Victoria VanTassell runs this program with zero integrity says one thing and does another. It's impossible to contact camp director Bear Grassl he has no contact info avail and Victoria won't provide either. Completely unorganized and at this cost just shameful. read more

My daughter plays for Empire. We figured really quickly that if you are not already playing for a school team you will not get in. It doesn't matter your level. My teen was told if she did not play High School , she would not be able to make National. I've heard this from many parents. I am not sure if that is legal or not. They do a great job with the little ones pre middle school to get them to like the sport. After that if you are not in the upper teams you don't have much of a say so as a parent. Drop your kids and go. We don't have much of a choice around here. Next year we will be traveling to the Southbay to get more of a less political club. Not sure why families stay with Empire. They are treating us like a cash cow. I know better now and waiting for the season to be over. read more

Coach Victoria has a habit of picking her favorites on the team and shutting out/ shaming those she doesn't. I thought this only happened to my granddaughter until we went today to sign up with Aftershock today. I ran into other parents who exhorting the same thing! Many old Empire players there today. Many have complained to upper management... obviously they don't care about the kids just the large amounts of $ they get per child. Would not recommend if you care about your child's psychy and how they feel shit tenderness themselves!!! My granddaughter is actually looking forward to a great new year of Volleyball read more

Staff doesn't communicate. They are part of the WCVA and we end up playing the same 5 teams. Just the previous reviews nothing has changed, issues with politics, unfortunately players get caught up on the middle of it. The executive team does not communicate with parents. Several coaches have left. Wish we had more options in Sonoma County. They are harvesting a toxic culture players against each other versus team support. They need to bring up the team moral. "specific" players picked and no communication. After 4 years we finally decided to drive South to SF to find a quality club for my daughters. I was tired of the no communication and entitlement. read more

I don't like posting reviews but the ones below are so old and outdated I had to share my experience. We tried Empire but quickly realized it was a mistake. It was so unorganized. Tryouts was a circus they only did it for face value. If your daughter did school volleyball and that coach also coaches at Empire they made a team. Those of us that don't have our daughters play school volleyball but attended Empire clinics didn't have a chance. How can your own players not make it? Also my daughter has played since age 8 so I feel confident in her skills. They didn't even tell us our daughter didn't make a team. After days of silence we figured it out. By the way is ok if my daughter didn't make a team but please tell me. I was not the only parent several of us called each other and had not heard. The parent meeting was held outside Epicenter in the parking lot where we could not hear what they were saying. It was a disaster. I am new to the county and didn't know better. The following week we tried Aftershock thank God another parent told me about them. What a difference. Sign in , get a number , take a picture , parent meetings with chairs! where we could ask questions. Professional. I received a booklet with instructions and 2 days later an email with next steps. Aftershock did not treat us like an like Empire did. Now the way they build their teams is on levels so the girls are not competing against each other but really working on their skills, the tryouts were also very professional What I am use to in Chicago. Drills , plays, move players around. make it fun! They are not in Yelp so I won't make a they versus Empire just pointing out obvious differences. The coaches Extremely professional and supportive. I feel for the girls that parents are not in the "in club" Also we lost a lot last year they don't do conditioning , cardio drills , weights. I do hope they fix their coaching shortages. overall the coaches do care they are patient and care about the girls. management just needs to keep an eye on the "favoritism " read more

Volleyball is a growing sport for young ladies. Unfortunately for Sonoma County, there are only two volleyball clubs. Aftershocks and Empire. Aftershocks should be considered an "After-thought." as there is little focus on excelling. If your daughter shows promise, Empire is the club for you. They have the best coaches in the area and your daughter will learn the most. My daughter has been out of Empire for almost four years now. She's entering her Senior year, still playing volleyball at the collegiate level. She played for Empire for six years, from 13's - 18's. She had a wonderful time, but she also had a horrible time. The politics of the club (as with anything in life), can be cruel. I'm not a bitter parent, Empire helped my daughter reach her dream. I'll forever be thankful for that. Like any competitive sport, your premier players will get the best training. Others, will filter through the system until they drop out at some point (usually not cost efficient for the skill level or no future in the sport). Like I said, Empire has the best coaches in the area...but that doesn't mean they'll learn everything they need to excel. There is a LOT Empire doesn't do to make the girls fully succeed. Different levels receive different skill training. When my daughter played, weights / fitness weren't a big deal. It wasn't until my daughter got to college where she was started on a fitness program, which included weight training. She's now a gym rat. Most colleges asked about her clubs training off the court, like I said this wasn't a big deal for Empire. Mike W is right on a lot of his post. Re-read it and a lot of it is true. Empire does help the girls to a point, but if they're deemed not useful to the higher teams, they don't receive the "best" coaches and don't receive the best training / skill set. Bear is a great guy, but the business aspect isn't his thing. There are other folks in charge of that. He is the face of the program though. I've known girls who left Empire to go to Absolute (Marin) and they saw the difference. I don't condone driving all the way to Marin for a few nights a week for practice though. Empire can help you succeed to a point. IF your daughter is skilled enough to get to the next level, don't expect much help. My daughter was relentless and found numerous colleges interested in her on her own. You have to do the legwork in that regard. Back in the day, I know Absolute helped girls get find suitable fits at the next level. With all that said, volleyball is an excellent sport for young ladies. It's a fun sport for the girls and it'll help grow confidence, find a new great set of friends, and help continue to be active. Empire IS the best in the area for teaching and training. That doesn't mean it's the best or is anywhere near the cream of the crop. It isn't as you'll see the difference at all the tournaments you go to. read more

I saw the review Mike W put up and have a major issue with it. My best guess is he got some feedback he didn't want to hear from the staff at Empire. Here's my experience with Empire. 2 years ago my daughter showed an interest in volleyball. Did my due diligence and found the Empire program. Looked good, the head coach is Bear Grassi. He's also the head coach of the SSU team. Pretty cool! The credibility of the program shot up in my opinion. Looked up SSU Volleyball and saw that it's a national level program. Did a search on Bear and found out that he started out as a coach for the El Molino HS team in Forestville. When he was at El Molino he did some incredible things. Same goes for when he took over the SSU program. In short, it was evident that this guy had a great grasp of improving the level of play, wherever he coached. it was obvious that the guy knew what he was doing. Very impressed. So I decided to call him. I got his answering machine and figured I would never hear back from him. A reasonable assumption, considering he's the head coach of a national level university team. Hey, at least I tried, right? No less than 10 minutes later, he called me back! I nearly fell on the floor! Here I was talking to a national level, University coach about my 11-year-old girl! Needless to say, I was blown away that he called back. His advice, "play with your daughter. Just get her used to bumping the ball", etc etc. He was super casual and down to earth. He also told me about some of the clinics they offer, SSU and Empire. And that would be a good place to start for my daughter. It was great advice. My daughter is in her 2nd year at Empire. She loves her current coach and basically is super enthusiastic about playing. What more could a father ask for? All in all Empire is a VERY solid program. Not too over the top and not too casual. They teach and coach in a way that the players improve steadily. One more story. Last year our coach couldn't make it to a tournament. Guess who showed up to coach our 12U girl's team? Yup, you guessed it, Bear Grassi. When he showed up I stood there in amazement. A NCAA winning coach, there on a crummy weather Sunday, to coach a bunch of 12-year-old girls? WOW!!! Totally impressed! Talk about humility, modesty, and dedication. This humbleness is indeed a reflection of Bear and the cornerstone of Empire Volleyball Club. In short, a very balanced program. read more

We have tried the two largest volleyball clubs in Sonoma County - EMPIRE and AFTERSHOCK. AfterShock is focused on developing players - the coaches are all very nice, everyone gets equal playing time, they are what they say they are. But even their top power teams don't try to compete. They singularly focus on bringing the bottom players up rather than turning their better players into great players, so the program can be very frustrating if your daughter is a gifted athlete. The program is a direct reflection of the the head guy Craig Hardisty. Empire says their focus is on competition and developing the best athletes but they're lots of boast and little substance. The program directly reflects the head guy, Edward "Bear" Grassl - arrogant, non-communicative, dodgy - he will tell parents whatever they want to hear to get their check. Empire is solely focused on a couple of the older teams in order to harvest players for Grassl's Sonoma State team; the vast majority of the teams are given little direction and are generally treated as ATM machines to line his pockets. By far the best volleyball club in the North Bay is ABSOLUTE. They build players' skills starting at the earliest ages; their teams are very competitive; their training and workouts are rigorous, but with the girls' health and safety always in mind; the coaches are incredible - both skilled teachers, and caring role models. The program reflects the values and work ethics of it's founder Konrad Ott. For the better athletes, Absolute is by far the best volleyball club in the North Bay and worth the drive to San Rafael. For girls who like volleyball but aren't particularly passionate, AfterShock is a very good solution. Unfortunately, Empire under-delivers for both both groups, providing poor value and a joyless environment. read more

Bear and Chelsea are the best coaches I've ever had. This is by far the best volleyball club in the North Bay. My volleyball skills have improved drastically since joining Empire! Not only are we competitive but we have fun while still playing hard. As a matter of fact my Empire team is currently in Indianapolis at the Junior Olympics so I would say Empire Volleyball Club is pretty successful. Not really sure what Mike W. was talking about. All the Empire coaches are amazing and I would never play for any other volleyball club. read more

After seeing that the only other review for this volleyball club poorly reflected upon the actual quality of this volleyball club, I decided I needed to write a legitimate review and clear some things up. This is a fantastic club focussed on the development and betterment of all the girls that play. The coaching staff includes the best coaches in the area who understand the game at a level that few of us can ever hope to achieve. Bear Grassl has recently gotten to the final four with his Sonoma State team and been awarded coach of the year in their division. Kathy O'Neil is and has been a U.S.A. Coach at the junior Olympic level. Many other well known coaches from around the area round off the stellar staff and we have had nearly no problems with any of them. Their expertise makes the club the top in Northern California and has helped many athletes receive scholarships to schools like, Arizona, UCLA, and Stanford. Next, I would like to clear up some things mentioned in the other review of this club. The review is written by one of the nastiest parents I have ever been unfortunate enough to encounter. His disrespect of the coaches, teammates, and fellow parents is mythical. He did not return to the volleyball club. This was a relief because of his lack of manners and his complete and utter blindness to the truth. He refuses to acknowledge that he should not get preferential treatment for himself at all times and no matter what the coaches did, they were always wrong. Also, as a side note, I would like to mention that for the age group in which his daughter plays, Empire is ranked higher than Absolute or Aftershock. read more