FAQs

NIVA is a volleyball club in Northern Indiana that trains male and female volleyball players from toddlers to college.

We believe the goal of club is to help kids get better...simple as that.  Whether its for elementary, middle, high school or college, we want to help players achieve their goals through our various training opportunities.  Along the way of improving their mental and technical side of the game, they learn how to be a teammate, grow into a leader, face and deal with adversity and rise to the challenge.  We are firm believers that sports can help you in life beyond just the game!

NIVA strives to keep our fees low and reasonable to give every athlete an opportunity to play, no matter their financial situation. Fees vary depending on the age group and type of team you play on. Please refer to our NIVA FEES tab at the top of our welcome page for more information. 

Players often times find local business sponsors to help offset costs.  NIVA also offers optional fundraisers and work opportunities to help with fees.  If you are interested in working for credit, please email nivajrs@gmail.com

Fees cover paying coaches, gym time, rec uniforms, equipment such as nets/volleyballs/ball carts, player and facility insurance and tournament entry fees for the teams. Fees do not cover shoes, knee pads, hotel accommodations (for travel players), gas, entry for parents into the tournaments (if there is one) and food at the tournament.

Feeder teams are the rec club teams for 3rd-8th graders.  These are more developmental teams that don't require as much time for training as travel teams.  These are great teams for beginners or anyone that can't commit to travel but still wants to work on their skills during the offseason.

The term "feeder" comes from the way it is set up...players play for the feeder program of the high school they will eventually attend (or "feed into").  Local high school coaches run teams with NIVA as a way for players to practice and play for their future high school coach.  This allows each high school program to start training players the way they want them to play. The feeder head (high school varsity coach usually) organizes their own feeder in the NIVA family.  They choose tryouts, coaches, practice locations/days/times, training, etc.  

Feeder programs have teams in the 10 & under, 12 & under and 14 & under divisions and it goes by your grade level.
10U - 3rd & 4th grade
12U - 5th & 6th grade
14U - 7th & 8th grade
**If your feeder program has enough players, an 11U team would be all 5th graders and a 13U team would be all 7th graders but most feeders combine across two age groups for sake of numbers and making teams.

Yes! NIVA has 3 rec options for players that attend schools without their own feeder. 

1.  Independent Feeder
2.  NIVA South
3.  NIVA East

The "Independent Feeder" is our house feeder....a program run by NIVA administrators and coaches from multiple schools working together.  Any player from any school can play in this program. We have girls from Buchanan, Brandywine, South Bend, Edwardsburg, Fairfield, Mishawaka, Niles, ICCL, private schools, homeschool and Penn.  

NIVA South teams practice out of the Plymouth AutoPark and is open to any player from any school.

NIVA East teams practice out of Warsaw and is open to any player from any school.

This allows any player to play, even if their high school does not run a feeder!

Any girl from any school from 10-18 can play for our travel teams. We have travel teams from 11U-18U.  See the  Age Group Expectations to see what age your daughter would fit into based on her birth date.

Due to IHSAA rules, at the high school level, only 3 girls from a particular high school can play on a team. This means the travel teams are a combination of players representing various high schools. Travel is run under its own section of NIVA and does not affiliate with any particular school and works to develop players for ALL of the area programs...we want the top players in each age group to complete the most competitive teams possible.

Every year is an OPEN tryout - we do NOT offer spots on teams to anyone until tryouts are complete.  EVERY PLAYER has to attend a tryout to be placed on a team.  We do not keep teams together specifically either.  If it works out, that is great but every year new girls come to the club and the make up of teams is shifted!

This is a question that each family has to answer on their own based on financials and time but here is some information that may help guide you:

The general idea is that the more skilled players and players that want to play at a higher/more competitive model or in college should play travel.  That is not the case 100% of the time but generally speaking, that is true.

Most girls will start in the rec/club program for the first few years and then switch to travel for more intense skill training and competition.  Again, that is different for every player and family - and what school team you are trying to make.  Some programs are way more competitive and tougher to make the team so players want the extra touches, training and time on the court to hone their skills.

Generally speaking, 6th or 7th grade is a good time to do travel.  It gives you some time to really work on skills before trying out for your high school team.  Travel teams get 3-10x the touches in the season...to put it in perspective, most rec teams are getting 18 matches and about 30 hours of practice a season while travel teams are getting:
Purple/Black/Onyx (National teams): approx 70 matches & 160 practice hours
White/Grey (Select teams): approx 50 matches & 100 practice hours
Silver/Jade/Ruby (Elite teams): approx 45 matches & 100 practice hours
Pink/Blue teams (Regional teams): 35 matches & 36 practice hours

Obviously the older you get, the more intense the training and expectations and the tougher it is to make a team without having that skill growth that others have had.  The talent level of the team, the background of the coaches and the competition is usually much higher in travel.  

We have had players as early as 4th grade and we have had players start travel as juniors so there is no clear cut answer but just some general thoughts to help you make that decision.  Please feel free to reach out if you have individual questions too!

NIVA assigns players to teams based on a combination of try-out results and team composition needs.

Try-out results are based on volleyball skill, attitude, work ethic and communication. Team composition needs are determined by each coach as far as positions and talent level needed to best compete at the designated level.

The ultimate goal is to assign players to a team where they will have the best chance of individual success and be able to contribute to the team's success. 

We have a team of coaches that will evaluate each age group and use TeamGenius (a tryout app) that helps score different skills and rank players based on what we see at tryouts.

REC TEAMS: 
Each feeder decides if their program will make cuts.  Most will not make cuts if they can help it but if there are more girls than spots/coaches/gym space, sometimes cuts have to be made. In that case, players will be placed on a roster at our 3 main hubs...NIVA Main (the Independent Feeder), NIVA South and NIVA East are all programs that do not make cuts and will place every player!

Team size ranges from 8-12 girls. It depends on the needs of the team, but we try to keep team sizes down so girls have more of an opportunity to contribute on the court. 

Our main location for NIVA is the Mishawaka Fieldhouse, 6155 Veterans Parkway, Mishawaka.  The independent feeder, high school rec and travel teams will practice here.
Feeder teams will practice in their local school gyms to keep you close to home for practices.

Rec Teams Playing Time Philosophy:
10U, 11U, 12U:  close to equal playing time if they are at practices and there are no other issues.  The focus on these age level teams is for ALL athletes to develop and learn the game.  We want them playing all around and learning skills for all positions.

13U, 14U, HS Rec: playing time will not be distributed equally.  These teams are still rec teams so every player will get to play but it may not be equal.   Playing time will be based on ability, work ethic, attendance at practice, communication and attitude.

Travel Teams Playing Time Philosophy
Playing time is not guaranteed and not distributed equally.  These teams are considered "elite" teams and playing time will be at the discretion of the coach based on work ethic, attitude, hustle and ability.  Many players come to travel teams after being the "studs" at their schools but are now on teams full of "studs" from other schools.  We will work as coaches to help every player improve and reach their potential but at this level, if everyone is working hard and has ability, a player has to do more than just improve and work hard...to play, you have to contribute to the team and be better than the person playing in front of you.

Rec tournament dates are set for 2026 under the tab: Power League Info.  The schedule for who you play/time is posted the Wednesday before each date.  Your team will select Saturday or Sunday and AM or PM wave for the season so you will know your timeframe each week, just not who you play until we calculate results from the prior tournament and reseed teams.  The final weekend is a 2 day tournament where we play down to one winner!

HERE is the tentative 2026 travel tournament schedule! Once the season gets started, for each tournament, schedules are generally posted the Wednesday or Thursday before the tournament.  Your coach and/or team parent will contact you with playing details.  Parents, DO NOT contact a tournament director for schedules.

NIVA offers apparel and other items every year.

Rec teams are outfitted through Its Tops (local business).  There is a specific time frame window for parents and players to order - this will be communicated once the season starts.  All ordering is done online and shipped to your parent rep/team parent to distribute.

Travel teams are outfitted through Under Armour at 431sports and the SPIRIT WEAR STORE is open all year and items ship directly to you.  

Any player from any team can order through either option!

Any general questions can be answered by your coach or feeder head.  If they do not have the answer, you can email the following admins:
Adria Anderson, NIVA Director
contact for: fundraisers, girls' travel, feeder/power league
nivajrs@gmail.com

Tyler Ferguson, NIVA Director
Contact for: NIVA boys (rec and travel), beach, spring & summer programming, train-and-plays
niva.tyler@gmail.com

Kaitlyn Hickey, NIVA Director
Contact for: payments/fees and independent feeder
NIVA.Kaitlyn@gmail.com
Contact for: recruiting
NIVARecruiting@gmail.com

Any concerns can be directed to your specific coach first. If the question cannot be answered or the issue cannot be resolved that way, talk to the head of your program. If the question/issue still cannot be handled, it will then be brought to the directors. Please remember the 48-hour rule to talk to a coach about an issue - do not approach them about concerns at a game or practice but schedule a time to meet and discuss after 48 hours.