The Division I recruiting calendar has approximately one month until the Quiet Period comes to an end and a hoard of Division I coaches will descend. Remember that the NCAA recruiting calendar only affects Division I programs - NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and JC programs are all allowed to be recruiting at this time.
If you are a High School Freshman, Sophomore or Junior club player, I suggest you read and follow my Recruiting Plan located on the side bar on the lower part of this page.
As an Unsigned Senior (you have not signed a National Letter of Intent or have not made a Verbal Commitment, which means the same in college volleyball etiquette) this coming club season is your last, best opportunity to showcase your skills to college coaches. Much of finding a college to fit your desires is helping a college to find YOU! In the Recruiting Plan, linked above, there is a game plan for your Senior Year, but in this post I wish to concentrate upon how to self-promote at Club tournaments.
There are so many club players that are Unsigned Seniors and after the end of the college season, coaches that thought they were done recruiting may have to find a player to fill out the incoming recruiting class, along with those programs that never stopped recruiting the incoming class. You want to make sure that these coaches can find you at tournaments to evaluate your abilities.
A few suggestions:
1. Make sure you are registered with University Athlete at the linked website. University Athlete has become the platform for Division I college programs to augment their recruiting needs. The registration is free and allows you to present your information in a search able manner for college coaches.
2. Confirm that your club coach or director has sent your current information and status as an Unsigned Senior for an upcoming tournament to University Athlete. All those college coaches that you see walking around tournaments and looking at their hand held devices are using the University Athlete recruiting and tournament information software. University Athlete inputs player and team data directly from the information they receive via the clubs - all the large national tournaments use the University Athlete software.
The tournament player information and website player information may be able to link together, but at a tournament when coaches are making decisions don't take a chance. Even though the handheld devices are fantastic, there are still many instances when I can't find current information about a player.
3. Generate a detailed one page flier to put in the college coach's hospitality room - this room can be accessed by your club coach or director. Information should include your picture, full name, graduation date, position played, club name and team name (Team Texas 18 Blue), e-mail address, cell/home telephone number, mailing address, grade point average, ACT/SAT scores, height, weight, block jump and approach jump. Get the specific information that any type of college volleyball coach would need.
4. Generate an 4" x 6" heavy stock (it is a type of paper) hand out to give to college coaches - Same information as the flier, but compacted. I suggest the smaller, heavy stock card because it will stand out among the many 8.5 by 11 pieces of paper that college coaches put into their bags.
5. Have a parent or other relative hand these 4 by 6 cards out to college coaches, but make it realistic who they are given to. If you are a 5'9" OH and the Florida coaches walk by your court, don't give them a card because it will just get put in the trash after a cursory look. Make sure your cards are going to schools that will have an interest in your abilities. Your relatives don't have to say much of anything, just hand the coach a card and say thanks for looking.
6. Inform your club coach and club director that your parents are available to visit with college coaches in-between games (this is allowed per NCAA rules).
7. Schedule a block of time after the conclusion of a tournament to visit with college coaches (per NCAA rules, you can meet and talk with college coaches as a Senior, once the tournament is finished) - make sure your club coach and club director know that you are able to meet with college coaches.
No matter how tired your and your parents may be after a tournament, visiting with coaches is huge because it gives you an immediate impression of who could be your future coach.
By using these suggestions, you should be in a higher profile to be seen and interact with college coaches. It may sound harsh, but there are a lot of good, solid players that are very similar to you - the player that gets the scholarship offer from a college is the player who aggressively gets her name/information out to schools.
As a Senior, if you have any questions, just drop me an e-mail.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Scoring Change for Indoor and Beach Volleyball
A number of years ago, American volleyball went through a drastic change - we switched to a new scoring format. This is scoring change is no longer new and we are far enough out from the switch to take an experienced view of the impact.
When I say American volleyball it is because this change affected indoor men's and women's volleyball, along with men's and women's beach volleyball which adopted the rally score system. Some could argue that American beach volleyball went through the most drastic change with the implementation of a new scoring format, new match format and a different size court.
If we narrow our focus to college indoor volleyball and the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) beach tour, a few general conclusions begin to emerge from our multi-year use of these new formats.
With regards to college indoor volleyball, the scoring change has been bad for women's volleyball and good for men's volleyball. Let's start with the positive - Men's volleyball was suffering from too much of a good thing: Power. By that, there is so much power in men's volleyball and the attackers are registering such high kill percentages that the old format of sideout scoring leads to match lengths being too long and hitters taking too many swings. Rallies where the ball travels back and forth across the net are almost non-existent in men's college volleyball - it is honestly one great kill, followed by another great kill and then you get an occasional great block or unreal jump serve - the physicality of the men's game while played on an 8 foot net with players who fly, is surreal. The switch to rally score has allowed the men's game to operate within a tighter time frame, while limiting the significant amount of swings that hitters must take match after match. I enjoy watching men's volleyball more with rally score then I did with sideout scoring.
The women's college volleyball game presents the flip side of the coin - rally score has not helped women's volleyball. If a statistician was to plot the growth history of women's indoor volleyball (by attendance or matches on television) before the change to rally score, and then project that growth into the future, I would be stunned if it was less than what women's volleyball has experienced since the change to rally score. The average fan may well say they like the sport more with rally score, but that same fan would like soccer better if they shortened the field and reduced each team by 4 players - does this change make soccer better? Women's college volleyball has less power and the hitters do not attack at such a high percentage, thus points were being scored plenty fast in the side-out format. The average length of matches was relatively predictable and when a match took a long time, it meant that this match was closely contested. We have brought a drastic change in our sport that eliminates comebacks and penalizes aggressive play, all in the name of controlling the length of matches and placing more matches on television. By the attendance numbers and matches I watch pm television, it was a bad bargain (I can't even say "we" because the coaches and conferences voted against the change).
Good change for men - Bad change for women.
With beach volleyball, I would like to take the liberty of including the new court size in my monologue. Women's pro beach volleyball has tremendously benefited from the change in formats and I believe that this is evident in the stellar popularity of May and Walsh. With the old sideout format and the big court, the women's beach games would drag on forever and generally be bit a bit boring. Because the court was big (by comparison to today's court) the players could cut and shoot almost every ball and the defender could not chase down these shots because there was just too much space to cover - the block was relatively ineffective because the attacker could avoid the blocker and still have space to hit/shoot the ball. Teams would just sideout forever and a day, thus matches would drag on for a long, long time. Now, with the smaller court, the hitters are impacted by the block more and the defenders don't have to cover as much space. This has resulted in more physical type plays (blocks, hard hits), while also encouraging more rallies because defenders can dig the hard driven ball and still chase many shots down. To me, women's beach volleyball is significantly more fun to watch now, then with the older rules.
The pro beach men's game has really suffered with the change to the new format. It has moved completely away from a game that combined power and finesse to a game that is just a sandy version of indoor volleyball. The change to rally score, combined with the short court has put a premium on two things - hitting and blocking. Each serve is a free ball, the sets are perfect (thanks to FIVB setting rules) and the hitter and blocker just go after each other - rallies are an endangered species. Because the court is small, cut shots are ineffective. Traditionally, the really tall players were liabilities as partners because they would get lit up on jump serves, but now with the small court, who can't pass a free ball? The rally format to 21 (first two games, then 15 in the third) gets stale when the sideout percentage is so high that two 'real' point make the difference in the game - not too exciting when you figure it out. When I watch beach volleyball, I am just seeing high ball attack after high ball attack going against a great block - if I wanted to watch this, I would watch indoor volleyball. I believe I am not the only one who feels this way, because the number of men's pro beach matches on television is nothing compared to a few years ago.
Men's beach bad and Women's beach good.
I find it interesting to view these four sports (indoor women and men, beach women and men) and how the BIG change has played out. I can understand the revamped AVP Tour making the change because by definition the focus of the Tour is professional - to make money; they need to do what they feel is best to ensure the survival of their livelihood and after the debacle of the AVP in the late 90's, the Tour had no grounds to stand upon to resist outside change.
College volleyball is another situation - our livelihood does not depend upon sponsorship or tournament prize money. I am and will be forever disappointed in the change to rally score for the two basic reasons that comebacks are statistically eliminated and every mistake is penalized. I accept the change in men's volleyball because of the overt physicality of the game (match time and player health). I do not support the change for women's volleyball - it has made no discernible positive impact upon the sport, but rather made us look like a profession willing to desperately grab for any shiny new hope for the elevation to legitimacy.
Wow, that was deep!
When I say American volleyball it is because this change affected indoor men's and women's volleyball, along with men's and women's beach volleyball which adopted the rally score system. Some could argue that American beach volleyball went through the most drastic change with the implementation of a new scoring format, new match format and a different size court.
If we narrow our focus to college indoor volleyball and the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) beach tour, a few general conclusions begin to emerge from our multi-year use of these new formats.
With regards to college indoor volleyball, the scoring change has been bad for women's volleyball and good for men's volleyball. Let's start with the positive - Men's volleyball was suffering from too much of a good thing: Power. By that, there is so much power in men's volleyball and the attackers are registering such high kill percentages that the old format of sideout scoring leads to match lengths being too long and hitters taking too many swings. Rallies where the ball travels back and forth across the net are almost non-existent in men's college volleyball - it is honestly one great kill, followed by another great kill and then you get an occasional great block or unreal jump serve - the physicality of the men's game while played on an 8 foot net with players who fly, is surreal. The switch to rally score has allowed the men's game to operate within a tighter time frame, while limiting the significant amount of swings that hitters must take match after match. I enjoy watching men's volleyball more with rally score then I did with sideout scoring.
The women's college volleyball game presents the flip side of the coin - rally score has not helped women's volleyball. If a statistician was to plot the growth history of women's indoor volleyball (by attendance or matches on television) before the change to rally score, and then project that growth into the future, I would be stunned if it was less than what women's volleyball has experienced since the change to rally score. The average fan may well say they like the sport more with rally score, but that same fan would like soccer better if they shortened the field and reduced each team by 4 players - does this change make soccer better? Women's college volleyball has less power and the hitters do not attack at such a high percentage, thus points were being scored plenty fast in the side-out format. The average length of matches was relatively predictable and when a match took a long time, it meant that this match was closely contested. We have brought a drastic change in our sport that eliminates comebacks and penalizes aggressive play, all in the name of controlling the length of matches and placing more matches on television. By the attendance numbers and matches I watch pm television, it was a bad bargain (I can't even say "we" because the coaches and conferences voted against the change).
Good change for men - Bad change for women.
With beach volleyball, I would like to take the liberty of including the new court size in my monologue. Women's pro beach volleyball has tremendously benefited from the change in formats and I believe that this is evident in the stellar popularity of May and Walsh. With the old sideout format and the big court, the women's beach games would drag on forever and generally be bit a bit boring. Because the court was big (by comparison to today's court) the players could cut and shoot almost every ball and the defender could not chase down these shots because there was just too much space to cover - the block was relatively ineffective because the attacker could avoid the blocker and still have space to hit/shoot the ball. Teams would just sideout forever and a day, thus matches would drag on for a long, long time. Now, with the smaller court, the hitters are impacted by the block more and the defenders don't have to cover as much space. This has resulted in more physical type plays (blocks, hard hits), while also encouraging more rallies because defenders can dig the hard driven ball and still chase many shots down. To me, women's beach volleyball is significantly more fun to watch now, then with the older rules.
The pro beach men's game has really suffered with the change to the new format. It has moved completely away from a game that combined power and finesse to a game that is just a sandy version of indoor volleyball. The change to rally score, combined with the short court has put a premium on two things - hitting and blocking. Each serve is a free ball, the sets are perfect (thanks to FIVB setting rules) and the hitter and blocker just go after each other - rallies are an endangered species. Because the court is small, cut shots are ineffective. Traditionally, the really tall players were liabilities as partners because they would get lit up on jump serves, but now with the small court, who can't pass a free ball? The rally format to 21 (first two games, then 15 in the third) gets stale when the sideout percentage is so high that two 'real' point make the difference in the game - not too exciting when you figure it out. When I watch beach volleyball, I am just seeing high ball attack after high ball attack going against a great block - if I wanted to watch this, I would watch indoor volleyball. I believe I am not the only one who feels this way, because the number of men's pro beach matches on television is nothing compared to a few years ago.
Men's beach bad and Women's beach good.
I find it interesting to view these four sports (indoor women and men, beach women and men) and how the BIG change has played out. I can understand the revamped AVP Tour making the change because by definition the focus of the Tour is professional - to make money; they need to do what they feel is best to ensure the survival of their livelihood and after the debacle of the AVP in the late 90's, the Tour had no grounds to stand upon to resist outside change.
College volleyball is another situation - our livelihood does not depend upon sponsorship or tournament prize money. I am and will be forever disappointed in the change to rally score for the two basic reasons that comebacks are statistically eliminated and every mistake is penalized. I accept the change in men's volleyball because of the overt physicality of the game (match time and player health). I do not support the change for women's volleyball - it has made no discernible positive impact upon the sport, but rather made us look like a profession willing to desperately grab for any shiny new hope for the elevation to legitimacy.
Wow, that was deep!
Friday, December 21, 2007
College Coaches coaching Club Volleyball
A good question from a reader:
Hey coach. I was wondering if a Division I or Division II coach can coach a club team that has two players they recently signed to play on there college team for the following season? Thanks! Becca
This is a good question and one that can be a bit confusing. On the surface you may think that it would be a possible conflict of interest to have college coaches interacting with Prospective Student Athletes (PSA's). It is my understanding that in Men's and Women's Basketball, it is expressly against the rules to have any coaching of PSA's by current college coaches, other than at camps.
After reviewing my understanding of the rules, via the NCAA web site (rule found here) there are only two restrictions for Division I coaches - 1) All players on the specific club team that the college coach is coaching must reside within a 50 mile radius of the institution, 2) During a Dead or Quiet period the college coach cannot go to an off-campus tournament, only practice.
For a Division II coach, the rule says that the club players must come from a 100 mile radius and there is no qualification of activities during a Dead or Quiet period.
To answer your question, yes it is allowed per NCAA rules.
A number of college coaches have concerns about this situation because of the recruiting implications - if the assistant coach from State University is constantly interacting with the PSA and parents, thus developing a relationship, does State University gain a recruiting advantage over City University? In addition to recruiting on a college coach's club team, this association with club volleyball allows the college coach who coaches club to have a significant number of free recruiting trips (both free in terms of the college not paying for the trip, and free from an oversight of NCAA rules).
Advocates of the rules feel that the benefit of providing knowledgeable coaches to the club volleyball system is a positive; it provides skilled instruction to many different age groups and it allows assistant coaches to gain some measure of head coaching experience.
There has been talk of limiting the age groups or date ranges that college coaches can coach club volleyball, but as of now, these rules are what is on the books (or Internet in today's age).
I disagree with the current NCAA rules for two reasons - 1) College Basketball does not allow this interaction, thus they look above the high school/club version of their sport and while we are viewed at the same level, thus not as professional, 2) Athletic Department administrators realize that assistant coaches can earn extra money coaching club volleyball, thus assistant coach salaries are lower than should be.
My earnest desire is that college volleyball (that means everyone involved with college volleyball) act like a big-time college sport. There is saying that I heard, "You teach people how to treat you", if we don't teach people that we are an important sport, then we will never be treated like an important sport.
Hey coach. I was wondering if a Division I or Division II coach can coach a club team that has two players they recently signed to play on there college team for the following season? Thanks! Becca
This is a good question and one that can be a bit confusing. On the surface you may think that it would be a possible conflict of interest to have college coaches interacting with Prospective Student Athletes (PSA's). It is my understanding that in Men's and Women's Basketball, it is expressly against the rules to have any coaching of PSA's by current college coaches, other than at camps.
After reviewing my understanding of the rules, via the NCAA web site (rule found here) there are only two restrictions for Division I coaches - 1) All players on the specific club team that the college coach is coaching must reside within a 50 mile radius of the institution, 2) During a Dead or Quiet period the college coach cannot go to an off-campus tournament, only practice.
For a Division II coach, the rule says that the club players must come from a 100 mile radius and there is no qualification of activities during a Dead or Quiet period.
To answer your question, yes it is allowed per NCAA rules.
A number of college coaches have concerns about this situation because of the recruiting implications - if the assistant coach from State University is constantly interacting with the PSA and parents, thus developing a relationship, does State University gain a recruiting advantage over City University? In addition to recruiting on a college coach's club team, this association with club volleyball allows the college coach who coaches club to have a significant number of free recruiting trips (both free in terms of the college not paying for the trip, and free from an oversight of NCAA rules).
Advocates of the rules feel that the benefit of providing knowledgeable coaches to the club volleyball system is a positive; it provides skilled instruction to many different age groups and it allows assistant coaches to gain some measure of head coaching experience.
There has been talk of limiting the age groups or date ranges that college coaches can coach club volleyball, but as of now, these rules are what is on the books (or Internet in today's age).
I disagree with the current NCAA rules for two reasons - 1) College Basketball does not allow this interaction, thus they look above the high school/club version of their sport and while we are viewed at the same level, thus not as professional, 2) Athletic Department administrators realize that assistant coaches can earn extra money coaching club volleyball, thus assistant coach salaries are lower than should be.
My earnest desire is that college volleyball (that means everyone involved with college volleyball) act like a big-time college sport. There is saying that I heard, "You teach people how to treat you", if we don't teach people that we are an important sport, then we will never be treated like an important sport.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Division II and Division III Volleyball Teams
A question from a reader:
Can you please name off some top Division 2 and 3 programs. I know that NAIA is kind of one end of the spectrum to the other and is not as tightly regulated as NCAA but if you would not mind touching on them also it would be appreciated....Chris.
I am not trying to duck this question, but it can be difficult to give an in depth answer because of the way Division II and Division III volleyball is set-up.
For a listing of the final 2007 NCAA DII Regional poll click here. For the last Top 25 NCAA DII Coaches Poll click here. The 2007 NCAA DIII final Regional poll click here and for the final DIII Coaches Poll click here.
Division I women's volleyball seems to emphasize a different set of parameters when determining its NCAA selections, than does Division II and Division III. Even though all divisions have regional rankings, Division I tends to put more emphasis on conference affiliation and finish, and then the R.P.I to determine the Championship field. It is my understanding that NCAA Divisions II and III select their NCAA tournament participants exclusively from the regional rankings.
There are Eight Regions that make up DII and DIII volleyball. Come tournament time, each region will provide eight teams and thus the 64 team field is selected. Usually three conferences make up the regional membership and each conference champion is guaranteed a spot and the 5 remaining spots come from the five highest ranked teams. Each region will have a group of coaches that is responsible for ranking the top 10 teams in the region, based on each team's win-loss schedule and how they have competed against other teams in the same region.
Come NCAA Championship time, after each region has its 8 teams selected, the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament is just a regional championship. Each region will be seeded 1 through 8 and the winner of this regional tournament will advance to the Elite 8 of the DII/DIII tournament before they play anyone out of region.
Because of this protocol and because of cost containment measures, volleyball teams rarely play out of their region and if they do, it is usually just in a border state that happens to be in another region. Unlike Division I where a team can financially afford to increase its RPI by playing tougher teams in a different part of the country, DII/DIII teams only increase their ranking by beating in-region teams.
I bring this up, because it can be very hard to get a feel for teams outside of your general region of the country. For Division I programs, it is common place for a team from Florida to play a team from Washington in a tournament in Arkansas - each coach is able to get a general impression of the other teams via competition and professional interaction at the tournament. Again, this situation would rarely happen in DII or DIII - this makes it very hard to give an in-depth compliment to other programs.
While I know of programs that are consistent winners, I would hesitate to provide any recommendations, just because I don't know the coaches, the program philosophy, the challenges, etc. I just recommend using the NCAA and AVCA websites to do a bit of research about successful Division II and Division III programs.
One thing that I will say, is that too many Prospective Student Athletes (PSA) and their folks are making a mistake by only considering Division I programs. I have seen many, many DI schools that are trading on the Division I moniker to attract athletes and coaches, without providing appropriate resources. Many of the upper Division II programs could easily beat many of the low ranked Division I teams. Not only could they beat them, but they receive much better support - travel, clothing, marketing and promotions, etc.
If you are an athlete that is choosing between a high ranked Division II program or a bottom end Division I program, my belief is that you will have a better volleyball experience with the DII program.
Can you please name off some top Division 2 and 3 programs. I know that NAIA is kind of one end of the spectrum to the other and is not as tightly regulated as NCAA but if you would not mind touching on them also it would be appreciated....Chris.
I am not trying to duck this question, but it can be difficult to give an in depth answer because of the way Division II and Division III volleyball is set-up.
For a listing of the final 2007 NCAA DII Regional poll click here. For the last Top 25 NCAA DII Coaches Poll click here. The 2007 NCAA DIII final Regional poll click here and for the final DIII Coaches Poll click here.
Division I women's volleyball seems to emphasize a different set of parameters when determining its NCAA selections, than does Division II and Division III. Even though all divisions have regional rankings, Division I tends to put more emphasis on conference affiliation and finish, and then the R.P.I to determine the Championship field. It is my understanding that NCAA Divisions II and III select their NCAA tournament participants exclusively from the regional rankings.
There are Eight Regions that make up DII and DIII volleyball. Come tournament time, each region will provide eight teams and thus the 64 team field is selected. Usually three conferences make up the regional membership and each conference champion is guaranteed a spot and the 5 remaining spots come from the five highest ranked teams. Each region will have a group of coaches that is responsible for ranking the top 10 teams in the region, based on each team's win-loss schedule and how they have competed against other teams in the same region.
Come NCAA Championship time, after each region has its 8 teams selected, the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament is just a regional championship. Each region will be seeded 1 through 8 and the winner of this regional tournament will advance to the Elite 8 of the DII/DIII tournament before they play anyone out of region.
Because of this protocol and because of cost containment measures, volleyball teams rarely play out of their region and if they do, it is usually just in a border state that happens to be in another region. Unlike Division I where a team can financially afford to increase its RPI by playing tougher teams in a different part of the country, DII/DIII teams only increase their ranking by beating in-region teams.
I bring this up, because it can be very hard to get a feel for teams outside of your general region of the country. For Division I programs, it is common place for a team from Florida to play a team from Washington in a tournament in Arkansas - each coach is able to get a general impression of the other teams via competition and professional interaction at the tournament. Again, this situation would rarely happen in DII or DIII - this makes it very hard to give an in-depth compliment to other programs.
While I know of programs that are consistent winners, I would hesitate to provide any recommendations, just because I don't know the coaches, the program philosophy, the challenges, etc. I just recommend using the NCAA and AVCA websites to do a bit of research about successful Division II and Division III programs.
One thing that I will say, is that too many Prospective Student Athletes (PSA) and their folks are making a mistake by only considering Division I programs. I have seen many, many DI schools that are trading on the Division I moniker to attract athletes and coaches, without providing appropriate resources. Many of the upper Division II programs could easily beat many of the low ranked Division I teams. Not only could they beat them, but they receive much better support - travel, clothing, marketing and promotions, etc.
If you are an athlete that is choosing between a high ranked Division II program or a bottom end Division I program, my belief is that you will have a better volleyball experience with the DII program.
Monday, December 17, 2007
NCAA Volleyball Programs - My Top 5
When I put together my Most Respected Volleyball Programs in a Top 5 list on the sidebar of the title page, I realized that Women's Volleyball should be very proud - we have a surplus of first class volleyball programs. You have to search long and hard to find any NCAA rule violations or unethical/illegal behavior by volleyball coaches and/or student athletes. No 'spin' is needed with our sport or teams, rather our challenge is to find an outlet for all the good things going on with college volleyball.
A benefit of being an NCAA Volleyball coach is having a unique view and understanding of many volleyball programs across the country. Hearing and reading other's views of certain programs can be entertaining and/or disheartening because of the chasm between perception and reality.
When I was considering My Top 5 programs, I wanted to illustrate those schools that I sincerely respect for what they have accomplished per their unique circumstances. I hesitated from listing the obvious standard bearers of Stanford, Nebraska, Texas, etc. because their environments almost guarantee a certain plateau of success.
My Top 5 Most Respected Division I Women's Volleyball Programs:
1. Penn State - Having just scooped up the latest NCAA Championship, Volleyfolks may think this is an easy pick, but I look beyond the 2007 season. A few things vaulted the Nittney Lions to the top - Russ Rose built the program into a national success before they joined the Big 10, he did it in a state not known for high school volleyball and thus has to recruit almost exclusively out of state, he did it at a school synonymous with football, the city of State College is not near any larger city or attraction, and the program has enjoyed a staggering win percentage year in and year out. Also, I have yet to hear anything negative about Coach Rose as a person or as a coach.
2. New Mexico State - While this selection may be a bit of a surprise, it is very impressive what Michael Jordan has done with the Aggies. Coach Jordan has elevated the team from a nobody to a top 20 program that is challenging the University of Hawaii as the dominant team in the Western Athletic Conference. While leading any program from the depths to the top 20 is impressive, to do it in Las Cruces, New Mexico and as a member of a non-Power Conference makes this accomplishment significant. They enjoy a large home crowd, multiple NCAA tournament bids, a comprehensive marketing campaign and they are fun to watch. If you had told me 10 years ago that NMSU would be top 20 team, a leader in attendance and knocking on the door of a WAC title, I would have dismissed it out of hand.
3. Texas State - Not too long ago, they were known as Southwest Texas and they were good then. While building a team in Texas and the city of San Marcos is easier than some locations, the Bobcats have been good for a long, long time. Karen Chisum has been there forever and a day, while consistently punching the ticket to the NCAA tournament. While the State of Texas has plenty of talented volleyball players, they also have an abundance of college volleyball programs. Coach Chisum's program wins in a tough conference (Southland) and her team laces up the shoes against any and all comers, while beating their far share of nationally known teams.
4. Clemson - Another program that may come as a surprise, but Jolene Jordan-Hoover has built a consistent program that makes its way into the NCAA Tournament enough to gain national recognition. I respect Coach Hoover for developing a winner at a school known for football, in a conference known for basketball and in a state that has never been known for producing Division I volleyball players. Creating a national recognized program is tough enough when you have inherent advantages, but to do it in a place where you have huge disadvantages is something. It is one thing when you call a recruit and say "hi this is Duke", it is another to convince a player to become a Tiger and Coach Hoover has done this well.
5. Hawaii - A choice that seems obvious on the surface, but one needs to look deeper. While many see a tropical location, a beautiful campus, unreal attendance and a volleyball oriented sports culture, there is a counter current that is also there - being successful in spite of this current is why Dave Shoji's Wahines are in my Top 5. Coach Shoji faces more community pressure to win than any other coach in the country, he is critiqued by 2 state newspapers on the front page and the front page of the sports section, local sports radio shows love to talk about the ups and downs of the program, each out of state recruiting trip is a minimum 5 hour flight, not too mention playing in the WAC. It is a tough place to run a program, never mind all the paradise analogies, and the University of Hawaii is part of a very, very select group schools that are synonymous with the sport of women's volleyball.
Looking back over my list, the characteristics that each share is a long term record of success, building or maintaining teams in a challenging environment and the character of the coach, along with their program.
With this definition, there are many, many college volleyball programs that would make any one's Top 5 and that is a great thing for our sport. My list should not be viewed as non-inclusive, but rather Penn State, New Mexico State, Texas State, Clemson and Hawaii have gained my sincere professional respect.
A benefit of being an NCAA Volleyball coach is having a unique view and understanding of many volleyball programs across the country. Hearing and reading other's views of certain programs can be entertaining and/or disheartening because of the chasm between perception and reality.
When I was considering My Top 5 programs, I wanted to illustrate those schools that I sincerely respect for what they have accomplished per their unique circumstances. I hesitated from listing the obvious standard bearers of Stanford, Nebraska, Texas, etc. because their environments almost guarantee a certain plateau of success.
My Top 5 Most Respected Division I Women's Volleyball Programs:
1. Penn State - Having just scooped up the latest NCAA Championship, Volleyfolks may think this is an easy pick, but I look beyond the 2007 season. A few things vaulted the Nittney Lions to the top - Russ Rose built the program into a national success before they joined the Big 10, he did it in a state not known for high school volleyball and thus has to recruit almost exclusively out of state, he did it at a school synonymous with football, the city of State College is not near any larger city or attraction, and the program has enjoyed a staggering win percentage year in and year out. Also, I have yet to hear anything negative about Coach Rose as a person or as a coach.
2. New Mexico State - While this selection may be a bit of a surprise, it is very impressive what Michael Jordan has done with the Aggies. Coach Jordan has elevated the team from a nobody to a top 20 program that is challenging the University of Hawaii as the dominant team in the Western Athletic Conference. While leading any program from the depths to the top 20 is impressive, to do it in Las Cruces, New Mexico and as a member of a non-Power Conference makes this accomplishment significant. They enjoy a large home crowd, multiple NCAA tournament bids, a comprehensive marketing campaign and they are fun to watch. If you had told me 10 years ago that NMSU would be top 20 team, a leader in attendance and knocking on the door of a WAC title, I would have dismissed it out of hand.
3. Texas State - Not too long ago, they were known as Southwest Texas and they were good then. While building a team in Texas and the city of San Marcos is easier than some locations, the Bobcats have been good for a long, long time. Karen Chisum has been there forever and a day, while consistently punching the ticket to the NCAA tournament. While the State of Texas has plenty of talented volleyball players, they also have an abundance of college volleyball programs. Coach Chisum's program wins in a tough conference (Southland) and her team laces up the shoes against any and all comers, while beating their far share of nationally known teams.
4. Clemson - Another program that may come as a surprise, but Jolene Jordan-Hoover has built a consistent program that makes its way into the NCAA Tournament enough to gain national recognition. I respect Coach Hoover for developing a winner at a school known for football, in a conference known for basketball and in a state that has never been known for producing Division I volleyball players. Creating a national recognized program is tough enough when you have inherent advantages, but to do it in a place where you have huge disadvantages is something. It is one thing when you call a recruit and say "hi this is Duke", it is another to convince a player to become a Tiger and Coach Hoover has done this well.
5. Hawaii - A choice that seems obvious on the surface, but one needs to look deeper. While many see a tropical location, a beautiful campus, unreal attendance and a volleyball oriented sports culture, there is a counter current that is also there - being successful in spite of this current is why Dave Shoji's Wahines are in my Top 5. Coach Shoji faces more community pressure to win than any other coach in the country, he is critiqued by 2 state newspapers on the front page and the front page of the sports section, local sports radio shows love to talk about the ups and downs of the program, each out of state recruiting trip is a minimum 5 hour flight, not too mention playing in the WAC. It is a tough place to run a program, never mind all the paradise analogies, and the University of Hawaii is part of a very, very select group schools that are synonymous with the sport of women's volleyball.
Looking back over my list, the characteristics that each share is a long term record of success, building or maintaining teams in a challenging environment and the character of the coach, along with their program.
With this definition, there are many, many college volleyball programs that would make any one's Top 5 and that is a great thing for our sport. My list should not be viewed as non-inclusive, but rather Penn State, New Mexico State, Texas State, Clemson and Hawaii have gained my sincere professional respect.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Junior Olympic Volleyball Club Tournaments
The Club Volleyball season is upon us and each year it seems to start quicker. I am now hearing stories of some California and Illinois players not playing high school volleyball because they want an off-season from club volleyball!
The younger years of Club Volleyball should be solely focused upon bettering skills and to have an enjoyable experience with friends and team mates - it should be the experience that is important. As a player transitions from the Sophomore to the Senior year of high school, Club Volleyball moves from experience into business. It is the business of finding a college that fits your academic and athletic needs.
Like any business, exposure to potential customers is critical. To this end, as a 17's and older Club Volleyball player, you should be very selective about which Junior Olympic Club Volleyball tournaments you attend. Since you or your folks are paying a fee to participate with your Club team, you have the right to influence the selection of the playing schedule.
I believe the tournament schedule should be made up of fewer, but bigger tournaments and less small tournaments when you are a Junior or Senior in high school (this usually equates to the 17's and 18's year of club). Showcasing your abilities to college coaches is the goal and to maximize this exposure we need to remember the parameters that college coaches operate within.
Division I coaches cannot go to off-campus club tournaments until February (for the 2008 recruiting calendar click here), they can only spend 80 days recruiting until the beginning of the high school season and they have a finite number of evaluations per player. Division II coaches do not have a recruiting calendar,yet they have small recruiting budgets which severely restrict their ability to travel - Same applies to NAIA and Junior College coaches.
With these recruiting parameters for college coaches, combined with the accelerated time frame of Prospective Student Athletes (PSA) making commitments, playing a majority of your club tournaments in the mid-February to end of April time frame is the best choice (May is another NCAA Division I recruiting Quiet Period).
Playing a bunch of tournaments in December and January is not smart - tournaments are costly and you don't want to wear yourself down before the college coaches can begin evaluations. Since most college programs have secured their commitments from the Junior class and/or filled needed spots from the Senior class during the spring, playing a bunch of June or July tournaments does not make sense either.
Now that we know our tournaments should be focused into a two and half month time frame, which tournaments are the ones to attend? Below is a theoretical tournament schedule, after one or two early regional warm-up tournaments:
1. The Las Vegas President's Day tournament or Omaha President's Day tournament. With the Division I recruiting calendar, these are the first big tournaments that college coaches attend. Las Vegas has always been the more popular, but recently that has changed. Many club teams and college coaches are finding the Omaha tournament a better fit for their budgets and opportunities to see players - Las Vegas is very spendy for everyone because of the Holiday and is spread out all over the city, while the Omaha one is much less costly and event site allows for one stop shopping.
2. A Tour series organized within your region or conducted between regions. A number of regions run such Tours that typically have 3 to 4 events with a championship weekend - they usually start in January and are scheduled as not to conflict with the major tournaments.
3. Two Junior Olympic National Qualifiers. There are a total of eight such tournaments around the United States and they all run in March and April. These are the largest tournaments in the country and where you will find the most number of college coaches attending. That is the good news, the bad news is that these tournaments are long and expensive. But, for colleges that may not have the money or desire to get out to recruit every weekend, these are the tournaments they attend.
With this type of schedule, you can maximize your exposure to college coaches without your folks having to take out a 2nd or 3rd mortgage on the house! Playing a bunch of no-name regional tournaments is only going to expose your skills to smaller local colleges and universities and make the club season feel too long.
With two smaller regional warm-up tournaments and/or a Tour, along with a President's tournament and two Junior Olympic Qualifiers will assemble about a six event schedule which should showcase your volleyball skills to hundreds of college coaches. This schedule will give you the best quality exposure, as cost effective as possible and will keep you fresh during the club season.
The younger years of Club Volleyball should be solely focused upon bettering skills and to have an enjoyable experience with friends and team mates - it should be the experience that is important. As a player transitions from the Sophomore to the Senior year of high school, Club Volleyball moves from experience into business. It is the business of finding a college that fits your academic and athletic needs.
Like any business, exposure to potential customers is critical. To this end, as a 17's and older Club Volleyball player, you should be very selective about which Junior Olympic Club Volleyball tournaments you attend. Since you or your folks are paying a fee to participate with your Club team, you have the right to influence the selection of the playing schedule.
I believe the tournament schedule should be made up of fewer, but bigger tournaments and less small tournaments when you are a Junior or Senior in high school (this usually equates to the 17's and 18's year of club). Showcasing your abilities to college coaches is the goal and to maximize this exposure we need to remember the parameters that college coaches operate within.
Division I coaches cannot go to off-campus club tournaments until February (for the 2008 recruiting calendar click here), they can only spend 80 days recruiting until the beginning of the high school season and they have a finite number of evaluations per player. Division II coaches do not have a recruiting calendar,yet they have small recruiting budgets which severely restrict their ability to travel - Same applies to NAIA and Junior College coaches.
With these recruiting parameters for college coaches, combined with the accelerated time frame of Prospective Student Athletes (PSA) making commitments, playing a majority of your club tournaments in the mid-February to end of April time frame is the best choice (May is another NCAA Division I recruiting Quiet Period).
Playing a bunch of tournaments in December and January is not smart - tournaments are costly and you don't want to wear yourself down before the college coaches can begin evaluations. Since most college programs have secured their commitments from the Junior class and/or filled needed spots from the Senior class during the spring, playing a bunch of June or July tournaments does not make sense either.
Now that we know our tournaments should be focused into a two and half month time frame, which tournaments are the ones to attend? Below is a theoretical tournament schedule, after one or two early regional warm-up tournaments:
1. The Las Vegas President's Day tournament or Omaha President's Day tournament. With the Division I recruiting calendar, these are the first big tournaments that college coaches attend. Las Vegas has always been the more popular, but recently that has changed. Many club teams and college coaches are finding the Omaha tournament a better fit for their budgets and opportunities to see players - Las Vegas is very spendy for everyone because of the Holiday and is spread out all over the city, while the Omaha one is much less costly and event site allows for one stop shopping.
2. A Tour series organized within your region or conducted between regions. A number of regions run such Tours that typically have 3 to 4 events with a championship weekend - they usually start in January and are scheduled as not to conflict with the major tournaments.
3. Two Junior Olympic National Qualifiers. There are a total of eight such tournaments around the United States and they all run in March and April. These are the largest tournaments in the country and where you will find the most number of college coaches attending. That is the good news, the bad news is that these tournaments are long and expensive. But, for colleges that may not have the money or desire to get out to recruit every weekend, these are the tournaments they attend.
With this type of schedule, you can maximize your exposure to college coaches without your folks having to take out a 2nd or 3rd mortgage on the house! Playing a bunch of no-name regional tournaments is only going to expose your skills to smaller local colleges and universities and make the club season feel too long.
With two smaller regional warm-up tournaments and/or a Tour, along with a President's tournament and two Junior Olympic Qualifiers will assemble about a six event schedule which should showcase your volleyball skills to hundreds of college coaches. This schedule will give you the best quality exposure, as cost effective as possible and will keep you fresh during the club season.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Title IX Lawsuits - Inequity within Inequity.
Many volleyfolks were thrilled to hear that former Fresno State University Volleyball Coach Lindy Vivas had won her Title IX lawsuit. Knowing Coach Vivas in a professional manner only, I did not see eye to eye with her on many issue within the sport, but I always respected and admired her never ending efforts to develop and promote women's volleyball. I was happy to hear that she had prevailed in her efforts to illustrate a bad situation.
As happy as I am for Coach Vivas and for the positives that may come from her lawsuit for women's college volleyball, I was disheartened by another recent successful lawsuit.
Stacy Johnson-Klein, former Fresno State University Head Women's Basketball Coach was awarded 19.1 million dollars in her Title IX lawsuit. Many feel the amount may be reduced by the judge.
Coach Vivas was awarded 5.85 million, which was later reduced to 4.52 million.
Understand why I am disheartened? Why does Coach Vivas only merit a 5.85 million dollar verdict and Coach Johnson-Klein receive a 19.1 million dollar verdict?
The specific breakdown of the judgement:
Back Pay - Vivas (2.65 m.)/Klein (600k)
Future Lost Wages - Vivas (1.8 m.)/Klein (4.4 m)
Past and Future non-economic losses-Emotional distress - Vivas (1.425 m.)/Klein (14 m.)
Without knowing the specifics of the case and the exact nature of the charges made by each coach, I can only make three general observations about the amounts awarded:
1. The attorneys for Klein asked for a larger dollar amount and/or were more talented than the attorneys for Vivas.
2. The level of discrimination suffered by Klein was significantly more blatant and harming than suffered by Vivas.
3. The jury perceived the basketball coach being of a higher value than the volleyball coach.
If the answer was #1, then congratulations to the great attorneys working for Klein. If the answer was #2, then Klein must have gone through one heck of an ordeal while working for Fresno State and I wish her the best. If the answer was #3, then our sport still has 14 million reasons to keep fighting for and demanding more respect for women's volleyball in the United States.
What perplexes me about this situation is that Coach Vivas had established a long tenure of success in one of the toughest volleyball conferences in the country and she did this at a school-location that it is not an easy place to recruit.
Coach Klein, was not at Fresno State that long, to my knowledge did not come to Fresno State with head coaching experience and I don't believe the program was that successful while competing in an average ranked women's basketball conference.
It is just frustrating to understand the disparity between the verdicts, other than to submit to the knowledge that women's college volleyball has been bettered by women's basketball for the respect of the public.
Women's Volleyball enjoys the status as the number one sport for women in every industrialized nation in the word, except the United State of America. My heartfelt THANK YOU to Lindy Vivas for always trying to change this statistic and then for having the COURAGE to stand up and demand better when everything was on the line.
As happy as I am for Coach Vivas and for the positives that may come from her lawsuit for women's college volleyball, I was disheartened by another recent successful lawsuit.
Stacy Johnson-Klein, former Fresno State University Head Women's Basketball Coach was awarded 19.1 million dollars in her Title IX lawsuit. Many feel the amount may be reduced by the judge.
Coach Vivas was awarded 5.85 million, which was later reduced to 4.52 million.
Understand why I am disheartened? Why does Coach Vivas only merit a 5.85 million dollar verdict and Coach Johnson-Klein receive a 19.1 million dollar verdict?
The specific breakdown of the judgement:
Back Pay - Vivas (2.65 m.)/Klein (600k)
Future Lost Wages - Vivas (1.8 m.)/Klein (4.4 m)
Past and Future non-economic losses-Emotional distress - Vivas (1.425 m.)/Klein (14 m.)
Without knowing the specifics of the case and the exact nature of the charges made by each coach, I can only make three general observations about the amounts awarded:
1. The attorneys for Klein asked for a larger dollar amount and/or were more talented than the attorneys for Vivas.
2. The level of discrimination suffered by Klein was significantly more blatant and harming than suffered by Vivas.
3. The jury perceived the basketball coach being of a higher value than the volleyball coach.
If the answer was #1, then congratulations to the great attorneys working for Klein. If the answer was #2, then Klein must have gone through one heck of an ordeal while working for Fresno State and I wish her the best. If the answer was #3, then our sport still has 14 million reasons to keep fighting for and demanding more respect for women's volleyball in the United States.
What perplexes me about this situation is that Coach Vivas had established a long tenure of success in one of the toughest volleyball conferences in the country and she did this at a school-location that it is not an easy place to recruit.
Coach Klein, was not at Fresno State that long, to my knowledge did not come to Fresno State with head coaching experience and I don't believe the program was that successful while competing in an average ranked women's basketball conference.
It is just frustrating to understand the disparity between the verdicts, other than to submit to the knowledge that women's college volleyball has been bettered by women's basketball for the respect of the public.
Women's Volleyball enjoys the status as the number one sport for women in every industrialized nation in the word, except the United State of America. My heartfelt THANK YOU to Lindy Vivas for always trying to change this statistic and then for having the COURAGE to stand up and demand better when everything was on the line.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Olympic Volleyball to Junior High - Passing is Critical!
The one constant in the sport of volleyball is the importance of serve receive or passing. With the change to rally scoring, the importance of passing has only been magnified. The skill that enabled a team to earn the right to serve for a point, is now the skill that earns a point. Side Out and Scoring are of equal value, but it is statistically easier to gain a point while in serve receive than serving.
No matter the level of play, passing is still paramount. If you have a chance to watch the NCAA Final Four (in person or on a cable channel that most people don't get), pay attention to passing - all other skills being equal, the team that passes better will win. Even at the Olympic level, passing still is king - one of the criticisms of our Women's Olympic Team in Athens was that our passing broke down and we had no reserve players to remedy the situation.
One of the wisest volleyball observations I have heard recently was that whoever wins the serve pass battle wins the match. This comment by a Junior College coaching friend of mine was completely accurate - no matter how tough or easy the serving, the passing must be superior to win the match.
Now for the Reader's Digest version - Practice Passing if You Want to Win! Even though this is one of those No-Brainer observations, too many folks just don't apply it. I have seen ten times as many matches lost because of bad passing than because of anything else.
As my coaching philosophies have evolved, I moved more into controlled serve receive drills. Early in the season and at many points during the season, I will stress correct technique that is practiced in a very controlled environment. In these situations, me or my assistants will be serving the ball into a narrow area, or to a select group of passers. Even though this is a coach controlled drill, the pace of the balls are rapid to ensure maximum touches. My objective is to provide opportunities to develop short deep footwork, side to side movement, correct presentation of the passing platform and to provide maximum touches within these drills.
As the season progresses and I am comfortable with the physical technique of the passers, we will move into more 'free-style' passing drills where the non-passers will serve the passers within the context of simple serve-pass drills or scrimmage-wash drills. This free-style passing is a bit more game like and allows for some practice managing unpredictable situations.
Too many times, players and coaches want to move away from passing into more exciting drills. Serve receive is boring and it will continue to be boring, but it is a critical boring. No matter how much we practice the fun elements of volleyball, these fun elements are only possible in game situations because we can pass.
It is my belief that passing drills or dominant passing situations should make up over 50% of a practice day. Doing 1.5 hours of passing to start a 3 hour practice is probably not the best way to structure a training session, but by alternating passing drills with fast paced drills or designing drills that include attacking but are engaged by good passes is the answer.
If you are a Prospective Student Athlete (PSA) and want to impress college coaches (unless you are MB or Setter), you need to illustrate your excellent passing skills. College coaches can find tall players that can hit - they are everywhere. What we have trouble finding are players that can pass AND hit, and by pass, I mean take 1/3 of the court with no problem. I have come to the conclusion that it is better to give up 3 inches in height to gain a PSA who can pass very well. At times, my team will lose the height battle, but my players should be competitive in every match because we can run a good offense that is enabled by solid passers.
As a current player, your quickest route onto the court is via passing. There is always a spot open for good passers, whether it be as a back-row sub or all around player. Since it is now the college volleyball off season, make sure you are keeping your passing skill sharp and trying to improve your abilities. With the Holiday break coinciding with the start up of club volleyball, go visit your old club team to get some touches on the ball. They will love to have a college player in the gym and you can get some work on passing.
The spring season or non-traditional volleyball season is the prime time to improve your technique. Spring ball should be technique oriented and focused on individual and small group training. Now is where you can really impress the coaches with your focus and improvement in passing. Many players don't realize that the general starting unit for the fall, is established in the spring. Coaches will carry the impression of your abilities from the spring, into the fall training.
Serve receive like appearance - you can never be too good.
No matter the level of play, passing is still paramount. If you have a chance to watch the NCAA Final Four (in person or on a cable channel that most people don't get), pay attention to passing - all other skills being equal, the team that passes better will win. Even at the Olympic level, passing still is king - one of the criticisms of our Women's Olympic Team in Athens was that our passing broke down and we had no reserve players to remedy the situation.
One of the wisest volleyball observations I have heard recently was that whoever wins the serve pass battle wins the match. This comment by a Junior College coaching friend of mine was completely accurate - no matter how tough or easy the serving, the passing must be superior to win the match.
Now for the Reader's Digest version - Practice Passing if You Want to Win! Even though this is one of those No-Brainer observations, too many folks just don't apply it. I have seen ten times as many matches lost because of bad passing than because of anything else.
As my coaching philosophies have evolved, I moved more into controlled serve receive drills. Early in the season and at many points during the season, I will stress correct technique that is practiced in a very controlled environment. In these situations, me or my assistants will be serving the ball into a narrow area, or to a select group of passers. Even though this is a coach controlled drill, the pace of the balls are rapid to ensure maximum touches. My objective is to provide opportunities to develop short deep footwork, side to side movement, correct presentation of the passing platform and to provide maximum touches within these drills.
As the season progresses and I am comfortable with the physical technique of the passers, we will move into more 'free-style' passing drills where the non-passers will serve the passers within the context of simple serve-pass drills or scrimmage-wash drills. This free-style passing is a bit more game like and allows for some practice managing unpredictable situations.
Too many times, players and coaches want to move away from passing into more exciting drills. Serve receive is boring and it will continue to be boring, but it is a critical boring. No matter how much we practice the fun elements of volleyball, these fun elements are only possible in game situations because we can pass.
It is my belief that passing drills or dominant passing situations should make up over 50% of a practice day. Doing 1.5 hours of passing to start a 3 hour practice is probably not the best way to structure a training session, but by alternating passing drills with fast paced drills or designing drills that include attacking but are engaged by good passes is the answer.
If you are a Prospective Student Athlete (PSA) and want to impress college coaches (unless you are MB or Setter), you need to illustrate your excellent passing skills. College coaches can find tall players that can hit - they are everywhere. What we have trouble finding are players that can pass AND hit, and by pass, I mean take 1/3 of the court with no problem. I have come to the conclusion that it is better to give up 3 inches in height to gain a PSA who can pass very well. At times, my team will lose the height battle, but my players should be competitive in every match because we can run a good offense that is enabled by solid passers.
As a current player, your quickest route onto the court is via passing. There is always a spot open for good passers, whether it be as a back-row sub or all around player. Since it is now the college volleyball off season, make sure you are keeping your passing skill sharp and trying to improve your abilities. With the Holiday break coinciding with the start up of club volleyball, go visit your old club team to get some touches on the ball. They will love to have a college player in the gym and you can get some work on passing.
The spring season or non-traditional volleyball season is the prime time to improve your technique. Spring ball should be technique oriented and focused on individual and small group training. Now is where you can really impress the coaches with your focus and improvement in passing. Many players don't realize that the general starting unit for the fall, is established in the spring. Coaches will carry the impression of your abilities from the spring, into the fall training.
Serve receive like appearance - you can never be too good.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
NCAA Women's Volleyball Final Four Predictions
The Division I season comes down to this weekend - 1 new member and 3 teams looking to add to their National Championship trophy case.
Congratulations to each team - Stanford and Penn State achieved what was expected of them; most of the volleyfolks knew that the Cardinal and Nittney Lions had very good teams and would have been surprised if they had not made the Final Four.
The University of Southern California had another good year and I think slightly exceeded what fans thought they would achieve this year. There was no doubt this team was good, but with the challenge of the Pac 10 combined with the unpredictability of the NCAA Championship seeding, there were some questions about just how high the Trojans could fly.
The new kid on the block is the University of California at Berkeley. Being competitive in the Pac 10 means that Cal was good, but to make a Final Four run must have come as a suprise to many of the faithful, especially the win over Nebraska!
As for me, I batted .500 on my original NCAA Championship prediction - if I was a baseball player, I would have more millions than I have fingers and toes, but alas volleyball got its hooks into me early!!
The left side of the bracket I called perfectly (I think) and the right side of the bracket got the best of me. I had Washington running the table, but that prediction bit the dust in the second round - the Huskies probably are still taking Advil for their headache. Nebraska was supposed to take one Final Four slot, but the Bears rose up to vanquish a repeat.
So, with no further delay - Here is how the weekend will turn out:
Stanford vs. USC - Nothing like playing for the third time this year! On paper, Stanford just has too much for USC to overcome and thus gets my pick for the win. USC is no slouch, but Stanford has made a habit of getting to the big game and should have plenty of motivation after the loss to Nebraska last year. Stanford's biggest strength could also be their biggest weakness - Outside Hitters. Barboza had a poor Final's match last year, and Klineman, even though she is extremely talented, is still a freshman - great freshman can sometimes act like freshman. For USC to win, they have to attack at a very high percentage and Stanford's Outside Hitters need to have a poor match. Nod goes to Stanford.
Penn State vs. UC Berkeley - My earlier prediction on Washington running the table was based on them overcoming Penn State by exposing PSU's only weakness - Passing. Penn State has been able to pass average and win in the Big 10 because their opponents did not have the talent to take advantage of the situation - PSU's outsides could still attack for kills against two blockers and a set defense. One would think that Coach Feller and his staff have also come to this conclusion, but the question will be if Cal has the size on the block and the talent on defense - if they do, then they win, if they don't then they lose. My pick is that they lose - Penn State wins. Penn State's outsides are just too strong and too talented, even though Cal plays in the Pac 10 with a plethora of nationally ranked teams. I believe it will be a close match and maybe a 5 gamer, but Penn State will win.
Might as well do the Finals prediction because my Fridays get rather busy with golf now that the season is over.
Stanford vs. Penn State - These teams should be evenly matched - each has a coach with a ton of wins on the resume, each has very talented outside hitters, experienced setters and athletic middles. Stanford's weakness is they have a freshman outside hitter and Penn State's weakness is their offense can falter at times because of passing. My prediction is Stanford will win the match in 4 games. Why you ask? The Sacramento tournament site will allow Stanford to bring more fans (Nebraska fans are dumping their tickets like housing stocks), Stanford as a team will wish to avenge last season's loss (most notably Barboza by playing like an All American) and passing is always critical. If Penn State can fluster Klineman, then they have a good shot at victory, but they have to keep their passing together.
In the end, Stanford rings up another title - But, then again, I could be completely wrong!
Congratulations to each team - Stanford and Penn State achieved what was expected of them; most of the volleyfolks knew that the Cardinal and Nittney Lions had very good teams and would have been surprised if they had not made the Final Four.
The University of Southern California had another good year and I think slightly exceeded what fans thought they would achieve this year. There was no doubt this team was good, but with the challenge of the Pac 10 combined with the unpredictability of the NCAA Championship seeding, there were some questions about just how high the Trojans could fly.
The new kid on the block is the University of California at Berkeley. Being competitive in the Pac 10 means that Cal was good, but to make a Final Four run must have come as a suprise to many of the faithful, especially the win over Nebraska!
As for me, I batted .500 on my original NCAA Championship prediction - if I was a baseball player, I would have more millions than I have fingers and toes, but alas volleyball got its hooks into me early!!
The left side of the bracket I called perfectly (I think) and the right side of the bracket got the best of me. I had Washington running the table, but that prediction bit the dust in the second round - the Huskies probably are still taking Advil for their headache. Nebraska was supposed to take one Final Four slot, but the Bears rose up to vanquish a repeat.
So, with no further delay - Here is how the weekend will turn out:
Stanford vs. USC - Nothing like playing for the third time this year! On paper, Stanford just has too much for USC to overcome and thus gets my pick for the win. USC is no slouch, but Stanford has made a habit of getting to the big game and should have plenty of motivation after the loss to Nebraska last year. Stanford's biggest strength could also be their biggest weakness - Outside Hitters. Barboza had a poor Final's match last year, and Klineman, even though she is extremely talented, is still a freshman - great freshman can sometimes act like freshman. For USC to win, they have to attack at a very high percentage and Stanford's Outside Hitters need to have a poor match. Nod goes to Stanford.
Penn State vs. UC Berkeley - My earlier prediction on Washington running the table was based on them overcoming Penn State by exposing PSU's only weakness - Passing. Penn State has been able to pass average and win in the Big 10 because their opponents did not have the talent to take advantage of the situation - PSU's outsides could still attack for kills against two blockers and a set defense. One would think that Coach Feller and his staff have also come to this conclusion, but the question will be if Cal has the size on the block and the talent on defense - if they do, then they win, if they don't then they lose. My pick is that they lose - Penn State wins. Penn State's outsides are just too strong and too talented, even though Cal plays in the Pac 10 with a plethora of nationally ranked teams. I believe it will be a close match and maybe a 5 gamer, but Penn State will win.
Might as well do the Finals prediction because my Fridays get rather busy with golf now that the season is over.
Stanford vs. Penn State - These teams should be evenly matched - each has a coach with a ton of wins on the resume, each has very talented outside hitters, experienced setters and athletic middles. Stanford's weakness is they have a freshman outside hitter and Penn State's weakness is their offense can falter at times because of passing. My prediction is Stanford will win the match in 4 games. Why you ask? The Sacramento tournament site will allow Stanford to bring more fans (Nebraska fans are dumping their tickets like housing stocks), Stanford as a team will wish to avenge last season's loss (most notably Barboza by playing like an All American) and passing is always critical. If Penn State can fluster Klineman, then they have a good shot at victory, but they have to keep their passing together.
In the end, Stanford rings up another title - But, then again, I could be completely wrong!
Don't Rest your Body - Heal your Body!
The true OFF days of volleyball are disappearing. With the time period between the end of the high school season and the start of club season vanishing like the rain forests, and college volleyball's tendency to maximize every minute of NCAA allowed interaction, it can be hard to gain a few weeks to be OFF as a player.
With this off time, whether it be for a couple of weeks as a high school player or 1 month as a college athlete, it is import to be active - Active in Healing your body.
The longer we play high level volleyball, the more pounding our bodies take. Many non-volleyball people have no idea how hard it is to maximum jump continuously over the course of a season - the physical impact that our ankles, knees and back take is amazing. Then, toss in the never ending swings of attacking and serving over 3 months and our shoulders can join the rest of our body in pain
One of the things that I have learned the hard way as a coach, is to not only provide non-activity days, but to make sure my players are using this time to mend their bodies. Too many players mistake not hurting for being better. They are still hurt, just not processing the pain.
Athletes, by training, are conditioned to play with discomfort and with pain. As a former national caliber player, I just got used to my knees aching, my shoulder hurting on each swing, my back being stiff, etc. We become so good at mentally managing the pain levels, that when we are able to step away from playing/training for a week, our bodies feel much better.
Unfortunately, our bodies are not better. There is a difference between sore and pain, but it is a finite difference. Basically, if you have ANYTHING that is not right with you, then you should be proactive in getting it right. This means communicating with your trainer or parents to seek out the proper healing methods. With college level volleyball, one would hope that the team trainer would follow-up with players about season physical issues, but that is a rare occurrence.
Depending on your situation, being proactive in your healing could be nothing more than icing a sore area, or engaging in some light muscle building exercises, or doing some shoulder Theraband work. Players can use this down time to build up their impact absorbing muscles to help support those structural areas that are hurting. Many times the sore knees, shoulders and backs are joint inflammation/pain, but it is the muscles surrounding the joints that must be strengthened to make the injury heal.
If you are experiencing a sharp pain or played through a severe pain that never really abated during the season, then you should be seeking out an orthopedic surgeon/sports medicine doctor - not trainer, not therapist, not anything but a doctor that specializes in sports related injuries. I cringe when I interact with high school families that say their daughter went to their long time doctor - the family doctor may be a great doctor, but he/she is not an orthopedic-sports doctor.
College players have an easier avenue to gain rehabilitation and sport medicine evaluations, but they must communicate these concerns with their trainer and also with their coach. Having a player who starts the spring season off by complaining about physical problems, will drive a coach bonkers when that same player did nothing over the Holiday break to make themselves better.
I know your body feels better after taking some time off, but it is not better. Part of the responsibility of being a scholarship college athlete, or attempting to become one, is to maintain a high level of physical ability and that comes by maintaining your body. As harsh as this sounds, as an athlete, our bodies are a machine - we have to take care of the machine.
Turning off the car, does not fix the engine, it needs to go into a mechanic. Just like you need to go see the trainer/doctor if your machine is not perfect.
With this off time, whether it be for a couple of weeks as a high school player or 1 month as a college athlete, it is import to be active - Active in Healing your body.
The longer we play high level volleyball, the more pounding our bodies take. Many non-volleyball people have no idea how hard it is to maximum jump continuously over the course of a season - the physical impact that our ankles, knees and back take is amazing. Then, toss in the never ending swings of attacking and serving over 3 months and our shoulders can join the rest of our body in pain
One of the things that I have learned the hard way as a coach, is to not only provide non-activity days, but to make sure my players are using this time to mend their bodies. Too many players mistake not hurting for being better. They are still hurt, just not processing the pain.
Athletes, by training, are conditioned to play with discomfort and with pain. As a former national caliber player, I just got used to my knees aching, my shoulder hurting on each swing, my back being stiff, etc. We become so good at mentally managing the pain levels, that when we are able to step away from playing/training for a week, our bodies feel much better.
Unfortunately, our bodies are not better. There is a difference between sore and pain, but it is a finite difference. Basically, if you have ANYTHING that is not right with you, then you should be proactive in getting it right. This means communicating with your trainer or parents to seek out the proper healing methods. With college level volleyball, one would hope that the team trainer would follow-up with players about season physical issues, but that is a rare occurrence.
Depending on your situation, being proactive in your healing could be nothing more than icing a sore area, or engaging in some light muscle building exercises, or doing some shoulder Theraband work. Players can use this down time to build up their impact absorbing muscles to help support those structural areas that are hurting. Many times the sore knees, shoulders and backs are joint inflammation/pain, but it is the muscles surrounding the joints that must be strengthened to make the injury heal.
If you are experiencing a sharp pain or played through a severe pain that never really abated during the season, then you should be seeking out an orthopedic surgeon/sports medicine doctor - not trainer, not therapist, not anything but a doctor that specializes in sports related injuries. I cringe when I interact with high school families that say their daughter went to their long time doctor - the family doctor may be a great doctor, but he/she is not an orthopedic-sports doctor.
College players have an easier avenue to gain rehabilitation and sport medicine evaluations, but they must communicate these concerns with their trainer and also with their coach. Having a player who starts the spring season off by complaining about physical problems, will drive a coach bonkers when that same player did nothing over the Holiday break to make themselves better.
I know your body feels better after taking some time off, but it is not better. Part of the responsibility of being a scholarship college athlete, or attempting to become one, is to maintain a high level of physical ability and that comes by maintaining your body. As harsh as this sounds, as an athlete, our bodies are a machine - we have to take care of the machine.
Turning off the car, does not fix the engine, it needs to go into a mechanic. Just like you need to go see the trainer/doctor if your machine is not perfect.
Monday, December 10, 2007
NCAA Division I Volleyball Strength of Schedule
Strength of Schedule - those three words generate many talking heads commentaries. This is one topic where volleyball enjoys the same microscopic examination from its experts as the other NCAA sports. If you listened to any of the college football end of season prognosticators, it was all about Strength of Schedule for the BCS title game.
With Nebraska's untimely exit (nice when your program has reached a level of accomplishment that an Elite 8 loss is grounds for scrutiny!) from the NCAA Tournament, the volleyfans are quick to point out their Strength of Schedule being weak. This criticism seems to be directed at Coach Cook's hesitancy to schedule non-league away matches that are challenging.
In year's past, I had heard the same argument being made in regards to Hawaii, but not with criticism of Coach Shoji, but rather about the Western Athletic Conference and how the weak league did not prepare the Rainbow Wahine (went old school there) for the NCAA tournament.
On the flip side, there are the schools such as UCLA, which at times seem to have a masochistic approach to building their non-league schedule.
The bottom line is strength of schedule does not mean anything this late in the year - it really doesn't. Each coach is going to schedule according to their philosophy of what their team needs and what the program goals are. I have sat through too many conference coach's meetings where the wanna be NCAA tournament programs were berating those teams with less ability for not scheduling tough enough because of the perceived negative impact upon their team's NCAA tournament opportunities. Then the next year, the conference comes back and says to schedule anyone you want, just win every game. Through all of this arrogance and manipulation, there was no change in the number of teams that entered the tournament from the conference. If you are good and win a bunch of matches, then do very well in your conference tournament, you have a shot of getting into the Show.
NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball is so geared toward the programs that reside in the Power Conferences that any scheduling preferences have zero impact upon the rankings. When it comes down to the NCAA tournament, the committee is by and large looking at what schools finished in what position within the Big 3 (Pac 10, Big 10, Big 12). While they may take note of a conference being a bit weaker some years, like the Big 10 this season, they are not going to jet up Texas State over Minnesota.
Nebraska can run the table in the Big 12 and then schedule Tumbleweed State (that is in west Texas by the way) to wrap up the season and the NCAA committee will provide them a #1 seed. Tulane can schedule itself a Top 5 non-league strength of schedule, have a winning record for these matches, and still not receive a bid unless it wins the C-USA tournament. St. John's was awarded a top 16 seed (which is all the NCAA sees fit to seed the tournament - why is there not an outcry from our coaches union? The WBCA would be raising holy heck about such disrespect) after posting an unreal 30+ wins, but they are also a member of the Big East - the Big East has a bit more pull with the boss man than does the Sunbelt.
My only issue with an extremely weak strength of schedule is when a Top 75 RPI team schedules in the 200's and only plays the starters. Believe me, I have never been accused of scheduling too tough, but I use the easy matches to get playing time for kids that are going to be riding the bench for a majority of the season. I know as a high school freshman, I would really look forward to those varsity games where we were going to crunch a team because I could get some playing time in the match!
Those coaches that have amassed more wins than my mother has frequent flier miles know what they are doing. If they play a perceived weaker schedule, they may be trying to cover some injury situation, they may be breaking in a young setter or they just may be sick of travelling and they can't get other top flight teams to jump on a plane to come to someplace not too exciting.
With the occasional glorious exception, it is all about what conference you play in - nothing more.
With Nebraska's untimely exit (nice when your program has reached a level of accomplishment that an Elite 8 loss is grounds for scrutiny!) from the NCAA Tournament, the volleyfans are quick to point out their Strength of Schedule being weak. This criticism seems to be directed at Coach Cook's hesitancy to schedule non-league away matches that are challenging.
In year's past, I had heard the same argument being made in regards to Hawaii, but not with criticism of Coach Shoji, but rather about the Western Athletic Conference and how the weak league did not prepare the Rainbow Wahine (went old school there) for the NCAA tournament.
On the flip side, there are the schools such as UCLA, which at times seem to have a masochistic approach to building their non-league schedule.
The bottom line is strength of schedule does not mean anything this late in the year - it really doesn't. Each coach is going to schedule according to their philosophy of what their team needs and what the program goals are. I have sat through too many conference coach's meetings where the wanna be NCAA tournament programs were berating those teams with less ability for not scheduling tough enough because of the perceived negative impact upon their team's NCAA tournament opportunities. Then the next year, the conference comes back and says to schedule anyone you want, just win every game. Through all of this arrogance and manipulation, there was no change in the number of teams that entered the tournament from the conference. If you are good and win a bunch of matches, then do very well in your conference tournament, you have a shot of getting into the Show.
NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball is so geared toward the programs that reside in the Power Conferences that any scheduling preferences have zero impact upon the rankings. When it comes down to the NCAA tournament, the committee is by and large looking at what schools finished in what position within the Big 3 (Pac 10, Big 10, Big 12). While they may take note of a conference being a bit weaker some years, like the Big 10 this season, they are not going to jet up Texas State over Minnesota.
Nebraska can run the table in the Big 12 and then schedule Tumbleweed State (that is in west Texas by the way) to wrap up the season and the NCAA committee will provide them a #1 seed. Tulane can schedule itself a Top 5 non-league strength of schedule, have a winning record for these matches, and still not receive a bid unless it wins the C-USA tournament. St. John's was awarded a top 16 seed (which is all the NCAA sees fit to seed the tournament - why is there not an outcry from our coaches union? The WBCA would be raising holy heck about such disrespect) after posting an unreal 30+ wins, but they are also a member of the Big East - the Big East has a bit more pull with the boss man than does the Sunbelt.
My only issue with an extremely weak strength of schedule is when a Top 75 RPI team schedules in the 200's and only plays the starters. Believe me, I have never been accused of scheduling too tough, but I use the easy matches to get playing time for kids that are going to be riding the bench for a majority of the season. I know as a high school freshman, I would really look forward to those varsity games where we were going to crunch a team because I could get some playing time in the match!
Those coaches that have amassed more wins than my mother has frequent flier miles know what they are doing. If they play a perceived weaker schedule, they may be trying to cover some injury situation, they may be breaking in a young setter or they just may be sick of travelling and they can't get other top flight teams to jump on a plane to come to someplace not too exciting.
With the occasional glorious exception, it is all about what conference you play in - nothing more.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Where is my future College Volleyball Coach?
With the Holidays Season gearing up, the Recruiting Season gears down! Division I Volleyball is currently in a Quiet Period and is just a few days from starting a lengthy Dead Period. Remember that everything is to be found at www.ncaa.org.
Quickly:
Quiet Period - No off-campus contact with a Prospective Student-Athlete (PSA). This means no scouting players at club volleyball practices or watching early season tournaments. PSA's are allowed to take visits (Unofficial or Official depending upon thier year in school), but the coach cannot leave campus at anytime to see you.
Dead Period - Just like it sounds, nothing is allowed. No off campus recruiting, no on campus contact - absolutely nothing!
For Division I Women's Volleyball, the specific periods and dates are listed below:
December 3-11 Quiet Period.
December 12-31 Dead Period.
January 1-18 Quiet Period (except in states that play high school winter volleyball).
The complete 2007-08 Division I Women's Volleyball Recruiting Calendar is here.
What does this mean for PSA's and families? Well it is actually a good thing, even though those coaches that have been e-mailing you for so long and telling you how great you are/they are/the program is/the school is/the weather is, are not waiting at your court now that the college volleyball season is finished.
Why good? Good because you can just relax and focus on preparing to have a great club volleyball season. Good because your parents don't have a potential future for their daughter standing 10 feet from them.
If you are an unsigned Senior or a Junior, use this 'unscouted' time frame to adequately prepare for the Recruiting Season. You hopefully took some time off from the end of the high school season to let your body rest and recharge your mental batteries. With the start of club training, you could have a solid 6 weeks of practice before Division I coaches come see you play. College coaches are either seeing you for the first time or they are evaluating the development of your skills from when they watched you as a Sophomore. Remember that old saying about first impressions - make a great one by using the Quiet/Dead Periods to prepare!
As per my earlier posts, if you are in your Junior or Senior year of high school, the Quiet periods will allow you to go on a few Unofficial or Official (if you are a senior) Visits and interact with the coaching staff and players. I strongly suggest you use this time period, especially as a Junior, to get a feel for potential schools. With the accelerated recruiting process of today, the more that you can do early to simplify your decision process the better it will be for everyone. For instance, if you think a small campus may be for you, then take a visit to a smaller school that has e-mailed you. You love chemistry, then take a visit to that volleyball program which also has a great chemistry department.
There is no NCAA rule that forbids you from visiting a Division I school during the Dead Period, you just can't have any contact with the volleyball staff. Don't hesitate to arrange a visit via the Admissions Office at any school - that is their job! Come January 19th and you have been able to focus your recruiting parameters and possibly develop a top list (based on visits, not solely recruiting information), you will be ahead of the curve!
Now Division II is a completely different animal, per the NCAA Division II Manual:
30.11.4 Dead Periods for Other Sports. There are no specified contact and evaluation periods in sports
other than football and basketball except for the following dead periods.
30.11.4.1 National Letter of Intent Signing Date. The period 48 hours before 7 a.m. on the date for
signing the National Letter of Intent in the applicable sport.
The only restrictions that Division II coaches face is the National Letter of Intent Signing Date (Early and Late) - which is the same Dead Period for Division I coaches. So this means that the college volleyball coach you see at an early tournament is not a Division I coach - he/she will be Division II, Junior College or NAIA. I know a few non-Division I coaches that love the Recruiting Calendar, because it allows them the opportunity to scout players without the drama that often attends the early tournaments. Plus, there are more seats at the courts!
If you are a Freshman or Sophomore - don't worry about any of this, just play ball and have fun!
You old kids, make some visits and train hard during the Quiet/Dead Periods, then have a great club season once all those big time coaches in their embroidered polo shirts invade the gym!
Quickly:
Quiet Period - No off-campus contact with a Prospective Student-Athlete (PSA). This means no scouting players at club volleyball practices or watching early season tournaments. PSA's are allowed to take visits (Unofficial or Official depending upon thier year in school), but the coach cannot leave campus at anytime to see you.
Dead Period - Just like it sounds, nothing is allowed. No off campus recruiting, no on campus contact - absolutely nothing!
For Division I Women's Volleyball, the specific periods and dates are listed below:
December 3-11 Quiet Period.
December 12-31 Dead Period.
January 1-18 Quiet Period (except in states that play high school winter volleyball).
The complete 2007-08 Division I Women's Volleyball Recruiting Calendar is here.
What does this mean for PSA's and families? Well it is actually a good thing, even though those coaches that have been e-mailing you for so long and telling you how great you are/they are/the program is/the school is/the weather is, are not waiting at your court now that the college volleyball season is finished.
Why good? Good because you can just relax and focus on preparing to have a great club volleyball season. Good because your parents don't have a potential future for their daughter standing 10 feet from them.
If you are an unsigned Senior or a Junior, use this 'unscouted' time frame to adequately prepare for the Recruiting Season. You hopefully took some time off from the end of the high school season to let your body rest and recharge your mental batteries. With the start of club training, you could have a solid 6 weeks of practice before Division I coaches come see you play. College coaches are either seeing you for the first time or they are evaluating the development of your skills from when they watched you as a Sophomore. Remember that old saying about first impressions - make a great one by using the Quiet/Dead Periods to prepare!
As per my earlier posts, if you are in your Junior or Senior year of high school, the Quiet periods will allow you to go on a few Unofficial or Official (if you are a senior) Visits and interact with the coaching staff and players. I strongly suggest you use this time period, especially as a Junior, to get a feel for potential schools. With the accelerated recruiting process of today, the more that you can do early to simplify your decision process the better it will be for everyone. For instance, if you think a small campus may be for you, then take a visit to a smaller school that has e-mailed you. You love chemistry, then take a visit to that volleyball program which also has a great chemistry department.
There is no NCAA rule that forbids you from visiting a Division I school during the Dead Period, you just can't have any contact with the volleyball staff. Don't hesitate to arrange a visit via the Admissions Office at any school - that is their job! Come January 19th and you have been able to focus your recruiting parameters and possibly develop a top list (based on visits, not solely recruiting information), you will be ahead of the curve!
Now Division II is a completely different animal, per the NCAA Division II Manual:
30.11.4 Dead Periods for Other Sports. There are no specified contact and evaluation periods in sports
other than football and basketball except for the following dead periods.
30.11.4.1 National Letter of Intent Signing Date. The period 48 hours before 7 a.m. on the date for
signing the National Letter of Intent in the applicable sport.
The only restrictions that Division II coaches face is the National Letter of Intent Signing Date (Early and Late) - which is the same Dead Period for Division I coaches. So this means that the college volleyball coach you see at an early tournament is not a Division I coach - he/she will be Division II, Junior College or NAIA. I know a few non-Division I coaches that love the Recruiting Calendar, because it allows them the opportunity to scout players without the drama that often attends the early tournaments. Plus, there are more seats at the courts!
If you are a Freshman or Sophomore - don't worry about any of this, just play ball and have fun!
You old kids, make some visits and train hard during the Quiet/Dead Periods, then have a great club season once all those big time coaches in their embroidered polo shirts invade the gym!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
The Elite 8 of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
As I write, the matches are being played to slot the Final Four for the NCAA Volleyball Championship and unfortunately, many of my predictions may come true from my earlier Prediction post in the Random Thoughts label.
But, before we start throwing laurel wreaths upon the heads of the victorious, a few programs deserve to be recognized for beating the system!
1. Middle Tennessee State - Just the name alone is enough to push out of mind any serious volleyball consideration; maybe that is what happened to Louisville and Hawaii! Probably not, as both those head coaches know what they are doing. More likely the MTSU program is very good and played well. My compliments to the staff and players for beating the host team, then coming right back and beating a team that is synonymous with NCAA Women's Volleyball.
2. St. Johns - They could have easily been placed into my first place mention, but they did have a #12 tournament seeding and an unreal 31-3 record (no matter how good or how easily you schedule, only dropping three matches is a feat!). They gave the University of Southern California all it could handle in a quest to reach the Elite 8. It is rare that you hear about any top flight college team from the northeast, but I hope St. John's is around for a while because it would be great for college volleyball!
3. BYU - The great hope of all the upper mid-major programs; I say upper because just about EVERY non Pac 10, Big 10 or Big 12 conference considers themselves a mid-major. An impressive run by the folks from Utah - Beat #6 seed Washington at home and then have the focus to sweep a hot Middle Tennessee State team in a neutral setting to grab the Elite 8; could a revival of the glory days of big time BYU volleyball be coming? Hope so!
One of the things that has been much heralded this year in the college football scene is the balance of the teams and the continuous upsets of the Top 5 ranked schools. While I enjoy college football as much as the next fan, I do admit that having so many top programs bite the ranking dust has made it very exciting.
I hope that the Middle Tennessee State's of the volleyball world will continue to achieve. I get discouraged, as I am sure many hard working coaches do, that so many tournament selections go to the Power Conferences. Tough to get excited about the 5th place team in a conference making much noise in the tournament.
Back to reality - the Pac 10 continues to let the world know its dominance. Was it last year they put 3 teams into the Final Four (I need to drink more fruit juice)? By the looks of the bracket, they are guaranteed 2 with a shot at 3 in the Final Four - Plus, Washington was the only team to lose before achieving the Sweet 16! Amazing - not great for volleyball nationwide - but still Amazing.
Random thought here, while in the Random Thoughts label - Can an argument be made for the popularity of women's basketball because of the national balance? Think about it - just off the top of my admittedly bitter head, the top women's hoops programs traditionally are - Connecticut, Tennessee, Baylor/Oklahoma and Stanford. I am sure I could be missing a few, since this is a stream of conscious paragraph, but it sure looks to me that women's basketball has some balance. If the championship tournament was dominated by the Big East every year or it became the SEC open, then I can't really see the mid-west or west coast buying in to the action.
To that end - GO PENN STATE!!! Seriously, it probably would not hurt the national support of women's volleyball to have more regional balance - 3 Pac 10's and Nebraska may not be the perfect formula, and it could be 3 Pac 10's and Penn State this year. Oh well, too many other mountains to climb before trying to legislate any artificial competitive balance.
Congratulations to those programs that are achieving national recognition without nationally ranked funding! Keep up the good work and I hope you get a raise!
But, before we start throwing laurel wreaths upon the heads of the victorious, a few programs deserve to be recognized for beating the system!
1. Middle Tennessee State - Just the name alone is enough to push out of mind any serious volleyball consideration; maybe that is what happened to Louisville and Hawaii! Probably not, as both those head coaches know what they are doing. More likely the MTSU program is very good and played well. My compliments to the staff and players for beating the host team, then coming right back and beating a team that is synonymous with NCAA Women's Volleyball.
2. St. Johns - They could have easily been placed into my first place mention, but they did have a #12 tournament seeding and an unreal 31-3 record (no matter how good or how easily you schedule, only dropping three matches is a feat!). They gave the University of Southern California all it could handle in a quest to reach the Elite 8. It is rare that you hear about any top flight college team from the northeast, but I hope St. John's is around for a while because it would be great for college volleyball!
3. BYU - The great hope of all the upper mid-major programs; I say upper because just about EVERY non Pac 10, Big 10 or Big 12 conference considers themselves a mid-major. An impressive run by the folks from Utah - Beat #6 seed Washington at home and then have the focus to sweep a hot Middle Tennessee State team in a neutral setting to grab the Elite 8; could a revival of the glory days of big time BYU volleyball be coming? Hope so!
One of the things that has been much heralded this year in the college football scene is the balance of the teams and the continuous upsets of the Top 5 ranked schools. While I enjoy college football as much as the next fan, I do admit that having so many top programs bite the ranking dust has made it very exciting.
I hope that the Middle Tennessee State's of the volleyball world will continue to achieve. I get discouraged, as I am sure many hard working coaches do, that so many tournament selections go to the Power Conferences. Tough to get excited about the 5th place team in a conference making much noise in the tournament.
Back to reality - the Pac 10 continues to let the world know its dominance. Was it last year they put 3 teams into the Final Four (I need to drink more fruit juice)? By the looks of the bracket, they are guaranteed 2 with a shot at 3 in the Final Four - Plus, Washington was the only team to lose before achieving the Sweet 16! Amazing - not great for volleyball nationwide - but still Amazing.
Random thought here, while in the Random Thoughts label - Can an argument be made for the popularity of women's basketball because of the national balance? Think about it - just off the top of my admittedly bitter head, the top women's hoops programs traditionally are - Connecticut, Tennessee, Baylor/Oklahoma and Stanford. I am sure I could be missing a few, since this is a stream of conscious paragraph, but it sure looks to me that women's basketball has some balance. If the championship tournament was dominated by the Big East every year or it became the SEC open, then I can't really see the mid-west or west coast buying in to the action.
To that end - GO PENN STATE!!! Seriously, it probably would not hurt the national support of women's volleyball to have more regional balance - 3 Pac 10's and Nebraska may not be the perfect formula, and it could be 3 Pac 10's and Penn State this year. Oh well, too many other mountains to climb before trying to legislate any artificial competitive balance.
Congratulations to those programs that are achieving national recognition without nationally ranked funding! Keep up the good work and I hope you get a raise!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Recruiting Paperwork per the NCAA
Part of being effectively recruited as a Prospective Student Athlete (PSA) is taking care of the various paperwork issues as required by the NCAA and member institutions. While this seems rather routine, it can be something that can cause some headaches if not done in a timely matter.
Per my previous posts, the Junior year of high school is when a PSA typically should be ramping up their end of the recruiting effort and thus, the paperwork process. A few items of concern:
1. Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse at http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/. This is the Eligibility Center for the NCAA, which certifies if you are eligible to play NCAA Athletics because of your academics. This site should answer any questions you may have about being or becoming eligible to play in college. As part of the process you will need to submit current transcripts, available ACT or SAT test scores, along with pay a fee for registering.
It is important that registration occur during your Junior year, because you want to stay away from the build up of registrations that occur late in the Senior year or the incoming freshman summer when there is a rush of registrations. Typically the NCAA gets swamped with documents/registrations for football players from big name programs and they will receive priority over volleyball players.
FYI - per NCAA rules, you can practice for a certain number of days without NCAA Clearinghouse Final Certification, but you cannot compete or travel.
1A. A new component of the NCAA Clearinghouse is the Amateur Certification. The NCAA has removed the responsibility of determining a player's amateur status from member institutions (colleges/universities) - for USA athletes, this is merely a formality and you just answer a few simple questions. For International student athletes, you must be very careful and specific about how you answer the questions on the computer, mainly because of volleyball cultural differences.
2. Have a current Official High School Transcript and SAT/ACT test score at your home, to make copies for any colleges that request one. Even though you may have already submitted these documents to the NCAA Clearinghouse, many colleges need to have a copy for their files. Get a new set of Transcripts each semester that show grades and currently enrolled classes.
Also, if you are a Division II athlete and part of your scholarship is supported via academics, then the coaches will need current documents for their Financial Aid office. If you are a Division I athlete, then the coaches should be reviewing your transcript to make sure you are on track to attain the correct number of Core Courses.
3. Make sure you submit your Final Official High School Transcript upon graduation to the NCAA Clearinghouse - too many athletes forget this critical detail and have a delay in their certification. Dealing with this situation is not a fun thing for college coaches to do - don't make your new coach mad!
Once you select/commit to your new school, then another set of paperwork must be completed that is school specific:
1. Application for Admissions - Most schools will not move forward in any fashion with any processing until they have received your Application for Admissions. Some schools have a fee associated with this Application while others do not. With this Application you will be told to send/attach Official Transcripts and Test scores.
Some schools may require additional entrance tests as per their admissions policy - for instance, the University of California system requires the SAT II as part of their admissions practice.
2. Housing Application - Typically, the sooner you get this into the system, the better your chances of obtaining the residence style of your choice. Per NCAA rules, the schools should not be setting aside specific housing for athletes/sports, but somehow the football and basketball teams seem to garner the best buildings to live in - we can't beat that, but you can get your information and Application Fee (this is critical) into the system quickly to secure your choice.
3. Health Insurance verification will need to be sent to the Athletic Training room at your new school - this is just about mandatory because of insurance costs for all schools and if you don't have this on file, then you won't be allowed to practice.
4. Have your Final High School Transcript sent to your school immediately upon graduation.
5. Academic preferences or enrollment information forms. Again, each school handles enrollment (registering for classes) differently, but many times this enrollment may be the responsibility of non-athletic department staff/counselors that would like some background information about your academic interests and anticipated daily schedule. Sometimes the academic side of campus and the athletic side of campus don't communicate very well - even though you may have already provided all this information to your coach or athletic department academic person, the Ivory Tower (a term for those that are pure academics) will want their own information.
6. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the FAFSA, http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. This is the paperwork process that allows many schools to determine scholarship and non-scholarship financial support - even for international student athletes. Loans, Pell Grants, in-state academic money, NCAA Special Assistance funds and a host of other money opportunities are all routed through the completion of the FAFSA form.
Like any large organization, the NCAA and the member schools will have plenty of paperwork that needs to be taken care of as part of your association. The longer you wait on this paperwork, the more of a hassle it becomes for everyone. Hopefully this head's up on the various forms that will be facing you as part of your journey will make it a touch easier.
Per my previous posts, the Junior year of high school is when a PSA typically should be ramping up their end of the recruiting effort and thus, the paperwork process. A few items of concern:
1. Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse at http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/. This is the Eligibility Center for the NCAA, which certifies if you are eligible to play NCAA Athletics because of your academics. This site should answer any questions you may have about being or becoming eligible to play in college. As part of the process you will need to submit current transcripts, available ACT or SAT test scores, along with pay a fee for registering.
It is important that registration occur during your Junior year, because you want to stay away from the build up of registrations that occur late in the Senior year or the incoming freshman summer when there is a rush of registrations. Typically the NCAA gets swamped with documents/registrations for football players from big name programs and they will receive priority over volleyball players.
FYI - per NCAA rules, you can practice for a certain number of days without NCAA Clearinghouse Final Certification, but you cannot compete or travel.
1A. A new component of the NCAA Clearinghouse is the Amateur Certification. The NCAA has removed the responsibility of determining a player's amateur status from member institutions (colleges/universities) - for USA athletes, this is merely a formality and you just answer a few simple questions. For International student athletes, you must be very careful and specific about how you answer the questions on the computer, mainly because of volleyball cultural differences.
2. Have a current Official High School Transcript and SAT/ACT test score at your home, to make copies for any colleges that request one. Even though you may have already submitted these documents to the NCAA Clearinghouse, many colleges need to have a copy for their files. Get a new set of Transcripts each semester that show grades and currently enrolled classes.
Also, if you are a Division II athlete and part of your scholarship is supported via academics, then the coaches will need current documents for their Financial Aid office. If you are a Division I athlete, then the coaches should be reviewing your transcript to make sure you are on track to attain the correct number of Core Courses.
3. Make sure you submit your Final Official High School Transcript upon graduation to the NCAA Clearinghouse - too many athletes forget this critical detail and have a delay in their certification. Dealing with this situation is not a fun thing for college coaches to do - don't make your new coach mad!
Once you select/commit to your new school, then another set of paperwork must be completed that is school specific:
1. Application for Admissions - Most schools will not move forward in any fashion with any processing until they have received your Application for Admissions. Some schools have a fee associated with this Application while others do not. With this Application you will be told to send/attach Official Transcripts and Test scores.
Some schools may require additional entrance tests as per their admissions policy - for instance, the University of California system requires the SAT II as part of their admissions practice.
2. Housing Application - Typically, the sooner you get this into the system, the better your chances of obtaining the residence style of your choice. Per NCAA rules, the schools should not be setting aside specific housing for athletes/sports, but somehow the football and basketball teams seem to garner the best buildings to live in - we can't beat that, but you can get your information and Application Fee (this is critical) into the system quickly to secure your choice.
3. Health Insurance verification will need to be sent to the Athletic Training room at your new school - this is just about mandatory because of insurance costs for all schools and if you don't have this on file, then you won't be allowed to practice.
4. Have your Final High School Transcript sent to your school immediately upon graduation.
5. Academic preferences or enrollment information forms. Again, each school handles enrollment (registering for classes) differently, but many times this enrollment may be the responsibility of non-athletic department staff/counselors that would like some background information about your academic interests and anticipated daily schedule. Sometimes the academic side of campus and the athletic side of campus don't communicate very well - even though you may have already provided all this information to your coach or athletic department academic person, the Ivory Tower (a term for those that are pure academics) will want their own information.
6. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the FAFSA, http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. This is the paperwork process that allows many schools to determine scholarship and non-scholarship financial support - even for international student athletes. Loans, Pell Grants, in-state academic money, NCAA Special Assistance funds and a host of other money opportunities are all routed through the completion of the FAFSA form.
Like any large organization, the NCAA and the member schools will have plenty of paperwork that needs to be taken care of as part of your association. The longer you wait on this paperwork, the more of a hassle it becomes for everyone. Hopefully this head's up on the various forms that will be facing you as part of your journey will make it a touch easier.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Where are all the Women's Volleyball Fans?
I don't know whether to laugh or cry when volleyfolks wonder where all the fans are for the NCAA tournament. It is painfully obvious - not at the match!
It is like somebody trying to sell a car by parking at some mall out in the suburbs with a little red For Sale sign and wondering why nobody is calling to buy the car! People do not know about it - It is the same with volleyball.
Many sports marketing studies have shown that relatively few fans come to sporting events solely for the competition being featured. They come because of the atmosphere or experience that they have been made aware of via marketing and promotions. They Go because they Know!
When you take a moment and think about it, this makes sense. At a college football game, how many of the student body is there because they are really interested in the football being played? I would bet dollars to doughnuts that 95% of the female students could not tell you what a screen pass is or a free safety blitz. But, the stands are full of students because it is a fun event - there is music, the promotions department gives out stuff, friends can hang out together and people watch.
Just look at the college basketball games that are being featured on ESPN lately (Pac 10/Big 12 challenge) where the all the fans have the same color t-shirt on - did they get a memo from the hoops coach to wear these shirts? No, they were given these shirts by the marketing department because it looks great. The promotions at basketball games are geared specifically to make it an event and provide a great atmosphere. Plus, the potential fans heard by advertisements, radio/tv, fliers, etc., that such promotions will be going on at the game.
Instead of demanding effective marketing and promotional efforts to create an atmosphere at matches, the folks in volleyball just want to rely on word of mouth about how graceful and athletic volleyball is. This mentality explains why only a couple of teams average above or near 5,000 fans a match - how embarrassing that a sport which awards 12 full scholarships and wishes to be viewed as a Flagship sport in NCAA competition will only generate a few programs with respectable attendance. It is disheartening to hear people get excited about having 1,000 people at a match!
Once again, we are being lapped by women's basketball. The NCAA just provided a significant number of grants (free money - tens of thousands of dollars per) to NCAA Women's Basketball specifically earmarked to be used for increasing the attendance at women's basketball games. In effect, the NCAA just super-charged the marketing and promotional efforts on each Division I campus for women's basketball. This means free t-shirts, interesting promotional giveaways, more posters, billboards around town, big advertisements in the newspapers, radio and television spots.
Women's basketball already enjoys the best support of any women's sport in the NCAA and has the best attendance numbers, but the coaches have decided being #1 among female sports was not good enough - they want more people in the stands, they want to create an atmosphere, an event that folks will come to enjoy - not the game of women's basketball, but the atmosphere that surrounds a game.
My hat is off to women's basketball - they are doing what is necessary to garner a larger crowd. The biggest hindrance that women's basketball must overcome is the comparisons to men's basketball - volleyball does not have this shadow - we look athletic, powerful, explosive because folks really can't compare us to men's volleyball. We have a unique standing and are not doing enough to make potential fans aware of our uniqueness.
Volleyball can no longer rely on word of mouth or the latent interest of high school volleyball bringing significant fans to a game. We have to get the word out, we have to create an atmosphere that college students, families, parents, snowbirds, anyone who can make some noise will enjoy.
One team that I think has succeeded and should be an example to all programs is New Mexico State. For a mid-major conference program, located Las Cruces, they have done a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere by committing to a marketing and promotions plan. Detractors may say that they are not in the top whatever rankings of attendance, but they are lapping major conference programs that enjoy larger a campus and community population, not to mention huge budgets.
How can other programs achieve success? We need to stop being silent. Former volleyball players/coaches that are in athletic department administrative positions need to stop being politically correct and support promotional efforts of volleyball (I know from experience, that former women's basketball coaches/players do not hesitate at all); current coaches need to sound like a very loud broken record - keep calling for support and hold athletic department staff accountable; the players must go through the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (the SAAC is at every NCAA DI-DII school) and demand more marketing/promotional support; the parents of players must be vocal in their dissatisfaction with the current fan base at home matches - they need to let the Athletic Director and Senior Women's Administrator know that their daughter deserves the same effort as the football and basketball teams; and finally, the fans that are at matches need to seek out the match administrator (there is one at every match and they usually sit near the official scorers table) tell them the Athletic Department should be doing more to promote the season to potential fans and create an engaging atmosphere.
I have heard that the modern definition of insanity is to do what you have always done and expect a different result. By this, I would suggest that so many of us are insane.
It is like somebody trying to sell a car by parking at some mall out in the suburbs with a little red For Sale sign and wondering why nobody is calling to buy the car! People do not know about it - It is the same with volleyball.
Many sports marketing studies have shown that relatively few fans come to sporting events solely for the competition being featured. They come because of the atmosphere or experience that they have been made aware of via marketing and promotions. They Go because they Know!
When you take a moment and think about it, this makes sense. At a college football game, how many of the student body is there because they are really interested in the football being played? I would bet dollars to doughnuts that 95% of the female students could not tell you what a screen pass is or a free safety blitz. But, the stands are full of students because it is a fun event - there is music, the promotions department gives out stuff, friends can hang out together and people watch.
Just look at the college basketball games that are being featured on ESPN lately (Pac 10/Big 12 challenge) where the all the fans have the same color t-shirt on - did they get a memo from the hoops coach to wear these shirts? No, they were given these shirts by the marketing department because it looks great. The promotions at basketball games are geared specifically to make it an event and provide a great atmosphere. Plus, the potential fans heard by advertisements, radio/tv, fliers, etc., that such promotions will be going on at the game.
Instead of demanding effective marketing and promotional efforts to create an atmosphere at matches, the folks in volleyball just want to rely on word of mouth about how graceful and athletic volleyball is. This mentality explains why only a couple of teams average above or near 5,000 fans a match - how embarrassing that a sport which awards 12 full scholarships and wishes to be viewed as a Flagship sport in NCAA competition will only generate a few programs with respectable attendance. It is disheartening to hear people get excited about having 1,000 people at a match!
Once again, we are being lapped by women's basketball. The NCAA just provided a significant number of grants (free money - tens of thousands of dollars per) to NCAA Women's Basketball specifically earmarked to be used for increasing the attendance at women's basketball games. In effect, the NCAA just super-charged the marketing and promotional efforts on each Division I campus for women's basketball. This means free t-shirts, interesting promotional giveaways, more posters, billboards around town, big advertisements in the newspapers, radio and television spots.
Women's basketball already enjoys the best support of any women's sport in the NCAA and has the best attendance numbers, but the coaches have decided being #1 among female sports was not good enough - they want more people in the stands, they want to create an atmosphere, an event that folks will come to enjoy - not the game of women's basketball, but the atmosphere that surrounds a game.
My hat is off to women's basketball - they are doing what is necessary to garner a larger crowd. The biggest hindrance that women's basketball must overcome is the comparisons to men's basketball - volleyball does not have this shadow - we look athletic, powerful, explosive because folks really can't compare us to men's volleyball. We have a unique standing and are not doing enough to make potential fans aware of our uniqueness.
Volleyball can no longer rely on word of mouth or the latent interest of high school volleyball bringing significant fans to a game. We have to get the word out, we have to create an atmosphere that college students, families, parents, snowbirds, anyone who can make some noise will enjoy.
One team that I think has succeeded and should be an example to all programs is New Mexico State. For a mid-major conference program, located Las Cruces, they have done a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere by committing to a marketing and promotions plan. Detractors may say that they are not in the top whatever rankings of attendance, but they are lapping major conference programs that enjoy larger a campus and community population, not to mention huge budgets.
How can other programs achieve success? We need to stop being silent. Former volleyball players/coaches that are in athletic department administrative positions need to stop being politically correct and support promotional efforts of volleyball (I know from experience, that former women's basketball coaches/players do not hesitate at all); current coaches need to sound like a very loud broken record - keep calling for support and hold athletic department staff accountable; the players must go through the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (the SAAC is at every NCAA DI-DII school) and demand more marketing/promotional support; the parents of players must be vocal in their dissatisfaction with the current fan base at home matches - they need to let the Athletic Director and Senior Women's Administrator know that their daughter deserves the same effort as the football and basketball teams; and finally, the fans that are at matches need to seek out the match administrator (there is one at every match and they usually sit near the official scorers table) tell them the Athletic Department should be doing more to promote the season to potential fans and create an engaging atmosphere.
I have heard that the modern definition of insanity is to do what you have always done and expect a different result. By this, I would suggest that so many of us are insane.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Want to Transfer? - The Good, The Bad and The How.
It seems as if today's game of college volleyball has more instances of Student-Athletes (SA) wishing to transfer schools. The desire to transfer could be the result of a few things:
1. The SA may be unhappy with the academic avenues available to them - this does happen if their academic interests change once they get into college.
2. The SA may be unhappy with a lack of playing time. This is probably the most common reason for transferring.
3. There may have been a coaching change and the SA does not wish to remain a member of the program, thus they are interested in finding a new school to play for.
4. Even though the SA took an unofficial and/or official visit to the school before committing, once with the team, they realized that this was not the best fit for them. This type of transfer happens more and more, when SA's realize that what was shown to them on a visit, is not the way things really are.
With these being the most common reasons, let's look at the Good, the Bad and the How of transferring.
The Good - You get a chance to possibly find a better situation; academically, athletically or socially. If you really feel that your current school is not your place and you are unhappy, then maybe a new school can be the answer. You will get a fresh start on a new volleyball team, you may have a whole set of academic avenues open to you and a whole new world of experiences is waiting. The best thing about a transfer, is when you are leaving a clearly bad situation at your current school, you will be in a position to truly appreciate a better place. Sometimes it is only when we are in a bad spot, that we come to savor being in a good place.
The Bad - The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence - or to use another example; You don't want to go from the frying pan to the fire! It may be hard to hear, but maybe the problem is internal, not external. If you are not playing, is it because the other player is better, or you are not doing what is necessary to gain the spot? Many times academics are only as good as you make them - if you are not challenged, have you sought out a challenging environment? Speaking of academics, you will lose credits/units when you transfer. The number transferable units depends on the new school, but you will need to take more units to catch up or look at graduating a semester or year later. Finally, the new school situation may not be any better than the old school and it could be worse. Are the other players nice or bothersome, is the campus safer or not, is the academic support better or worse - be careful because you may just transfer into another poor situation!
Before I get to the HOW - some of my experiences with the Good and the Bad. As a player, I never felt the need to consider a transfer, but a couple of my team mates did. In general, what they were looking for at another school they did not find. Their issues were internal, not external. As a coach, I have been privy to a few transfer situations - the Good was when a player realized that the reality of the program was much different than what was presented to her, and she was not happy; a transfer allowed a much better place for her. The Bad was when a player transfers because they are not happy with playing time and I know from professional experience, that the new school they are going to is not going to be the answer - they will not play any more at school #2, then they were playing at school #1.
A dis-service has been done to a number of SA's by parents and club coaches - When you spare the rod, you spoil the child. I am not saying more kids need to be spanked by mom and dad, but more high school volleyball players need the tough love of honesty or they will not have a grip on volleyball reality. If a player is an average player, but looks good because they play in a small high school or for a second tier junior volleyball club, they need to hear this in high school so they don't go off to college and face the hard reality of NCAA sports. Sure, they may not be going to Stanford, but any college volleyball program will have much higher demands than any high school or club team.
I have sat stunned while a player or parent lectures me on how great they are and how I have no idea about what I am doing because they are not playing. Amazing, because my job and the future of my family depends upon our ability to be successful as a team - if it was so obvious that this player was so good, then she would be on the court!!
The How - This is where you get to go Back to the Future! Back, because you have to start the recruiting process all over again to find your Future! With a bit of luck, maybe a school or two that was on your short list, has a scholarship available and will offer it to you. But, many times this does not happen, especially if you decide to transfer late into the spring semester.
The first thing that you need to do is request a Permission to Contact release form. Per NCAA rules, you (or your parents) can have zero contact with any other school before you receive this Permission to Contact form. Some players will side step this rule, by having a club/high school coach make some initial calls/e-mails to college programs - this is a bit shady and will only make you or your new school look poor.
The Permission to Contact release form comes from the Athletic Director via the Compliance Director - the volleyball coach is not authorized to issue a release. The process is to go to your coach and tell them you would like to have a release - make sure you are clear in your reasons why you want a release. The coach may or may not support your request for a release. Then you go to the Director of Compliance's office to tell them you have spoken with your coach and would like a Permission to Contact release form. The Compliance Director will not issue one right there - they will need to confirm with your coach and find out if the coach supports your request. Then the Compliance Director will need to relay this information to the Athletic Director. If the coach and Athletic Director support your request, then the release can be issued quickly.
You want to receive a blanket release if possible. This type of Permission to Contact release will allow you to initiate contact with any school you wish. The majority of schools WILL NOT give an outright blanket release, but will release you to any non-conference member institution (this is no big deal because transferring in-conference, you would automatically lose a year of eligibility in Division I). A few programs will be very specific about what schools they will release you to and you may need to provide a complete list of schools you wish to contact. Then the Compliance Director will give you a series of specific Permission to Contact releases.
If the Athletic Department does not support your request for a release - you have two avenues; stay at the school or request a hearing. Per NCAA rules, any time a transfer request is rejected, the school must provide a non-athletics committee to hear the reasons for your transfer and to make an independent decision. Personally, I have never heard of a transfer committee not releasing a student athlete - it is a hassle to engage in such a review, but you will win.
OK - you have your release, now what?
- You must IMMEDIATELY start calling schools to inform them of your interest. Because of the accelerated recruiting time frame, most programs are long done with the current year's recruiting cycle. They may want you, but they don't have any scholarships. The quicker you contact schools, the better chance you have of securing a scholarship.
- Be clear in the reason why you want to leave your current school. Many coaches, rightfully so, are uncomfortable about accepting transfer players; all to often, transfer SA's can bring a lot of emotional baggage with them! They will want to know exactly why you are transferring; do yourself a favor and be completely honest.
- Unless a potential school had earnestly recruited you while in high school, be prepared to send them video tape of your matches. This can be a bit tricky, because you will need to get these match tapes from the staff you just told you want to transfer! But, just like when you were in high school, potential coaches want to see your skills.
- Offer to make an unofficial visit, if the a new program shows interest. Don't wait for an official visit, this will take too long - remember that you are not the only SA looking to transfer. If you do receive an official visit, be sure to take a hard look at everything, especially since you are a bit more mature and experienced with college volleyball.
Again, either by support or reject and overrule, you will have your Permission to Contact release. One situation that may come up is if you don't have a release to a certain school you really want to attend - this likely happens if you wish to transfer to a rival school. In cases such as this, the transfer committee may not support your request. You can still transfer, but per NCAA rules, you cannot receive any athletic related scholarship for one year - you have to pay your own way for that 1st year. For some players, who may be transferring to a home state school, this is manageable - but, if you are looking at massive tuition associated with a private school, you may wish to rethink your transfer destination.
When looking at transferring, make sure you understand exactly what you are doing. Be sure you are leaving your current school for a valid reason that can be remedied at a new school - I promise you there is more emotional satisfaction by overcoming a tough challenge, then by running away from it.
But, if you are in bad spot because of the character of the coach or some significant negative aspect of the school - then please go through the necessary steps of getting a Permission to Contact release and be proactive in searching out your new future.
1. The SA may be unhappy with the academic avenues available to them - this does happen if their academic interests change once they get into college.
2. The SA may be unhappy with a lack of playing time. This is probably the most common reason for transferring.
3. There may have been a coaching change and the SA does not wish to remain a member of the program, thus they are interested in finding a new school to play for.
4. Even though the SA took an unofficial and/or official visit to the school before committing, once with the team, they realized that this was not the best fit for them. This type of transfer happens more and more, when SA's realize that what was shown to them on a visit, is not the way things really are.
With these being the most common reasons, let's look at the Good, the Bad and the How of transferring.
The Good - You get a chance to possibly find a better situation; academically, athletically or socially. If you really feel that your current school is not your place and you are unhappy, then maybe a new school can be the answer. You will get a fresh start on a new volleyball team, you may have a whole set of academic avenues open to you and a whole new world of experiences is waiting. The best thing about a transfer, is when you are leaving a clearly bad situation at your current school, you will be in a position to truly appreciate a better place. Sometimes it is only when we are in a bad spot, that we come to savor being in a good place.
The Bad - The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence - or to use another example; You don't want to go from the frying pan to the fire! It may be hard to hear, but maybe the problem is internal, not external. If you are not playing, is it because the other player is better, or you are not doing what is necessary to gain the spot? Many times academics are only as good as you make them - if you are not challenged, have you sought out a challenging environment? Speaking of academics, you will lose credits/units when you transfer. The number transferable units depends on the new school, but you will need to take more units to catch up or look at graduating a semester or year later. Finally, the new school situation may not be any better than the old school and it could be worse. Are the other players nice or bothersome, is the campus safer or not, is the academic support better or worse - be careful because you may just transfer into another poor situation!
Before I get to the HOW - some of my experiences with the Good and the Bad. As a player, I never felt the need to consider a transfer, but a couple of my team mates did. In general, what they were looking for at another school they did not find. Their issues were internal, not external. As a coach, I have been privy to a few transfer situations - the Good was when a player realized that the reality of the program was much different than what was presented to her, and she was not happy; a transfer allowed a much better place for her. The Bad was when a player transfers because they are not happy with playing time and I know from professional experience, that the new school they are going to is not going to be the answer - they will not play any more at school #2, then they were playing at school #1.
A dis-service has been done to a number of SA's by parents and club coaches - When you spare the rod, you spoil the child. I am not saying more kids need to be spanked by mom and dad, but more high school volleyball players need the tough love of honesty or they will not have a grip on volleyball reality. If a player is an average player, but looks good because they play in a small high school or for a second tier junior volleyball club, they need to hear this in high school so they don't go off to college and face the hard reality of NCAA sports. Sure, they may not be going to Stanford, but any college volleyball program will have much higher demands than any high school or club team.
I have sat stunned while a player or parent lectures me on how great they are and how I have no idea about what I am doing because they are not playing. Amazing, because my job and the future of my family depends upon our ability to be successful as a team - if it was so obvious that this player was so good, then she would be on the court!!
The How - This is where you get to go Back to the Future! Back, because you have to start the recruiting process all over again to find your Future! With a bit of luck, maybe a school or two that was on your short list, has a scholarship available and will offer it to you. But, many times this does not happen, especially if you decide to transfer late into the spring semester.
The first thing that you need to do is request a Permission to Contact release form. Per NCAA rules, you (or your parents) can have zero contact with any other school before you receive this Permission to Contact form. Some players will side step this rule, by having a club/high school coach make some initial calls/e-mails to college programs - this is a bit shady and will only make you or your new school look poor.
The Permission to Contact release form comes from the Athletic Director via the Compliance Director - the volleyball coach is not authorized to issue a release. The process is to go to your coach and tell them you would like to have a release - make sure you are clear in your reasons why you want a release. The coach may or may not support your request for a release. Then you go to the Director of Compliance's office to tell them you have spoken with your coach and would like a Permission to Contact release form. The Compliance Director will not issue one right there - they will need to confirm with your coach and find out if the coach supports your request. Then the Compliance Director will need to relay this information to the Athletic Director. If the coach and Athletic Director support your request, then the release can be issued quickly.
You want to receive a blanket release if possible. This type of Permission to Contact release will allow you to initiate contact with any school you wish. The majority of schools WILL NOT give an outright blanket release, but will release you to any non-conference member institution (this is no big deal because transferring in-conference, you would automatically lose a year of eligibility in Division I). A few programs will be very specific about what schools they will release you to and you may need to provide a complete list of schools you wish to contact. Then the Compliance Director will give you a series of specific Permission to Contact releases.
If the Athletic Department does not support your request for a release - you have two avenues; stay at the school or request a hearing. Per NCAA rules, any time a transfer request is rejected, the school must provide a non-athletics committee to hear the reasons for your transfer and to make an independent decision. Personally, I have never heard of a transfer committee not releasing a student athlete - it is a hassle to engage in such a review, but you will win.
OK - you have your release, now what?
- You must IMMEDIATELY start calling schools to inform them of your interest. Because of the accelerated recruiting time frame, most programs are long done with the current year's recruiting cycle. They may want you, but they don't have any scholarships. The quicker you contact schools, the better chance you have of securing a scholarship.
- Be clear in the reason why you want to leave your current school. Many coaches, rightfully so, are uncomfortable about accepting transfer players; all to often, transfer SA's can bring a lot of emotional baggage with them! They will want to know exactly why you are transferring; do yourself a favor and be completely honest.
- Unless a potential school had earnestly recruited you while in high school, be prepared to send them video tape of your matches. This can be a bit tricky, because you will need to get these match tapes from the staff you just told you want to transfer! But, just like when you were in high school, potential coaches want to see your skills.
- Offer to make an unofficial visit, if the a new program shows interest. Don't wait for an official visit, this will take too long - remember that you are not the only SA looking to transfer. If you do receive an official visit, be sure to take a hard look at everything, especially since you are a bit more mature and experienced with college volleyball.
Again, either by support or reject and overrule, you will have your Permission to Contact release. One situation that may come up is if you don't have a release to a certain school you really want to attend - this likely happens if you wish to transfer to a rival school. In cases such as this, the transfer committee may not support your request. You can still transfer, but per NCAA rules, you cannot receive any athletic related scholarship for one year - you have to pay your own way for that 1st year. For some players, who may be transferring to a home state school, this is manageable - but, if you are looking at massive tuition associated with a private school, you may wish to rethink your transfer destination.
When looking at transferring, make sure you understand exactly what you are doing. Be sure you are leaving your current school for a valid reason that can be remedied at a new school - I promise you there is more emotional satisfaction by overcoming a tough challenge, then by running away from it.
But, if you are in bad spot because of the character of the coach or some significant negative aspect of the school - then please go through the necessary steps of getting a Permission to Contact release and be proactive in searching out your new future.
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