I went to attend my niece's tournament games. My son plays club volleyball and this was our first time at this location. Depending on the size of the tournament, parking can be hard to find. Good news for us, it was a later scheduled tournament so it was easy to find parking. Next, admissions were fair for $10 a person. I've been to places that cost $20 a day tournament for a 2 day tournament. The facilities were nice and had the typical bench seating for each court. There were a set of courts on each side and a walking path in between. It had cubes/shelving for players to put their bags which is nice. What I really loved is that there were drop nets placed in between the set of courts that protected spectators from getting hit with volleyballs from behind. There were concessions which I didn't try. Overall, nice place to watch a tournament (other than parking - depending on time of games you are attending). read more

Top Flight Volleyball Club - Here for a tournament!!! - Sports Clubs Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

We spent a day here at TF watching many tournaments and this facility is nicely accommodating. They have large private parking lot, clean washrooms and a eating area where you can get packaged snacks. The noise level is high due to the fact so many people are cheering for their teams and there is no solid wall dividing the courts. read more

Top Flight Volleyball Club - Playing court area - Sports Clubs Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Girls aren't taught anything here. It's a money factory. I blew $1200 at this place and my daughter was never even instructed on how to overhand serve. Management is unapproachable. Avoid this place at all costs read more

We love coming here for volleyball tournaments. The facility is always clean and the parking is easy. Also the kids running the concession stand are always super polite and cheerful. read more

I've been to a lot of volleyball venues. Top Flight is my least favorite. Massive venue. Extremely cramped space, one disgusting bathroom with long line constantly. Small crowded walkways, hot, packed, very limited parking, this enormous building has only one unlocked entrance (farthest point from the only available street parking which was awesome in February.) If they booked fewer teams and cleaned the bathroom it would be better. I would rather pay more than $10 per day and have soap. read more

Dear Mrs. Gritzman, Selin have been a member of Top Flight since she was eight and considered a good player by her coaches. I am hoping that you also recognize her talent and dedication to the game. All this years we never asked anything or we never complained. As any sensible person with a grain of empathy would understand, this was not an easy decision for us and Selin. It also did not come without costs. This decision will wipe off Selin's years of hard work at your club playing volleyball. We are sure this decision is not a surprise for you, but please see below for the details as this decision was made as a result of your systematic mobbing of our child, nepotism, as well as discrimination against her as foreigner. Selin is a successful volleyball player and her success is recognized by coaches, her peers and their parents on every opportunity. She is dedicated to volleyball, committed , hard working player. She is also very successful outside of volleyball. A caring, respectful and highly intelligent honor student at her school. We are almost sure you will dismiss these but we are not writing this letter to ask you for your feedback. We believe we are well past that point. We are writing to you because we want you to know how your actions left Selin in a very fragile and emotional state, how it made her feel defeated and mistreated for the first time in her life. As parents, we love our daughter and care greatly for her happiness. We are dedicated to her success and spent hours every week on volleyball courts watching and cheering for her during games and practice sessions. Besides the time and emotional investments, we have been paying our financial dues to your club dutifully over the years. Again, we are not writing this letter to ask you for anything back. We want you, as a parent yourself, know how you made us feel helpless while we watched you subject her to mobbing and we in return had to keep her spirits up. We don't even want to get into the lack of courtesy you showed us on every interaction we had with you while cheering other parents. At least we are old enough to deal with this while our daughter is not.So often , children are punished for being human.Selin is not allowed to have grumpy moods, bad days, bad attitudes yet we adults have them all the time. None of us are perfect. We can't get mad at the obvious favoritism because that's how sports are played.Politics plays huge role and if you want playing time, you have to know who to befriend.We CAN get mad at obvious mistreatment, the empty threats the verbal abuse "It's not what you say ,it's how you say it".Sport that Selin loves deeply and had such passion for was taking away from her single-handedly by an adult who does not care. We know a paycheck meant more to you than Selin's well-being.We hope that one day, sake of the athletes who still have passion for a game , you change... Finally, when it comes to your specific actions, please see below for the short list: Moving Selin to a lower level team with limited growth opportunities, Coercing coaches into making decisions against Selin while coaches themselves want to give her better opportunities. Being unfair and letting nepotism drive your decisions, using your position of authority for unfair personal gains and forgetting that you are making money by providing service to children Seeing children as mere, expendable pawns in expansion of your club while disregarding the damage you make in their lives Masking or diverting your poor, discriminatory leadership style with mobbing against children and their parents. As you know, we've shared with you that we had concerns. You did not return our messages, and simply disregarded our concerns as parents. Hoping that this e-mail will help you realize the extent and seriousness of your actions. Kind regards, Rey&Rose read more

I am very surprised at the negative reviews about Top Flight here on Yelp. If you have ever been a part of club volleyball, then you will know that there are many different coaches and hundreds of athletes so I guess some are bound to have a negative perception, however, it seems that many of them came here to Yelp to post their experiences. Google reviews for this place are much higher and seem to be more accurate based on the other parents' and players' experiences we knew there. I just wanted to point out that my daughters also did not always get play time but were told what they needed to work on to do better and earn that time. If they weren't told clearly enough, we encouraged them to go to their coaches and ask. They were also "yelled at" by coaches at this club and on other middle school and high school level teams, however, they had to learn that this is coaching. It's a little different than how teachers approach students, but in our experience did not mean that the coach was mean, belittling, or didn't like them. They had to learn that this is a coaching voice when they were new to sports. Later they had coaches who were always "nice" and never coach-"yelled," but they felt unchallenged and like they did not learn as much. I'm not trying to take away from the other experiences here, but they are not at all like the experience we had. We no longer live in the state and miss Top Flight! We realized even more what we had with the club's great prices, philosophies, staff, and coaches when we started researching clubs in our new state. Would still highly recommend the club to anyone who asked! read more

They do not care about growing your child as an athlete. All they care about is MONEY. Given how much they care about it, you would think they would keep good accounting of it, but they can't even do that. So, when they think you haven't sent a payment on time, they do not address it with the parents, but they bully your daughter off the court and demand that she calls her parents to have them pay (again) right away. Once you prove to them that you have already paid, they don't apologize but find another way to blame their mistake on you. Cindy Gritzman, the owner of the club, is a coward. She would rather send the children she employs as coaches to do her dirty work but when a parent has the audacity to confront her directly, she is rude, condescending and never owns up to her many mistakes. Try outs are a joke and another opportunity for Top Flight to grab your money. Our daughter went for try outs and was placed on a team with other players her age. But we found out (via email) a few hours before practice was scheduled to start that she was placed on a different team and on completely different days. Unfortunately, she couldn't practice on those days so she was placed on a random team with much younger players with a 17 year old coach. Of course, the money wasted on try outs was not refunded. During Covid, when masks were mandated, there was a sign on the door pretending that a mask was required but none of the coaches were wearing one and mask wearing was absolutely not enforced among players. Do not believe a word that comes out of Cindy Gritzman's mouth. She will say anything that will get you to register your daughter (and of course PAY) and then she will change things at the last minute with little to no communication. read more

This place raises huge concerns for me during this Pandemic. Safe practices are not put into place to ensure the safety of each player, other players, the teams and their families. Masks are not used appropriately, Social Distancing is not being practiced and only hand sanitizing takes place before playing. In addition, large groups of people gather outside before and after without practicing social distancing and without masks. We all want our children and ourselves to return to "Normal" however, many changes can be made to allow for this and ensure everyone's safety! read more

The male owner, who is also a coach, coached like bully and every girl on the team was intimidated by him. Took the fun out of the game for many. The female owner is very defensive and condescending and very difficult to have a conversation with. We were there for a couple of years and are so glad we moved on to another club where we could not be happier. Top Flight owners are not good role models for girls and I am astounded that they own a club. They had a mass exodus last year and they should have reached out to the people who left to ask why we were leaving. The girls who left, including my daughter, were all top players with maximum playing time on the court. They never did attempt to find out why so many strong players left, and I can only assume they do not care to be a better club. There are so many other vball clubs in the area that I have heard great things about, stay away from this one! read more

You might wonder why some reviews a very positive and some very negative about this club. It can be positive - for the "chosen few" starting players. All it takes to become a marginalized player is a poor perception by the coach. Reality does not matter. Potential as a player does not matter. Talk to the management? Forget about it; the owners just give lip service and have no intention of investigating or solving the issue. Team rosters are very large, 12, 13 or more. Your daughter might get to play, but not necessarily in her position (which is very important starting at age 15). And, maybe only for one "token rotation", so the coach can say she had playing time. You cannot count on practice time making-up for lack of playing time in tournaments. Coaches provide less instruction to players who are "on the bench". Coaches will have the "marginalized players" serving to the "chosen few". They never start in scrimmages, if they get to scrimmage at all. Geez, at least let them feel valued by making them a starter in a practice scrimmage! I felt sick to my stomach when over and over I witnessed my daughter standing around during practice, patiently waiting her turn, while the "chosen few" got all of the playing time in practice. I would be open to it if it actually made the starters better players, but it had little effect. It makes the "chosen few" feel entitled; they have no reason to improve. In 3 years at Top Flight, two coaches were horrible (one of the two was fired) and one coach was pretty good, and pretty fair - but still had the same nonsensical coaching approach that seems pervasive throughout the sport. I have heard of a few good coaches (at other clubs) that value everyone and play everyone, but I have also heard that such a coach will only have 9 or 10 players on the roster - thus making it possible. At Top Flight, typically, coaches play the same people regardless of their performance. You can't blame only roster size, the coaches must take some responsibility as well, because they seem blind to the talent that is waiting in the wings. The club should emphasize competition and earning a position, be about winning but also value each and every team mate, not just starting players. These girls are not in the Olympics. Their club experience should be about reaching their full potential, with the club taking responsibility for helping them reach it. Instead, the coaches and management buy into the stupid typical approach that "you put your best 6 out there". That would be fine if there was a path for each girl to become one of those 6 every day. There's not, and this is generally true at every club. Your best defense is stay away from Top Flight due to the roster sizes alone. Good coaches are few and far between, so if your daughter is on a team somewhere else with a smaller roster, she is likely to have a better club experience. If your daughter is already a good player and wants a lot of playing time, she'll have a great experience at Top Flight - but at the expense of her teammates. read more

Coaches love what they do here! The challenging atmosphere is great for development. Lots of options to play according to your desires. We love Too Flight! read more

Read your response to Lu S. and owner Sean, it is apparent that you are not telling the truth. There were four families who left, all strong athletes with plenty of playing time (no complaints there), but you reached out to NONE of us to find out why we decided to leave. We have all gone to other clubs and never looked back, however continue to hear horrible stories from those who have not left yet. The best thing you have done is to begin to acquire new talent from other clubs. Hopefully you will learn from their lead and start doing better for the kids sake. read more

Sean, the owner, always made me feel uneasy throughout all the years I attended TF, even though he was never my coach It's been 3 years since I have been at TF, but around last year I saw him at a Green Velvet concert, which is a deep house DJ, and it confirmed all the oddness I got from him. He was with no one and obviously just STARING at way YOUNGER women. I wish I had gotten pictures! Anyways, as for the club itself, my favorite coach, Andy, was driven out from overwork. He was the most passionate, motivating, and funny guy they had --- everyone enjoyed his presence. Also, I remember the trainer coming in late and he was obviously mortified that he did, probably from the owners' attitude. Prepare to get your pockets scammed left and right! They definitely take advantage of every opportunity - from contracts not refunding you if you get injured, to the equipment, personal training, tournaments, everything! read more

We came to Top Flight looking for opportunities for our girls to grow not only as players but as team players. Coming from another club we contacted Cindy and she was amazing helping us with our questions and concerns before we committed. We just finished our 1st season with TPVV and never have been happier. Our girls come home exhausted from workouts but loving their teams and asking for more. TFVC has our girls falling back in love with volleyball and we are looking forward to the 2022-23 season read more

Ive been trying to get my daughter into volleyball and have been researching clubs. Reached out to Top Flight several times and cant even get a response. Maybe they have so many participants, they don't need any more. Bad business! read more

My daughter has been with top flight for three years now, coming from another club in the area. Top flight is super organized and the owners run it like a fine oiled machine. The facility is always clean and my daughter has enjoyed the coaching staff as well as the other players. She especially loved coach natalie whom she's had for the last two years. Good luck top flight as we go into another season! read more

Let me start by saying this will be a honest review from a parents perspective but I also have coaching experience in several sports and sports organizations so I'm a tough critic. That said, I have to say I'm really surprised at some of the reviews I have seen on here but I also believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. As a parent of a first year player I can say I've been very pleased with Top Flight Volleyball Club. From the moment my wife and I walked in the facility and into tryouts I felt the information, customer service, knowledge of the sport, and just all around love for the game was A+. This is a very big organization with a lot of athletes and I was truly amazed at how organized they were not only during tryouts but further on into the season as well. My daughter being a first year player was very raw in the sport and we were very nervous about her trying out for a club but right away the Top Flight crew made her feel comfortable and motivated her from the very start. The one thing that I look for in a organization is the ability to help my child and other athletes grow not only into better athletes but better people and that is exactly what happened this year. My daughter not only grew as player but she grew as a individual tremendously. She learned leadership, work ethic, appreciation for the game and so much more not just from the Top Flight crew and coaches but from the older young women and men athletes that were already apart of the program, the amount of camaraderie in this organization is outstanding and it showed. Our team was a mix of several first year players and a couple of players that had a year or so of experience but the awesome thing was to see them bond and grow as a team behind great coaching and going on to have a epic season capping it off with a Championship. Overall we have been very pleased with Top Flight it is a class act organization with very dedicated staff and athletes willing to help each other grow and that's all we can truly ask from a organization and as parents. read more

We've had a great experience at Top Flight. My daughter was apprehensive at first but one tournament turned her into a volleyball queen! She likes the coaches, other players & facilities. No place is perfect for everyone, I would recommend you give it a try for your daughter, or son, and decide for yourself! read more

I have not been happy at all with the communication with Top Flight. Cindy, the owner, is not concerned with answering questions and her information changes as we go along. My daughter is very happy with the coaches shes has so far and if it weren't for that we would not stay with Top Flight. Cindy needs to get training in customer service. She only seems to care about the $. I have spoken with multiple parents of players and they all have the same opinion. read more

My daughter has been with Topflight for over 4 years and I have to write a review after all this time as you don't realize how amazing of a club you belong to until times are a bit difficult. Through the pandemic, the owners and coaches have done an amazing job in communicating and getting the teams back to practicing in a safe manner, even when things were shut down the coaches interacted with the teams! The owners, all the coaches and trainers have engaged the kids and families every step of the way. I have never been more impressed with the professionalism and care and concern from each and every person at Topflight. I have other friends whose kids are at other clubs and I KNOW Topflight has gone above and beyond on so many levels. My daughter couldn't be happier to be back with her team and I just want everyone to know that once you join Topflight you are not just part of a great volleyball club you are part of a family! I highly recommend TF to anyone interested in an exceptional club who will teach your children amazing volleyball and life skills! Keep up the great work! read more

I've had a terrible experience with this organization. I was interested in having my daughter play for the Girls15 regional team. I contacted the owner, Cindy Gritzman regarding this. She misrepresented that Top Flight had a Girls 15 team in Palatine. Initially said she would refund my first installment, but they didn't. Extremely upset and disappointed. Poor way to run a business. read more

Horrible parking. Had to park on the street about 1/4 mike away. When I walked inside, I was shocked at the density of people allowed in this place all at once. Kids lying on the floor, lines for everything 10-15 deep. Not an enjoyable viewing experience at all... read more

My daughter has been with top flight for 4 years now and it has been a great experience not only for her but for us as parents as well. Cindy and Sean are always welcoming and any time we have a question they always make themselves available to talk. The coaching staff is top notch and are able to work with each child's learning abilities. From the first time my daughter started playing there to now, she is a completely different player and we couldn't thank top flight enough on calibrating her to be the player she is now. read more

Horrible club. Waste of money. Unless your kid makes it to one of the top teams the coaches seem to be anyone who they can get to coach . Talking to the owners is a waste of time. I sent my daughter to another club for practice and they could tell she was from top flight because of her footwork needed to be addressed. They really only care about making money and getting as many kids to play as possible read more

If you like to over pay for club volleyball and have you daughter belittled. And have to pay for travel and never go and get refused a $700 travel expense refund. You try to bring the belittling up to owner and all she can say is Ok is unexceptionable. read more

I was on this club and I can personally say it was one of the worst experiences of my life. My coach was the owner of Top Flight, Cindy, and she made me hate the sport. From belittling us to screaming in our faces, Cindy was not a kind nor compassionate coach. If she could shoot daggers from her eyes, she would. The other coaches I encountered seemed like good coaches, however, if Cindy hired them then I wouldn't trust them. Furthermore, it was a money-grubbing club that only wanted money from their team members. Like the other commenters say, if you weren't one of the "chosen few" then you were belittled and laughed off the court by your own coach. If I could give this club zero stars, I would. I do not recommend this club to anyone who wants to have a fun and healthy volleyball experience. read more

Here for a volleyball tournament, played one of top flights 16 team. Coach of this team's behavior during the game was horrendous. He argued with the ref and the line judges. Then even when answered kept arguing. Acted as though he couldn't believe the call. If this is how top flight allows it's coaches to behave. What are they teaching to the girls. Extremely poor behavior. read more

My 13 year old daughter just wrapped up her first year at Top Flight. We chose nationals, and believe it is the best decision a parent can make if their daughter is considering playing in high school. Our daughters ability's and skills, quickly progressed, and by the end of the season, she is a completely different player. A big shout out to her Coach Cindy for her amazing coaching. We have also had private lessons with other coaches, and have been equally impressed with their teaching abilities. I would highly recommend TopFlight to any parent looking for a clean solid club for their daughter. read more

Top flight is great place to play. As a player I have found that there is a bit of favoritism when it comes to national verses regional teams, for example our parents pay for us to get video analysis so that we can improve by seeing what exactly we are doing wrong, that's only happened once for our team. Also the players on the national teams get more individual attention when it comes to improving playing skills. I think that it shouldn't matter what your playing level is the coaches should be trying to foster team morale, and helping us all to reach our full potential regardless of our skill level or the amount of money we're paying because we are all doing this for one reason the love of the sport of volleyball. read more

The parking at this place is awful, not enough parking. Then when you at night there are no lights in the parking lot. Some people have to walk all around the building and there are no lights. You can't even bring a water bottle or a coffee you get in the morning. That is crap. No one wants to spend so much money for our kids to play and then have to pay to get in and then pay 8.00 for a turkey sandwich and drink. That is a joke. The seating in this place is awful. You feel like you are sardines sitting there and the walk way to each court is a joke. Top Flight you need a new facility to hold all the people that come in there. read more

If you like to pay to much for club Volleyball and have your kids laughed at and belittled. Never traveled and club still kept $700 dollars! Not fair drought up belittling to owner and all I got was OK! Unexceptionable for young and impressionable girls!! read more

Good: Well kept facility, better than most volleyball clubs. Most coaches have a good amount of experience underneath their belt, and are very helpful to players. The players will definitely experience athletic growth. Bad: On top of the already high membership costs, parents are required to donate their time for events. Despite some players grow faster than others, the coaches rarely (if ever) move players up or down in teams based on skill level. This prevents some of the good players from getting even better. read more

This volleyball club is all about money and not caring how the girls play or future of their volleyball career. It seems not all the girls get the attention that parents pay for. They supposedly have national teams that are competitive. It seems they don't cut any girls who tryout because they want the parents' money so they put the girls on any team and some girls may be playing the positions that they normally do not play. Coaches are terrible. It seems their coaches are not knowledgeable in coaching volleyball. They may be coaches in other sports but volleyball is not one of them. I would not recommend this club to any of my family and friends. My advise is to do a thorough research on volleyball clubs before you sign up your children. Once you sign up, there is no refunds. There are alot of bad clubs but there are some, although very few, good, legitimate clubs. In my opinion, Top Flight is on my list of bad clubs. read more

My daughter loves to play. She's not a great player but not the worst either. Last year she got decent play time. She didn't play every single game but she at least got play time. This year is a nightmare. Team has lost pretty much every game. Same 8 girls played over and over again and coach does nothing. Daughter asked coach what she could do to get more play time and was told nothing. Seriously!? Nothing! I could understand if the team was winning. But they're not. The only time my daughter plays is when he's yelling at someone or a player doesn't show up. Then my daughter will play that position just to get any play time, even if it's not her position. I agree with the other person regarding the amount of girls on a team. On their website it state 10-13. I've witnessed as many as 15 girls on a team. That's almost two complete teams. There will always be 3-4 players on a team that get NO play time. So heads up. If you're not even a little bit of a coach's favorite your daughter or son will be standing there while you're shelling out $1595 or $2495 (plus) for a season. Also you're required to work a "shift" for your dues that they don't tell you about. After your child gets "accepted" (they accept everyone don't let them fool you) they inform you at the parent meeting that as part of your acceptance you're required to work for them at their facility. They tell you that it's for keeping your dues low. You don't get any payment for this, it's all fictional money. You can pay in full for an entire season and they still will require you (if your child is under 17-18) and your child to work either a Saturday or Sunday for 4 hours. Working door, concessions, bouncy house, cleaning bathrooms, taking out trash, you get the idea. You're child is also required to earn money for a serve-a-thon. Another requirement that your child is not able to get out of. They're required to earn a minimum of $50 for the club. No if, ands or buts. My child's coach threatened with benching a player for all tournaments until this was done. Most of the training is scrimmages. I've sat at lots of practices watching. Most of the time practices involve playing scrimmages against the other teams. What little positional training they do get is inadequate at best. They don't practice serve zoning at all. They pretty much treat the players as cattle. Stand in line hit the ball. Go stand back in line. Also, a word about these championship wins. There are so many different classifications. You have classic, open, elite, so on and so forth. So if you have a decent team in the classic and they win a championship it's for that division. Not the elite or super open. All different levels of play. So those "championships" are another joke. If your child wants to play and you don't care really if they play at tournaments. Then go ahead. But if you're looking for your child to improve and get better it won't happen. Personally if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have ever done this. I would have put my money in investment and put a volleyball net in my backyard and told them to practice in the backyard. read more

i played at this club for 3 years, and was lucky enough to be a starter for all three. saying that, i always had a share of teammates who played maybe once every three tournaments. i grew to love it, and it became a home to me. i wouldn't trade my time there for anything in the world. unfortunately, this past season, i was removed from my team with 3 practices and 1 tournament left. i made a normal teenage mistake over text, and it went waaaaaay too far. my mother argued for me, but the manager, Cindy Gritzman, was rude and childish about it. she had absolutely no interest in hearing what me or my mother had to say about the situation, and eventually just completely stopped responding to my mom's emails. she told my mother that she can't have me "representing her club" anymore, and that i'm no longer welcome there (even to open gym or private lessons). mind you, my mother did not get her money back for the time i missed. this experience has left a permanent scar, all for the useless outcome: a grown woman with children of her own protecting her money income- i mean....her club's reputation, and a loyal player with nothing but negative things to say about her precious club. in conclusion, i can say that i did love this club dearly and i had so much fun there. that being said, if your child has literally the slightest bit of teen angst to their personality, don't send them here. the only reason i ever got playtime is because i was experienced when i started. do not, i repeat, DO NOT send your child here if they're a beginner. that's where Sky High in Crystal Lake, IL comes into play. anyways, thanks for the memories. off to Club Fusion for me read more

This place had no recycling bins. Not eco-friendly. Would be more impressed if they cared about the environment.

As one of the players at Top Flight I can say that their complex is extremely nice and kept clean. The players are treated with respect and are taught discipline as well as what it means to be on a team. If you go for club than you will be placed with others on your level and by the end of your time their you will have made friends and improvement in your skills. I've gone to top flight since last year and have improved drastically. It hurts to think of my skills before I came and and don't regret it in the least. read more

Would not recommend this club if your child is looking to learn the basics or wants to play for fun. Really feel this club is all about the winning and the regional teams are only there to support the national team costs. Regional teams are large and if your child isn't a starter, they may not see much play time. It also is very expensive. If you have any problems with your coach, management is not open to discussing it or helping you resolve it. read more

My daughter will be playing her 6th season at Top Flight this Fall. Great coaching, positional training, conditioning and free open gyms and camps! Top Flight is a family focused atmosphere and feels like a second home to our family, not just a volleyball club. Cindy's leadership and love for the game and her athletes is heartwarming, especially since so many organizations are simply interested in adding numbers and income to their clubs. Top Flight Coaches know every girl's name. Your athlete isn't just a number, but someone who matters. read more