2024 Northern Lights Schedules & Costs

Northern Lights teams practice more, play more, travel more, and pay less than any other club in Minnesota! Compare trips and you’ll see that even though other clubs charge the same fees we do, they don’t attend the same major events or pay the same expenses.

Our costs include:

• Airfare for all trips requiring flights.
• Hotels for all players & the chaperone at all travel events
• All required gear and uniforms including shoes, kneepads, socks, and backpack (see below for full listing)

Other clubs require parents to purchase airfare independently and to pay for their daughters hotels at events they drive to.  That can add up to $2000 or more per player in costs for a team that travels to multiple events such as our top teams do.  With Northern Lights you don’t have that additional hidden cost.

Northern Lights is proud to say that we have not reduced our practice times like many other clubs have. Most of our teams will still practice 3 times per week.

$1000 is due as a deposit on tryout day if your daughter commits to Northern Lights.  Checks are preferred.  A convenience fee will be added to all credit card transactions.

Below is a table containing the costs for all teams. When you are spending thousands of dollars to play volleyball, we believe you deserve to know where you are going.

Fundraising and grants are available.

Our projected costs are published sometime in the late August to mid-September timeframe, well in advance of the tryouts, giving you all the information you need to make a decision. With Northern Lights you know what the costs is going to be well in advance.

(The table below has been updated for the 2024 club season and is based on preliminary team schedules.  If events are added/subtracted, these costs may change).

* A deposit of $1000 for most teams is made on tryout day once the player has been selected to join the club. All Northern Lights players and their families will be required to assist the club on occasions that include (but are not limited to) set-up and takedown duties at Northern Lights events.  15-1, 16-1, 16-2, and 17-1 families may be asked to contribute more of their time to the club due to international travel and additional Qualifiers these teams have scheduled for the 2023-2024 club year.

** The Youth Development Team (YDT) is a Northern Lights program that is entering its 6th year.  Please see the Youth Development (YDT) tab under tryouts for more information.

10’s, 11’s, and 12’s 

If we have a 10’s team in 2024, this team will be for players in 4th grade and younger. The goal for this age-level is to introduce the game of volleyball to the players and start teaching them the basic skills correctly at this young age.  If we do not get enough players registered that meet the age requirements, there may be an opportunity for players of this age to play at the 11’s level.

The 11’s team is for 5th grade age players.  Like the 10’s age level, the goal for this age level is to introduce the game of volleyball to the players, and start teaching them the basic skills correctly at this young age.

Our 12-1 team will accept any player in our 11’s & 12’s program who is capable of playing on that team as what we consider to be an impact player. Final decisions on this will be made by the staff, usually after several weeks of practice.

Less Travel / Lower-Cost Teams

In the past few years we have had teams such as 16-Red/White/Xenon , 15-Red/White/Xenon, 14-Red/White, 13-Black/Red. These teams were highly successful and were trained and participated in the same local events as the rest of the club did. To keep the cost lower on these teams they are not traveling to as many “away” events. We will once again be offering these additional teams in age groups where player availability is sufficient. 

If you are interested in only playing one of these lower traveling teams, please email the Northern Lights office (northernlights@midwestvolleyball.com) sometime during the week before the tryout.  You can also tell us at the tryout by mentioning something at the registration desk. 

Players who are age-eligible for a 11’s team or younger are also eligible for our new Youth Development Team (YDT).  Please see the Youth Development Team page for more information.

Mizuno Uniforms & Equipment

Northern Lights is proud to be a Nationally Sponsored Mizuno Program. NL teams will be some of the best outfitted teams in the nation. Here’s what each player will get as part of their membership in the club:

• Practice Shirts (1-3 depending on your practice schedule)
• Practice & Game Shorts (2-3 depending on your practice/game schedule)
• Game Jerseys (1-3 depending on your team’s schedule)
• Complete Warm-ups
• Travel Bag and/or Backpack
• Kneepads
• Socks
• Shoes
• Plus we usually have a few “surprises” for the players throughout the season.

Events Our Teams Will Attend

(The tables below show the preliminary tournament information for the 2024 season for each team.  The actual schedule for each team will always be shown on their 2024 Schedules page when it is complete).