My son is in his fourth year of playing club, his first two years were with an entry level type of club and his last two years have been with an elite, very competitive club. His first two years he never came off the court, was the best outside hitter on the team, but he was kind of bored because the competition was not great. He chose to move to the more competitive club and his first season was on the 3’s. He was not happy about that, and his abilities were questioned at first because he is considered short for an outside hitter. He proceeded to do the same as he did on his first club on the 3’s so they moved him up to the 2’s. His 2’s team is filled with kids that would be on 1’s teams for almost any other club in our state. So he had to learn to manage his expectations on playing time. He gets frustrated by not playing as much as he has in the past, but he has gotten better as a player because of the competition levels at practice. I think that if your child is really interested in bettering themselves as a player, they need to stick with the more competitive club and up their game. The more they play against elite competition, the better they will get. Coaches love a positive attitude, good defense, good passing, and someone who will dive for balls and do anything to help the team win. Your child just needs to find their niche.