to hold a low passing posture without her legs giving out.

💪 Core Strength: The Engine of Every Skill

Every volleyball skill (passing, setting, hitting, serving, diving) runs through the core. A strong core means better balance, more controlled movement, and more power transfer from legs to arms.

Key exercises:

Planks. Front planks and side planks, held for 30 to 60 seconds each. 3 sets. These build the stabilizing strength that keeps her body under control during dynamic movements.

Dead bugs. Lying on her back, extending opposite arm and leg while keeping her lower back pressed to the floor. 3 sets of 10 per side. This teaches core stability while limbs are moving, which is exactly what happens in volleyball.

Russian twists. Seated with feet off the ground, rotating side to side. Add a light ball or dumbbell for resistance. 3 sets of 15 per side. Rotational core strength powers the arm swing and torso rotation in hitting and serving.

Mountain climbers. 3 sets of 20. These combine core work with conditioning, building endurance in the midsection while keeping the heart rate up.

🏐 Volleyball-Specific Prep

Physical fitness is one piece. The other piece is making sure her volleyball skills are sharp heading into tryouts.

Passing. If she has a wall and a ball, she can work on her platform and hand control every day. Wall passing (bumping the ball against a wall repeatedly) builds consistency. Start close to the wall and back up as control improves.

Serving. If she has access to a gym or open outdoor space, serving practice is the highest-value skill work she can do before tryouts. A strong serve stands out in tryouts, and it’s a skill she can practice alone. Even without a net, serving against a wall from the right distance builds muscle memory.

Footwork. Practice her approach steps in the driveway or backyard. Left-right-left (for right-handed hitters) or right-left-right (for lefties), working on timing and consistent mechanics. She doesn’t need to hit a ball — the footwork pattern alone is worth repping.

⚠️ What to Avoid

Don’t cram. Starting a brutal conditioning program three days before tryouts won’t help. She’ll show up sore, tired, and performing below her best. Preparation should happen over weeks, not days.

Don’t overtrain. If she’s playing school volleyball daily plus doing additional conditioning and skill work, she needs adequate rest and recovery. Overtraining leads to fatigue, injury, and worse performance.

Don’t neglect nutrition and sleep. This sounds basic, but it matters more than most families realize. A player who’s well-rested, well-hydrated, and properly fueled will perform noticeably better than one who stayed up late and skipped breakfast. In the weeks before tryouts, prioritize sleep (8 to 10 hours for teens) and consistent meals.

📝 The Bottom Line

Tryouts reward players who are physically prepared, not just technically skilled. The player who can maintain her passing form in the last 30 minutes of tryouts — when everyone else is tired and sloppy — catches a coach’s eye.

Your daughter doesn’t need a personal trainer or a fancy gym to get ready. Bodyweight exercises, running, a ball, and a wall are enough. What matters is consistency — doing the work steadily over several weeks so she walks into that gym confident, conditioned, and ready to compete.