Knowing when a season starts is essential for playing it and watching and cheering on your team. Volleyball can be tricky to locate the stations, so I will break it down today.
So when does the volleyball season start? The volleyball season changes depending on the level and type of volleyball you are playing. Indoor volleyball is played in the fall and spring, beach volleyball in the summer, and snow volleyball in the winter. The usual start for fall volleyball is August, while spring volleyball is February.
Not knowing when the volleyball season starts can cost you a spot on the team by missing tryouts, so all players must know when to be ready.
In this article, I will be discussing:
- The different seasons of volleyball.
- Duration of volleyball leagues
- Differences in country politics
Volleyball Seasons
Volleyball is a sport that can be played year-round, and that makes answering the question, “When does volleyball start?” difficult. While one style of volleyball may be out of season, there is potentially another option to enjoy; it’s about knowing where to look.
The different styles of volleyball are indoor, beach, and snow volleyball, with the indoor seasons lasting longer (3-4 months each for 6-8 months).
However, for the die-hard gamer, someone can always be found to play with, depending on where you live. For the United States, areas like California, New York, and Texas are hot spots for the sport, with solid representation in the Midwest.
Whether you’re looking to join a school team or a club or enter an open tournament, knowing when the season starts is essential.
To make things easier for you, I have compiled a helpful table that is easy to read and navigate.
High school;
Middle and high school volleyball is played almost exclusively indoors. This is done for practical reasons, as most schools do not have the budget to build a beach court, and most schools are not located near the beach. If your school is an exception, you should feel fortunate: instant access to beach volleyball!
The boys/girls’ seasons are very similar, only separated by the winter holidays. Women’s volleyball begins in the fall, with tryouts in August or September. Men’s volleyball starts in the spring, with tryouts in February.
Our boys’ volleyball tryouts in high school were always held on Valentine’s Day. For volleyball and me, it was love at first sight.
These seasonal divisions between fall and spring are reasonably consistent for schools in the United States, with a few exceptions. Wisconsin, Virginia, and New York state have some school districts that play volleyball year-round: boys play in the fall and girls in the spring.
If you live in one of these states, check with your school to determine which seasons they are part of. After all, it’s always better to be safe than sorry; once you miss testing, it’s often too late.
Club volleyball
Club volleyball is played at the middle, high, and collegiate levels, with most seasons beginning in August or September. This includes men’s and women’s volleyball, with the club seasons concurrent.
While most clubs focus primarily on indoor volleyball, you’ll inevitably experience a bit of beach and grass volleyball, as I’ve never met a club coach who isn’t eager to shake things up.
College volleyball
College and university volleyball in the United States adheres to pre-established sports conventions in seasonal divisions. This means that women’s volleyball starts in the fall, in August or September, while men’s volleyball starts earlier in the spring, usually in January.
The only exceptions to this are in any tournament that has yet to conclude by the end of your season. This can include national divisions and finals, which are some of the highlights of volleyball worldwide.
In countries beyond America, this start of the season changes. In the UK, for example, and in many places in Europe, the men’s and women’s volleyball seasons start in the fall, in September. Both genders of teams play throughout the year, with the tournament season beginning in the spring after the conclusion of the regular league season.
With the arrival of summer, beach volleyball season comes to college teams, but that’s a discussion for another section (see “Beach Volleyball” below).
Professional and Olympic volleyball
Professional volleyball leagues have unique schedules worldwide but are generally played year-round. Like the Polish and Russian leagues, most start in October and continue until May.
The best and only way to know the schedule is to check the relevant league schedule, found online at their site. Recruitment can take place up to a year in advance, so if you’re looking for information on that side of the coin, try emailing the league director to get it rolling.
Even above the standard level of professional play, the highest levels of competition and tournaments, like the Volleyball World Cup and the Olympics, occur between June and August. Here, the best of the best are chosen to fight on the highest stage – exciting!
Even if you don’t follow the teams in their leagues, these tournaments are a lot of fun to watch and support and take place every year, so check when (and where!) the next one is taking place to ensure you don’t miss any of them.
Beach volleyball
Summer is the season for beach volleyball. While you can scout a friend and find a net (or set one up yourself) as long as the weather is warm enough, the official beach volleyball season typically runs from May through August.
However, professional beach players will typically train year-round, which can result in competitions outside these limits. However, when in doubt, use your common sense. A bit of summer chill won’t kill you, and if they can train in Norway, you can probably play where you are too.
Snow volleyball
Unlike beach volleyball, snow volleyball takes place exclusively in winter, and its season usually starts in December or January.
This volleyball depends more on weather conditions than any other volleyball variant. While playing in the spring ski season is ideal, the snow is muddier and not as firm for playing.
On the other hand, playing during a snowstorm is neither viable nor fun. Finding a balance in the weather is just as essential to start the season as it is to finish it, and this makes the snow volleyball season much shorter than other types of volleyball.
How long is the volleyball season?
High school;
The high school season lasts 2-3 months, while the high school volleyball season lasts 3-4 months.
This can include around ten games per season and occasionally the inclusion of a tournament if your team and coach are up for it.
club volleyball
The club volleyball season lasts between 6 and 9 months, depending on where you play, and usually includes at least 15 matches and 3 or 5 tournaments.
These games may be against other clubs in your district or, more commonly for large clubs than smaller ones, against other teams of a similar level in your organization. Tournaments are the highlight and should be done at every opportunity.
College volleyball
College and university volleyball seasons typically last 4-5 months. This usually includes 10-15 games in the regular season, depending on how well your team performs.
Some university leagues (such as the one in the UK) include a “tournament season” after the end of the league season, which lasts an additional 3-4 months. This usually starts in the spring and can involve up to 5-6 tournaments played.
Professional and Olympic volleyball
Professional volleyball leagues run year-round, with several small breaks to break up the league season and renew contracts (usually three times a year).
A typical professional season can last up to 8-9 months. This includes weekly or bi-weekly games and regular intermediate contests for player practice and recovery.
For the best and most up-to-date details of the volleyball leagues in your region (or interest), check their specific website and schedule.
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball lasts as long as the summer and is usually played for 4-5 months, from May to August. This season can be extended for the serious player, with training starting in February and ending in October.
For obvious reasons, the beach volleyball season is longer in regions with warmer climates, as it is more conducive to continuous play without the presence of snow, sleet, or storms.
snow volleyball
Snow volleyball is the shortest season, lasting just 2-3 months. With a lousy snow season, this can even be reduced to a single month at times or none.
Best played during the upcoming spring months and at the end of the ski season, snow volleyball is gaining popularity among the volleyball community for its unique rules, court size, and number of players (6 in total, three on each side). If you haven’t experienced it yet, you can check it out here:
Does volleyball start at different times depending on the country?
The different variants of volleyball have their seasons: indoor volleyball dominates spring and fall, beach and grass volleyball belong to summer, and snow volleyball is strictly confined to winter. Around the world, volleyball seasons follow this schedule and can be trusted to continue to do so.
However, different countries may have delayed/faster season starts or weather that eliminates the possibility of one. This can change the schedule of a season and the league progression that comes with it. While these minutiae are many, it boils down to one simple fact: There are differences worldwide, and that’s not bad.
Best to check with the governing body for volleyball in your region, which you can find online. Or, for school purposes, check with your school staff (or coach, if you know them).
It would be impossible to provide everyone with precise start dates for each season in this article, so use it as a starting point for your research. Knowing now the usual conventions and reasoning for splits, you should be able to reasonably determine the start of your desired season.
Frequent questions
Does volleyball have a season?
Volleyball can be played throughout the year. The different types of volleyball fall into other seasons, with women’s volleyball generally played in the fall and men’s in the spring. Some apparent deviations are beach volleyball, a summer sport, and snow volleyball, played in the winter.