The Toronto Spartan Volleyball League hosts development sessions on a regular basis targeted to various skill levels to allow members with all levels of experience to get some extra practice. Development sessions are held on select Monday evenings at Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute (800 Greenwood Avenue) from 7:00 PM – 9:45 PM. The cost to register for a development session is $10.

Development sessions involve several different activities designed to learn how to move on the court, develop proper technique when playing the ball, and understand strategy and positioning, all tailored to an appropriate level for the session. Each session will also start with a facilitated warm-up and end with some time for the participants to scrimmage.

There are three levels of development sessions:

• Recreational – For brand new players as well as experienced recreational and intermediate players; focus on getting repetitions for basic skills (bumping, overhand passing, serving) and introductions to hitting and blocking.
• Intermediate – For experienced recreational and intermediate players, as well as lower-level competitive players; focus on improving basic skills (bumping, overhand passing, serving), elements of hitting and blocking technique, and positioning when playing some competitive formations.
• Competitive – For experienced intermediate players, as well as low- and mid-level competitive players; focus on consistent and controlled passing, setting, and hitting, with targeted drills to recreate common game situations while in competitive formation.

Here is the development schedule for the Fall 2023 season:

• Recreational Session #1 – October 16
• Intermediate Session #1 – October 23
• Competitive Session – November 13
• Recreational Session #2 – November 20
• Intermediate Session #2 – December 11

You can register for development sessions at the link below. Sessions will usually become available to book around two weeks before they are held.

Development Session Registration

The TSVL offers 'REF101', a recreational-level refereeing workshop that provides an overview of the philosophy of refereeing, basic rules of the sport, and house rules pertinent to TSVL. In the theory portion, we will cover roles, responsibilities, game direction, and signals. In the practical portion, each participant will have a chance to officiate a shortened game as a 1st referee, 2nd referee, line judge, and scorer. There will be a lot of opportunities to get feedback and ask case-specific questions.

For the Fall 2023 Season, two clinics will be offered:
- Saturday October 21 (Theory) & Monday October 30 (Practical)
- Saturday December 2 (Theory) & Monday December 4 (Practical)

Registration for each session will open a few weeks before the Theory session. The cost to register is $20, which will include lunch during the Theory session. Theory sessions will take place from 10AM-2PM and practical sessions will take place either from 6:45PM-8:15PM or 8:15PM-9:45PM. Please only register if you are available to attend both sessions (Theory and Practical).

Click for Registration Link Opens October 5.

Practice Gym

Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute (800 Greenwood Avenue) will occasionally be available for league members to book as a practice gym. When available, one side of one court can be book per team in one of the following time slots:

• 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM
• 8:15 PM – 9:45 PM

Read and understand the policies before confirming your reservation.  To reserve practice time use the link below:

Practice Gym Policies

1. Only active TSVL members in good standing can book and use the practice gym. Equipment (nets, balls) will be provided at the beginning of the evening and retrieved at the end of the night. Teams are responsible for setting up and taking down nets.
2. It will be up to the two teams on a given court to decide how to use the court for the registered time, and it is encouraged for teams of similar skill level to register together (this may be facilitated by the Development Coordinator if necessary).
3. The practice gym can be booked at no cost for TSVL members, however no one is permitted to be compensated for coaching while using the practice gym.
4. Please only book the practice gym if you know your team is available to play. Last minute cancellations affect the play of other teams and may result in your team no longer being allowed to book the practice gym.

The practice gym is available to be booked for the following dates (may expand as the season progresses):

• Monday, September 25
• Monday, October 2
• Monday, October 30

You can register to use the practice gym at the link below.

Practice gym reservation link

Questions?  Email James M:  development@tsvl.org

Development is always looking for helpers to assist in instructing its development clinic sessions. If you have solid skills in volleyball and have that yearning to contribute back to TSVL, please don’t hesitate to email development@tsvl.org. Thank you!

Mentoring is offered to all who are interested in becoming or developing as captains or referees, or want to build their knowledge and skills to become a leader within the TSVL.

TSVL encourages veteran/experienced captains, referees and leaders to share their knowledge – please feel free to consult them. In addition, you can contact the Development Coordinator or your Division Coordinator (i.e., Recreational, Intermediate or Competitive) if you have any questions – e.g. responsibilities, coaching, etc.