One of our readers has asked a question(s) about Verbal Commitments and also Walk-Ons:
Can you please explain how it works for juniors to verbally commit when they can't talk directly with coaches off-site? Are they connecting when the PSA goes to the campus for an un-official visit or when the PSA initiates a phone-call to that coach (assistant or head?)? Who is signaling each other that a mutual interest has been developed - the club coach? Just wondering if I'm missing the bus here and need to be making more aggressive moves? We've sent the intro E-mails, athletic/academic resumes - some with a DVD and then subsequent follow-up E-mails on tournament results. Is it still our move to contact the school, or wait now for some type of response?
Second question - How realistic or ridiculous is it to consider as a back-up plan for our daughter - her trying to become a walk-on freshmen player, hoping some scholarship money might happen in subsequent years if she 'proves' herself, e.g. works hard and continues to develop? Let me attempt to better define the scenario: Getting into a solid academic program for her intended major, a school that has good career networking, is more important to us than just getting a VB scholarship/free education at 'University Anywhere'. Still, if she wants to play VB (assuming she is good enough, just not 'great'), than a VB program that will be fun and well supported is important. If she were to successfully establish herself at such a program, should we ever expect or be able to negotiate any funding for her? Thank you Mark
To answer the first series of questions about Verbal Commitments - With E-mail and Text (in August Text or IM will be against the rules), college coaches are encouraging prospects to call them. Remember, that a call placed by the Prospective Student Athlete (PSA) to a college coach is legal. If you were to look at any college coach's signature section on e-mails, they will have their office number, direct line number, cell phone number, home number and IM identification listed so PSA's have many avenues to initiate contact.
Either via e-mail, a received telephone call or via the club coach, college coaches are very direct about encouraging the PSA to come to campus for an Unofficial Visit. If a PSA does decide to come to campus, it is during this time frame that a scholarship offer would be presented. As I had written about before, the Unofficial Visit is the new Official Visit. The major difference between the two, is that DI schools can't pay for anything (DII can buy one meal on campus) but you can view practice (DII you can participate), attend classes, stay overnight on campus (if you pay the normal overnight fee via admissions), meet with professors, etc.
If the PSA or parents are responding to e-mails, sending out updates and video, then you just have to be patient. College coaches work from the top down - they are shooting for the highest possible recruit to come to campus first and thus receive the first scholarship offer. It can be a good thing, because some coaches are hesitant to invite you to campus if they would not be able to offer you a scholarship during your visit - they don't want to waste any one's time.
What I would be aware of is the response or lack of response from college coaches. If it is a one way line of communication with colleges, then I would suggest you step back and re-evaluate your list of schools. If a school has a sincere interest, then they will respond - no matter how busy they are; it is our job to recruit. The harsh truth is, by this time in the Junior or Senior Year recruiting process, if schools are not responding, they are not interested. Sometimes this could have nothing to do with talent, but rather because they do not have the need for the position that your daughter plays. If you are not getting responses, then you need to target another set of colleges that maybe play at a lower level.
In terms of Walking On at a program - If your daughter likes a school for the academic fit primary, then a Walk-On is a good situation - if she happens to do develop into an impact player, most coaches will reward her with a scholarship for her last year or two. I would not count on such a scholarship happening, because there is always another incoming freshman class that has very talented players and coaches are always trying to improve the overall ability of their program. Also, many times a scholarship being allocated to a Walk-On is a last minute situation because a scholarship became available (an incoming freshman bailed out just before the season or a returner did not return!).
I would not limit your Walk-On scholarship opportunities to just Athletic. There are many, many other scholarship opportunities on every campus that can add up to significant support. What is great about these other scholarships, is since they are not Athletically based, if your daughter decides that Volleyball (the coach, other players, travel demands, etc) don't mix well with college, then she can step away from Volleyball without the family taking a financial hit.
If a scholarship (athletic, merit, need, etc) never happens and she really likes the school to begin with, there are many perks to being an NCAA athlete; preferential enrollment, athlete only academic support, athlete only training and weight rooms, athlete only meal halls, top flight equipment, free travel, etc. If your daughter Walks-On at a program, don't ever expect an Athletic Scholarship, just be happy if one lands in her lap.
For those of you wanting the Reader's Digest version of the above answer: If your daughter is a Senior, the eliminate all schools that have not responded that are on your list of scholarship volleyball programs, then create another list of scholarship schools and start looking for a Walk-On slot at the school she most wants to attend for academic reasons; If your daughter is a Junior, then keep staying active in the recruiting process and be patient, there is still a bunch of time for the Junior class - Don't worry about a Walk-On position until after her Senior High School season is finished.
Good luck and I commend you for being aware and active in the recruiting process - your daughter will be better for it!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Multi Sport Player Question
A question about being a multi-sport athlete from one of our readers:
Just ran across your site today - Lots of valuable information.
My daughter plays both volleyball and basketball in high school at the varsity level. She also plays club volleyball and this coming summer she will play club basketball to a limited extent.
The seasons tend to overlap, without much, if any down time. Do college coaches encourage multi-sport athletes? Do you have any advice to these athletes? Does she need to make a decision and pick a favorite sport? Larry
Great question and one that has not been asked before.
By and large, college coaches do not encourage multi-sport athletes - It scares Volleyball coaches when kids play basketball because the number of ACL injuries and the physical contact, just as I would think playing Volleyball scares basketball coaches because of the potential for leg injuries along the net. In the past, college coaches may have looked at basketball as a means to stay in shape when not playing Volleyball, but now that club Volleyball has grown tremendously as a means to develop skill and improve conditioning, the support of a second sport for Volleyball Prospective Student Athletes has disappeared.
My advice to any athlete who is a Junior or older in high school is to pick one sport and focus. Two reasons for this advice; one, she needs time to rest physically and mentally - going from high school Volleyball, immediately into high school basketball, immediately into club Volleyball, immediately into club basketball and then back into high school Volleyball is the recipe for burn-out (it may not catch up to her immediately, but it will eventually). Two, the 17's age is when she will make the biggest jump in her physical development and concurrent with this, she must focus on one sport to reach the highest possible level of college potential. You have to remember that it is a competition to get a scholarship at the school of your choosing. When a player is multi-sporting (new verb that I want credit for when everyone is using it!), they are getting better at each sport, but when a player just focuses upon one sport, they are becoming much, much better at that sport and would theoretically be rated higher when a coach starts to determine who will be offered a scholarship.
Without sounding too biased, I think basketball players can be more successful being multi-sport athletes before college than volleyball players. I say that because volleyball has much more defined skill sets that must be practiced in group settings to improve. If you think about it, if you have a nice jump shot, that one skill can take you a long ways in basketball. If you have a nice arm swing, that one skill will not take you as far in volleyball because you also need to be able to jump, pass, play defense, block, etc.
Have your daughter pick her favorite sport and commit to becoming as good as possible in that sport, along with focusing upon the recruiting process so she is choosing the school that best fits her academic and athletic desires.
Just ran across your site today - Lots of valuable information.
My daughter plays both volleyball and basketball in high school at the varsity level. She also plays club volleyball and this coming summer she will play club basketball to a limited extent.
The seasons tend to overlap, without much, if any down time. Do college coaches encourage multi-sport athletes? Do you have any advice to these athletes? Does she need to make a decision and pick a favorite sport? Larry
Great question and one that has not been asked before.
By and large, college coaches do not encourage multi-sport athletes - It scares Volleyball coaches when kids play basketball because the number of ACL injuries and the physical contact, just as I would think playing Volleyball scares basketball coaches because of the potential for leg injuries along the net. In the past, college coaches may have looked at basketball as a means to stay in shape when not playing Volleyball, but now that club Volleyball has grown tremendously as a means to develop skill and improve conditioning, the support of a second sport for Volleyball Prospective Student Athletes has disappeared.
My advice to any athlete who is a Junior or older in high school is to pick one sport and focus. Two reasons for this advice; one, she needs time to rest physically and mentally - going from high school Volleyball, immediately into high school basketball, immediately into club Volleyball, immediately into club basketball and then back into high school Volleyball is the recipe for burn-out (it may not catch up to her immediately, but it will eventually). Two, the 17's age is when she will make the biggest jump in her physical development and concurrent with this, she must focus on one sport to reach the highest possible level of college potential. You have to remember that it is a competition to get a scholarship at the school of your choosing. When a player is multi-sporting (new verb that I want credit for when everyone is using it!), they are getting better at each sport, but when a player just focuses upon one sport, they are becoming much, much better at that sport and would theoretically be rated higher when a coach starts to determine who will be offered a scholarship.
Without sounding too biased, I think basketball players can be more successful being multi-sport athletes before college than volleyball players. I say that because volleyball has much more defined skill sets that must be practiced in group settings to improve. If you think about it, if you have a nice jump shot, that one skill can take you a long ways in basketball. If you have a nice arm swing, that one skill will not take you as far in volleyball because you also need to be able to jump, pass, play defense, block, etc.
Have your daughter pick her favorite sport and commit to becoming as good as possible in that sport, along with focusing upon the recruiting process so she is choosing the school that best fits her academic and athletic desires.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Recruited Walk On Questions
A question from a reader about being a Recruited Walk-On.
As a parent of a junior going through the recruiting process, just wondering what it really means when a fairly top-level div 1 school says your girl is just outside their top recruits, but he really likes her and their is a spot with them as a recruited walk-on; any big deal? On the walk-on question, are there only so many girls that a team can carry? Would it be unusual for a girl to come on as a walk-on and subsequently earn a scholarship? Thanks in advance - Mac
Mac brings up some very good questions about what it means to be a Walk-On student-athlete. In Division I Volleyball, a Walk-On is a player who is not receiving an athletic scholarship. Many DI Walk-Ons are receiving some type of academic, merit or need based support, but none of their scholarships are athletically related; in fact, I have been at schools where a couple of the Walk-On players were on a larger scholarship package than a full athletic scholarship because of the combination of academic and need packages.
With regards to the term 'Recruited Walk-On', all this means is that there has been multiple contacts between the coach and the player via e-mail, letters and/or telephone calls. A coach/program is allowed to have one exchange of information (e-mail, letter or phone call) with a prospective student-athlete without having her classified as being recruited - anything after that initial contact, then the PSA becomes recruited. Even though the term sounds good to a family, Recruited Walk-On versus just being a Walk-On player, it only has one meaning; a Recruited Walk-On is limited in the amount of financial aid/scholarship support that they can receive from an institution. A Recruited Walk-On can only receive non-athletic scholarships up to a total that equals a full athletic scholarship. For most PSA's this is no big deal, but for a few that are extremely smart, have need based or qualify for merit scholarships, this caps their award and 'costs' them a few thousand dollars in financial suport. So, while the coach is trying to sound good, the reality is they are limiting your financial packages.
On to the questions from Mac:
1. Spot as a Recruited Walk-On? The coach is trying to get a player for free because she is not good enough for them to give her a scholarship. This is a rather soft way for a program to cut loose a recruit, but still leave a door open for that player to be on the team. This is great for the program because they will get a good practice player and which may develop into somebody who could help the team during matches. It is only a big deal if the school is some place the PSA really wants to go to and would attend if they did not have a volleyball team.
2. Are there only so many girls a team can carry? No, there is no NCAA limit as to the number of players that may be on the volleyball roster. NCAA Division I allows 12 full scholarships for Women's Volleyball, but because of Title IX compliance athletic departments encourage women's teams to carry more players on the roster than the number of scholarships - this is done to balance out the number of football players. It is rare that you see teams with more than 16 players on a roster just because of training issues, but it can happen.
3. Earning a scholarship? That is the lure of being a Walk-On; come prove your abilities and we may have a scholarship for you. This can happen and many times it does, but it usually does not occur until the Walk-On is at least an upper classmen. Unfortunately, many times a Walk-On getting a scholarship is by happenstance (an incoming recruit bailed out, an international player could not get in, etc) and a last minute thing. Now, there are occasions where a Walk-On makes a big impact upon the program and is awarded a scholarship, but the reality is that if a scholarship comes free, the majority of coaches are going to allocate that scholarship to the next recruiting class.
Honestly, I would not encourage anyone to accept a Walk-On spot unless they have exhausted all scholarship opportunities at peer institutions. As a Junior, there is still a lot of time left in the recruiting process and a number of schools that could well be a great fit for your daughter. To join a mid to upper level program as a Walk-On this early, is not the best decision. Keep the
Walk-On offer as a back-up (the coach is not going to pull it or put a deadline on a decision and if they do, then that should give you an indication that this was a token offer to begin with), continue to play volleyball and stay engaged in the recruiting game.
It is important to realize that many times being a Walk-On is a great deal. For some of the elite universities that compete in Division I athletics, being an athlete is the way to gain admission to the school, walk-on or scholarship' ed; I have seen it happen amny times where a PSA with good grades/scores is able to gain admission to a great school by being a walk-on and the coach makes it happen with the admissions office.
Like every student-athlete, a Walk-On enjoys the same perks; preferential enrollment, athletics only academic support and counselors, athlete only weight rooms and training rooms, equipment, travel, etc. There are many, many positive benefits of being a student-athlete that have nothing to do with getting an athletic scholarship.
Being a student-athlete (via a Walk-On) looks great on your resume. Whether you are making plans for graduate school, competing for a coveted internship or trying to land a job, the resume just says you were a student-athlete, not a Walk-On student athlete. The ability to train and compete with an NCAA program, succeed in a course of study, balance all the demands of volleyball and school, and then have a, hopefully, normal college life is something that makes a big impression upon future employers!
The one thing that I caution players about when it comes to being a Walk-On is to choose for the school and your degree program, nothing else. Absolutely do not Walk-On at a school because of the coach; there is no guarantee that the coach will be there for your four/five years - sometimes things are just outside of their control. Also, do not Walk-On because the team is a good or well known - unfortunately injuries, reduced budgets, staff changes can quickly bring a once high flying volleyball program down to earth.
Choose to be a Walk-On at a school that is someplace you would attend even if they did not have a volleyball program. Know that you are going there because they have the academic and collegiate experience that will make your time there empowering and enjoyable. You will spend so much more time being a student, than being an athlete, that you must choose to spend your money at a school that can stand on its own without the volleyball team.
As a parent of a junior going through the recruiting process, just wondering what it really means when a fairly top-level div 1 school says your girl is just outside their top recruits, but he really likes her and their is a spot with them as a recruited walk-on; any big deal? On the walk-on question, are there only so many girls that a team can carry? Would it be unusual for a girl to come on as a walk-on and subsequently earn a scholarship? Thanks in advance - Mac
Mac brings up some very good questions about what it means to be a Walk-On student-athlete. In Division I Volleyball, a Walk-On is a player who is not receiving an athletic scholarship. Many DI Walk-Ons are receiving some type of academic, merit or need based support, but none of their scholarships are athletically related; in fact, I have been at schools where a couple of the Walk-On players were on a larger scholarship package than a full athletic scholarship because of the combination of academic and need packages.
With regards to the term 'Recruited Walk-On', all this means is that there has been multiple contacts between the coach and the player via e-mail, letters and/or telephone calls. A coach/program is allowed to have one exchange of information (e-mail, letter or phone call) with a prospective student-athlete without having her classified as being recruited - anything after that initial contact, then the PSA becomes recruited. Even though the term sounds good to a family, Recruited Walk-On versus just being a Walk-On player, it only has one meaning; a Recruited Walk-On is limited in the amount of financial aid/scholarship support that they can receive from an institution. A Recruited Walk-On can only receive non-athletic scholarships up to a total that equals a full athletic scholarship. For most PSA's this is no big deal, but for a few that are extremely smart, have need based or qualify for merit scholarships, this caps their award and 'costs' them a few thousand dollars in financial suport. So, while the coach is trying to sound good, the reality is they are limiting your financial packages.
On to the questions from Mac:
1. Spot as a Recruited Walk-On? The coach is trying to get a player for free because she is not good enough for them to give her a scholarship. This is a rather soft way for a program to cut loose a recruit, but still leave a door open for that player to be on the team. This is great for the program because they will get a good practice player and which may develop into somebody who could help the team during matches. It is only a big deal if the school is some place the PSA really wants to go to and would attend if they did not have a volleyball team.
2. Are there only so many girls a team can carry? No, there is no NCAA limit as to the number of players that may be on the volleyball roster. NCAA Division I allows 12 full scholarships for Women's Volleyball, but because of Title IX compliance athletic departments encourage women's teams to carry more players on the roster than the number of scholarships - this is done to balance out the number of football players. It is rare that you see teams with more than 16 players on a roster just because of training issues, but it can happen.
3. Earning a scholarship? That is the lure of being a Walk-On; come prove your abilities and we may have a scholarship for you. This can happen and many times it does, but it usually does not occur until the Walk-On is at least an upper classmen. Unfortunately, many times a Walk-On getting a scholarship is by happenstance (an incoming recruit bailed out, an international player could not get in, etc) and a last minute thing. Now, there are occasions where a Walk-On makes a big impact upon the program and is awarded a scholarship, but the reality is that if a scholarship comes free, the majority of coaches are going to allocate that scholarship to the next recruiting class.
Honestly, I would not encourage anyone to accept a Walk-On spot unless they have exhausted all scholarship opportunities at peer institutions. As a Junior, there is still a lot of time left in the recruiting process and a number of schools that could well be a great fit for your daughter. To join a mid to upper level program as a Walk-On this early, is not the best decision. Keep the
Walk-On offer as a back-up (the coach is not going to pull it or put a deadline on a decision and if they do, then that should give you an indication that this was a token offer to begin with), continue to play volleyball and stay engaged in the recruiting game.
It is important to realize that many times being a Walk-On is a great deal. For some of the elite universities that compete in Division I athletics, being an athlete is the way to gain admission to the school, walk-on or scholarship' ed; I have seen it happen amny times where a PSA with good grades/scores is able to gain admission to a great school by being a walk-on and the coach makes it happen with the admissions office.
Like every student-athlete, a Walk-On enjoys the same perks; preferential enrollment, athletics only academic support and counselors, athlete only weight rooms and training rooms, equipment, travel, etc. There are many, many positive benefits of being a student-athlete that have nothing to do with getting an athletic scholarship.
Being a student-athlete (via a Walk-On) looks great on your resume. Whether you are making plans for graduate school, competing for a coveted internship or trying to land a job, the resume just says you were a student-athlete, not a Walk-On student athlete. The ability to train and compete with an NCAA program, succeed in a course of study, balance all the demands of volleyball and school, and then have a, hopefully, normal college life is something that makes a big impression upon future employers!
The one thing that I caution players about when it comes to being a Walk-On is to choose for the school and your degree program, nothing else. Absolutely do not Walk-On at a school because of the coach; there is no guarantee that the coach will be there for your four/five years - sometimes things are just outside of their control. Also, do not Walk-On because the team is a good or well known - unfortunately injuries, reduced budgets, staff changes can quickly bring a once high flying volleyball program down to earth.
Choose to be a Walk-On at a school that is someplace you would attend even if they did not have a volleyball program. Know that you are going there because they have the academic and collegiate experience that will make your time there empowering and enjoyable. You will spend so much more time being a student, than being an athlete, that you must choose to spend your money at a school that can stand on its own without the volleyball team.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Collegiate Beach Volleyball
College Volleyball coaches constantly use the word focus when speaking with their team - focus on having a good practice, focus on improving your passing, focus on our side of the net, focus on this game, etc. I believe that referencing the idea of focus is a good thing for players and teams - it tends to keep the attention on what can be controlled and does not allow distractions to lead us away from our goals.
When I read about the coming Collegiate Beach Volleyball tournaments that are being sponsored by Conferences and the NCAA (read about it here), I can only think that women's college volleyball has lost its focus.
Please allow me to list what concerns me:
1. We have so many obstacles to overcome to achieve the goal of Women's Volleyball becoming a Flagship NCAA sport, that to expend any energy on Beach Volleyball is counter productive. In fact, it is stupid.
2. The money's being spent by the Conferences and NCAA to promote and administer these events, could be allocated to supporting indoor volleyball.
3. Beach Volleyball is traditionally played by 2 people and with even an alternate player on each team, there are no expanded opportunities for women's athletes. It is not as if the athletic departments are going to create separate beach volleyball teams.
4. It demeans the image of indoor volleyball; because these events will be played by college volleyball teams, these teams and schools will now be associated with young females in bikini's playing on the beach. Is this really the ideal that we wish to promote for women's college volleyball?
5. It is a gimmick and gimmicks do not work, they just look silly.
6. Women's College Basketball pushed through a NCAA support package that specifically provides money to schools from the NCAA to promote and market Women's Basketball with the objective to increase fan attendance and create a positive, entertaining environment. We support putting our players into swim suits and playing doubles on the beach.
7. Misty May and Carrie Walsh have demonstrated that there is no crossover between beach volleyball being popular and indoor volleyball being popular. May and Walsh are huge in the beach volleyball world and on television (Fox Sports mainly), but I have not seen an increase in the television or popularity of indoor volleyball, most notably the USA National Teams, because beach volleyball is popular.
8. Do we see Football and Basketball engaging in any time of 'emerging sport' culture? I doubt they would support flag football or 3 on 3 street ball basketball as an emerging sport. They understand it does not enhance their sports and would not allow resources to be allocated to these events that could be spent on their own sports.
I spent 5 years as a touring member of the AVP pro beach tour - I really enjoy playing beach volleyball and think it is a fabulous sport. But, as a NCAA Women's Volleyball coach, I know that this will do nothing to help the growth and image of Women's Volleyball.
We are not being focused on what is important - upgrading Women's Volleyball.
When I read about the coming Collegiate Beach Volleyball tournaments that are being sponsored by Conferences and the NCAA (read about it here), I can only think that women's college volleyball has lost its focus.
Please allow me to list what concerns me:
1. We have so many obstacles to overcome to achieve the goal of Women's Volleyball becoming a Flagship NCAA sport, that to expend any energy on Beach Volleyball is counter productive. In fact, it is stupid.
2. The money's being spent by the Conferences and NCAA to promote and administer these events, could be allocated to supporting indoor volleyball.
3. Beach Volleyball is traditionally played by 2 people and with even an alternate player on each team, there are no expanded opportunities for women's athletes. It is not as if the athletic departments are going to create separate beach volleyball teams.
4. It demeans the image of indoor volleyball; because these events will be played by college volleyball teams, these teams and schools will now be associated with young females in bikini's playing on the beach. Is this really the ideal that we wish to promote for women's college volleyball?
5. It is a gimmick and gimmicks do not work, they just look silly.
6. Women's College Basketball pushed through a NCAA support package that specifically provides money to schools from the NCAA to promote and market Women's Basketball with the objective to increase fan attendance and create a positive, entertaining environment. We support putting our players into swim suits and playing doubles on the beach.
7. Misty May and Carrie Walsh have demonstrated that there is no crossover between beach volleyball being popular and indoor volleyball being popular. May and Walsh are huge in the beach volleyball world and on television (Fox Sports mainly), but I have not seen an increase in the television or popularity of indoor volleyball, most notably the USA National Teams, because beach volleyball is popular.
8. Do we see Football and Basketball engaging in any time of 'emerging sport' culture? I doubt they would support flag football or 3 on 3 street ball basketball as an emerging sport. They understand it does not enhance their sports and would not allow resources to be allocated to these events that could be spent on their own sports.
I spent 5 years as a touring member of the AVP pro beach tour - I really enjoy playing beach volleyball and think it is a fabulous sport. But, as a NCAA Women's Volleyball coach, I know that this will do nothing to help the growth and image of Women's Volleyball.
We are not being focused on what is important - upgrading Women's Volleyball.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Unsigned Senior Club Volleyball Playing Time
A very good question from one of our readers:
My daughter is an unsigned senior on one of the top club teams in our state. She is probably the 6th or 7th best senior middle in a very deep class (six MB's have already signed with PAC-10 schools) but unfortunately two of the top three middles in the state are also on her team. As a result my daughter is the third choice and does not play in the big matches. During a recent tournament she played in the first matches on Day One and the last matches on Day Two (about half of the games total between the two days) but during the time that three coaches were there to watch her in particular, she did not get to play. So the touchy subject is… her coach does not want to hear anything about playing time, but is there a way for her ask to play in a given match while a particular coach is watching without sounding like she is complaining about playing time? Thanks for any suggestions you might have. Sincerely, Scott
The bottom line is the bottom line: You are paying money for your daughter to play club volleyball and as an unsigned senior, the focus of this club volleyball season is to expose your daughter's talent to potential universities (double this if the other MB's on the team have signed). I understand the coach's desire not to get involved in playing time issues, but the reality is YOU are the boss and your daughter needs to get seen - especially this early in the club season. It is not the time of the Qualifiers and we are a long shot from Nationals - this time of the club season is about exposure, winning is only a nice benefit of taking care of the players.
High School and College Volleyball are different from Club Volleyball simply by the fact you pay a monthly fee so your child can play volleyball. Since you are buying this playing time, you have every right to request and expect a certain satisfaction for your money. By nature, sports are competitive ventures where each coach wishes to place a team on the floor that has the best opportunity to win, but this does not in any way exempt that same coach from fulfilling the inherent responsibility of providing exposure to potential college programs. Some may say that Club Volleyball is for skill development and a social opportunity, which it may well be for the younger age groups. But once you are playing 17 Open and 18's Club or Open, the focus shifts to garnering a spot on a college roster (hopefully with a scholarship) and continuing the improvement of volleyball skills in preparation for college volleyball.
My suggestion is to ask for a meeting with the coach, away from practice or competition that allows for a comfortable conversation. Too many parents get 'heated' and try to communicate in the wrong environment - at a competition is for sure the wrong place. After a practice session is not really the best place, but at least the adrenaline of playing a match is not there.
Explain your situation and your concerns about your daughter being properly evaluated by potential schools. You may wish to suggest, that in light of the early nature of the season (not near Qualifiers yet), that you would appreciate her being allowed playing time in each match (not game, but match), even if it is just one trip across the front row, so college coaches can at least see her during competition. Trying to get a player on the court, when coaches are watching, can be a bit tricky and distract from the focus on the match.
Because of this, I would ask for limited playing time each match; with a gentle reminder that the other MB's have signed, your daughter is still exploring her future, and the club season has not yet reached the Qualifier rounds. When presented this way the club coach should be open to some slight adjustments to the playing rotation. Again, if you present your request in the form of playing time each match, rather than game, this give some flexibility to the coach to get a few rotations in for your daughter.
But, if the coach is still hard-nosed about the situation and does not want to make adjustments, then don't get mad at her/him, but go to the Club Director and spell it out - You are paying money for club, your daughter has not made a commitment, the other MB's have, and she needs to be seen. Be very clear and unemotional in your presentation of the current situation, what you suggest as a remedy and what you have already tried to accomplish before visiting with the director. Remember that you have the power since you are paying the bills and your reasons for wishing playing time are not egocentric in nature, but rather to better the future of your daughter. The Club Director should be supportive of your desires.
Finally, if a college coach is serious about recruiting your daughter, then they will realize that the other two MB's are elite level recruits and will garner the bulk of the playing time. They should make time to see your daughter during warm-ups, pepper and keep swinging by the court to check the status. I know from experience that to find the hidden gem on the team, I have had to just watch hitting warm-ups and pepper to get a feel for an athlete and be patient until I can see her player later. Good college recruiters will make time to see a player's skills. If a few coaches are doing a 'drive by', then they are not really interested in evaluating - I would be more concerned if a certain coach or two are constantly checking up on the court throughout the day, and they are not getting a chance to see game action.
Once again, the biggest thing is to communicate with the coach in a low key environment, then take your request up the food chain to find satisfaction!
Good luck!
My daughter is an unsigned senior on one of the top club teams in our state. She is probably the 6th or 7th best senior middle in a very deep class (six MB's have already signed with PAC-10 schools) but unfortunately two of the top three middles in the state are also on her team. As a result my daughter is the third choice and does not play in the big matches. During a recent tournament she played in the first matches on Day One and the last matches on Day Two (about half of the games total between the two days) but during the time that three coaches were there to watch her in particular, she did not get to play. So the touchy subject is… her coach does not want to hear anything about playing time, but is there a way for her ask to play in a given match while a particular coach is watching without sounding like she is complaining about playing time? Thanks for any suggestions you might have. Sincerely, Scott
The bottom line is the bottom line: You are paying money for your daughter to play club volleyball and as an unsigned senior, the focus of this club volleyball season is to expose your daughter's talent to potential universities (double this if the other MB's on the team have signed). I understand the coach's desire not to get involved in playing time issues, but the reality is YOU are the boss and your daughter needs to get seen - especially this early in the club season. It is not the time of the Qualifiers and we are a long shot from Nationals - this time of the club season is about exposure, winning is only a nice benefit of taking care of the players.
High School and College Volleyball are different from Club Volleyball simply by the fact you pay a monthly fee so your child can play volleyball. Since you are buying this playing time, you have every right to request and expect a certain satisfaction for your money. By nature, sports are competitive ventures where each coach wishes to place a team on the floor that has the best opportunity to win, but this does not in any way exempt that same coach from fulfilling the inherent responsibility of providing exposure to potential college programs. Some may say that Club Volleyball is for skill development and a social opportunity, which it may well be for the younger age groups. But once you are playing 17 Open and 18's Club or Open, the focus shifts to garnering a spot on a college roster (hopefully with a scholarship) and continuing the improvement of volleyball skills in preparation for college volleyball.
My suggestion is to ask for a meeting with the coach, away from practice or competition that allows for a comfortable conversation. Too many parents get 'heated' and try to communicate in the wrong environment - at a competition is for sure the wrong place. After a practice session is not really the best place, but at least the adrenaline of playing a match is not there.
Explain your situation and your concerns about your daughter being properly evaluated by potential schools. You may wish to suggest, that in light of the early nature of the season (not near Qualifiers yet), that you would appreciate her being allowed playing time in each match (not game, but match), even if it is just one trip across the front row, so college coaches can at least see her during competition. Trying to get a player on the court, when coaches are watching, can be a bit tricky and distract from the focus on the match.
Because of this, I would ask for limited playing time each match; with a gentle reminder that the other MB's have signed, your daughter is still exploring her future, and the club season has not yet reached the Qualifier rounds. When presented this way the club coach should be open to some slight adjustments to the playing rotation. Again, if you present your request in the form of playing time each match, rather than game, this give some flexibility to the coach to get a few rotations in for your daughter.
But, if the coach is still hard-nosed about the situation and does not want to make adjustments, then don't get mad at her/him, but go to the Club Director and spell it out - You are paying money for club, your daughter has not made a commitment, the other MB's have, and she needs to be seen. Be very clear and unemotional in your presentation of the current situation, what you suggest as a remedy and what you have already tried to accomplish before visiting with the director. Remember that you have the power since you are paying the bills and your reasons for wishing playing time are not egocentric in nature, but rather to better the future of your daughter. The Club Director should be supportive of your desires.
Finally, if a college coach is serious about recruiting your daughter, then they will realize that the other two MB's are elite level recruits and will garner the bulk of the playing time. They should make time to see your daughter during warm-ups, pepper and keep swinging by the court to check the status. I know from experience that to find the hidden gem on the team, I have had to just watch hitting warm-ups and pepper to get a feel for an athlete and be patient until I can see her player later. Good college recruiters will make time to see a player's skills. If a few coaches are doing a 'drive by', then they are not really interested in evaluating - I would be more concerned if a certain coach or two are constantly checking up on the court throughout the day, and they are not getting a chance to see game action.
Once again, the biggest thing is to communicate with the coach in a low key environment, then take your request up the food chain to find satisfaction!
Good luck!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Ivy League schools and scholarships
A question from one of our readers about Ivy League schools:
Do Ivy League schools offer any kind of financial help to PSA's other than need based? Our daughter, a Junior, is being recruited by several schools out in California and also by three or four Ivy League Institutions. We are an academically inclined family but our daughter wants to play D-I volleyball. Thank you - Celia
Ivy League schools are like Division III programs - no athletically based scholarships; this is per the conference rules. But, Need and Athletic are only part of the scholarship equation - Academic, Merit, Need, Community Service, Ethnic Status, etc. are all avenues for resources to fund your daughter's college volleyball experience.
If Ivy League schools are seriously recruiting her, then they are in a position to explain scholarship packages. Each school will have a different set of parameters with regards to financial packages. I can't stress that point enough; Harvard and Yale will be different in how their admissions and financial aid counselors package scholarships. Do not hesitate to ask the coaches straight up about what financial support they can offer - they will know because it is their job to know.
I would not limit your potential NCAA Division I academic institution list to just the Ivy League - For instance UC Berkeley, Rice, Northwestern, Colgate, Lehigh, William and Mary, Virginia, among many others, are all elite academic institutions that extend full athletic scholarships. If your daughter has DI talent and is from California (CA players enjoy a certain talent reputation), and is willing to leave California (CA players also have a reputation for not wanting to leave CA), then be aggressive in reaching out to academically elite schools outside of the Ivy League (be aggressive even if you folks are not from CA). Sure, the Ivy League sounds great when you say it, but a full scholarship to one of the other elite schools makes better sense.
Communication is the key - call the coaches of the Ivy League schools (they can't call you back yet) and find out how they package their scholarships, reach out to the other elite universities to see where they stand in the recruiting process (they may not need a certain position or they may be looking for exactly what your daughter has).
A simple way to generate a top list of academic Division I Volleyball programs is to get the latest US News and World Report's Annual Higher Education Ranking (I just saw it today at Barnes and Noble) and print out the NCAA's RPI on Division I Women's Volleyball which can be found here and then just compare the two. While the RPI ranking is just on athletic ability, it lists all the DI programs and what conference they compete for a refernce. You may find the actual academic rating of some Division I schools a surprise.
Good luck!
Do Ivy League schools offer any kind of financial help to PSA's other than need based? Our daughter, a Junior, is being recruited by several schools out in California and also by three or four Ivy League Institutions. We are an academically inclined family but our daughter wants to play D-I volleyball. Thank you - Celia
Ivy League schools are like Division III programs - no athletically based scholarships; this is per the conference rules. But, Need and Athletic are only part of the scholarship equation - Academic, Merit, Need, Community Service, Ethnic Status, etc. are all avenues for resources to fund your daughter's college volleyball experience.
If Ivy League schools are seriously recruiting her, then they are in a position to explain scholarship packages. Each school will have a different set of parameters with regards to financial packages. I can't stress that point enough; Harvard and Yale will be different in how their admissions and financial aid counselors package scholarships. Do not hesitate to ask the coaches straight up about what financial support they can offer - they will know because it is their job to know.
I would not limit your potential NCAA Division I academic institution list to just the Ivy League - For instance UC Berkeley, Rice, Northwestern, Colgate, Lehigh, William and Mary, Virginia, among many others, are all elite academic institutions that extend full athletic scholarships. If your daughter has DI talent and is from California (CA players enjoy a certain talent reputation), and is willing to leave California (CA players also have a reputation for not wanting to leave CA), then be aggressive in reaching out to academically elite schools outside of the Ivy League (be aggressive even if you folks are not from CA). Sure, the Ivy League sounds great when you say it, but a full scholarship to one of the other elite schools makes better sense.
Communication is the key - call the coaches of the Ivy League schools (they can't call you back yet) and find out how they package their scholarships, reach out to the other elite universities to see where they stand in the recruiting process (they may not need a certain position or they may be looking for exactly what your daughter has).
A simple way to generate a top list of academic Division I Volleyball programs is to get the latest US News and World Report's Annual Higher Education Ranking (I just saw it today at Barnes and Noble) and print out the NCAA's RPI on Division I Women's Volleyball which can be found here and then just compare the two. While the RPI ranking is just on athletic ability, it lists all the DI programs and what conference they compete for a refernce. You may find the actual academic rating of some Division I schools a surprise.
Good luck!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Spring 2008 Recruiting - Last Call for Seniors
With the Spring rapidly approaching in the 2008 recruiting cycle, it is very important that Unsigned Seniors are completely organized with their end of the recruiting process.
It is during this time that all the different classifications of college volleyball are active in the recruitment of the 2008 incoming class. Many Division I programs are trying to secure their last recruit or two, Division II programs are going full tilt in recruiting because most of the Division I programs are almost done so many Prospective Student-Athletes are being a bit more open to possible schools, Division III schools are able to extend academic packages now that the majority of PSA's have taken their tests and are in the last semester of school, and the Junior College ranks are able to secure their incoming classes by illustrating the opportunity to play two years of college volleyball (most often on a full scholarship), then transfer to a four year school that should be better than those four year schools visiting with the PSA's now. All in all it can be a bit of a frantic time for the 2008 unsigned senior class.
Below are some suggestions which year's of experience have created, no matter the level of college:
1. Make sure that you have video available to show to a coach - either a DVD/VHS or something that is on a website.
2. If you send an introduction letter to a school, make sure to include video – get your skills in front of a coach ASAP.
3. If you send an e-mail, be sure to have a link to a website that shows skills on video. If you don't have this technology, then make it clear that you can have a tape sent to the coach ASAP.
4. On any introduction correspondence to a coach (e-mail or letter) include your GPA, class rank and test scores, with a note if you have another test date coming up. This information is critical to all colleges, most especially those outside of Division I.
5. Don't waste time - If you don't want to go to school more than a few hours away from home, don't e-mail a coach on the other side of the country. If you want a small school, don't send a letter to giant State U.
6. Be available after each club tournament is finished to visit with college coaches and make sure your club coach and club director know you are open to visiting on site.
7. If there is the opportunity to take an Official Visit or Unofficial Visit, it take priority over any club practices or non-academic events. If a school sounds good and offers a visit, go see it immediately.
If you are an Unsigned Senior at this point of the year, the reality is that you are probably an average to good prospective college player. If you were not good, someone would have let you know this and if you were elite, you would have already committed to a school long ago.
During February and March, there are many PSA’s that are very similar in talent - 5"9" outside hitters that can pass and hit, 5"11" middles who are solid blockers and attackers, 5'7" setters with nice skills - Like a bunch of Toyota Camry’s; nothing special, they are to be found everywhere and they will do a good job of being consistent, reliable players in college, but they are not the high end.
This late in your Club career, you are really not going to be able to do anything sudden volleyball wise that will make you stand out from other players. What you can do is be more organized and prepared to create an opportunity and when this opportunity arises, you can make an intelligent decision.
Remember, if you are a Junior or Senior in High School and have any questions, just shoot me an e-mail and I will do my best to help you out!
Good luck and have some fun!
It is during this time that all the different classifications of college volleyball are active in the recruitment of the 2008 incoming class. Many Division I programs are trying to secure their last recruit or two, Division II programs are going full tilt in recruiting because most of the Division I programs are almost done so many Prospective Student-Athletes are being a bit more open to possible schools, Division III schools are able to extend academic packages now that the majority of PSA's have taken their tests and are in the last semester of school, and the Junior College ranks are able to secure their incoming classes by illustrating the opportunity to play two years of college volleyball (most often on a full scholarship), then transfer to a four year school that should be better than those four year schools visiting with the PSA's now. All in all it can be a bit of a frantic time for the 2008 unsigned senior class.
Below are some suggestions which year's of experience have created, no matter the level of college:
1. Make sure that you have video available to show to a coach - either a DVD/VHS or something that is on a website.
2. If you send an introduction letter to a school, make sure to include video – get your skills in front of a coach ASAP.
3. If you send an e-mail, be sure to have a link to a website that shows skills on video. If you don't have this technology, then make it clear that you can have a tape sent to the coach ASAP.
4. On any introduction correspondence to a coach (e-mail or letter) include your GPA, class rank and test scores, with a note if you have another test date coming up. This information is critical to all colleges, most especially those outside of Division I.
5. Don't waste time - If you don't want to go to school more than a few hours away from home, don't e-mail a coach on the other side of the country. If you want a small school, don't send a letter to giant State U.
6. Be available after each club tournament is finished to visit with college coaches and make sure your club coach and club director know you are open to visiting on site.
7. If there is the opportunity to take an Official Visit or Unofficial Visit, it take priority over any club practices or non-academic events. If a school sounds good and offers a visit, go see it immediately.
If you are an Unsigned Senior at this point of the year, the reality is that you are probably an average to good prospective college player. If you were not good, someone would have let you know this and if you were elite, you would have already committed to a school long ago.
During February and March, there are many PSA’s that are very similar in talent - 5"9" outside hitters that can pass and hit, 5"11" middles who are solid blockers and attackers, 5'7" setters with nice skills - Like a bunch of Toyota Camry’s; nothing special, they are to be found everywhere and they will do a good job of being consistent, reliable players in college, but they are not the high end.
This late in your Club career, you are really not going to be able to do anything sudden volleyball wise that will make you stand out from other players. What you can do is be more organized and prepared to create an opportunity and when this opportunity arises, you can make an intelligent decision.
Remember, if you are a Junior or Senior in High School and have any questions, just shoot me an e-mail and I will do my best to help you out!
Good luck and have some fun!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
NCAA Volleyball Rule Changes
Springtime in Women's Volleyball - Club Volleyball getting into an important stretch of tournaments, college teams going hard in the group of four trainings, recruits getting closer to making a huge decision about their future, college coaches pounding the pavement (or Sport Courts depending on the size of the gym) to put together the next great recruiting class and the NCAA Women's Volleyball Rules Committee's yearly justification for existence.
The NCAA Rules Committee has put forth three gems of wisdom for us to review this year. Outside of the noteworthy changes, they did address a serious of administrative issues that will not impact the game, but rather help in the physical management of the game. By the way, each of the rule changes can be found on the NCAA web site or the AVCA web site.
Gem Number One:
Points Required to Win a Set. (Rule 8.2.1, page 45)—The number of points required to win sets one through four is now 25. Rationale: There is a significant reduction in the intensity of many contests in the middle of a set that is played to 30 points. Fan and player focus and fan excitement will increase with this change. Additionally, a significant number of televised games are extending more than two hours in duration. Note: the number of points required to win the fifth set remains at fifteen.
"The 25-point sets will add an intensity and excitement level to our matches that has been missing," said Marcia Alterman, the committee's secretary-rules editor. "I believe that players, coaches and fans will agree that the critical nature of every point will emphasize the need for focus and consistency to every play."
Silly me, I though the whole reason we switched to Rally score originally was because Sideout score was boring and we would be on television all the time. So, now if we shave 5 points from each game, then everyone will be excited because the games are really boring now and the television contracts will be jamming up the FAX machine.
(A quick side note - Why is someone who is not a coach or NCAA/Conference administrator providing a quote on a critical change to the sport of college volleyball? Just another example of the amateurish efforts of our sport. Would NCAA Men's Basketball use the quote of the Rules Secretary? Heck no, a big time NCAA official or Athletic Director from a major conference would have their name attached to the release!)
My first reaction is this change comes 5 years too late - it should have been done when the NCAA first switched over to Rally score. The bottom line is that 25 point games are too quick for a feature match. If you have ever had the opportunity to watch an elite level team play a 25 point game (high school and club do not count), they go very fast - you may not think so, but there is a significant difference in the length of the game with the loss of those 5 additional points. This shortening of length, will virtually eliminate any in-game comebacks. Making a comeback was already tough, but now you might as well go grab a soda with a few points left so you don't miss the start of the next game. The matches will be much quicker - if a team is just slightly less talented and loses by scores of 21, 21 and 21, the match will be over in less than 1 hour. What NCAA team sport is done in one hour? Nothing like asking a family to spend over $20.00 in tickets for a one hour sporting event. Some supporters will say that we need to follow the FIVB scoring format - I say why? The NCAA is not part of the FIVB. Does NCAA Basketball follow the format of International Basketball? I am sure that that International Basketball does not play 20 minute halves.
Gem Number Two:
The following points are new emphases by the rules committee, and should decrease the number of whistles that stop play: Only the most obvious violations should be called. Referees should be less severe when judging an athletic play by a player in less than ideal position. In other words, be lenient when a player makes their best effort that results in unorthodox technique. However, don’t confuse clumsiness or lack of skill with athleticism. A player who has the opportunity to set the ball from good position will be expected to execute without a double contact. Referees should avoid being overly mechanical or technical in their judgments, and work within the current culture of the sport and the spirit of the competition.
"There has been a demand for more consistency regarding the referees' ball handling decisions for several years across all divisions as well as regions of the country," said Kerry Carr, chair of the committee and head women's volleyball coach at the University of Pennsylvania. "I think the game will benefit from a decrease in the whistles that stop a rally due to a marginal infraction on ball handling, especially when there's been a great athletic attempt to keep the ball alive."
Easier rules do not make better referees. Except for being clearly spelled out in the rule book, the double hit has ended. This new direction for the calling of double hits makes it plain that the only way a double hit will be called is if it is within the first 5 points of the first game, the setter is standing in the setting zone and has been there for a solid 2 minutes, the ball she is about to set is from a free ball pass, has no CSI detectable foreign substances on it, has zero rotation, the setter does not have to take a step or even shift her weight and the free ball pass will hit her on the forehead; then to even merit consideration as a double hit, the ball must be rotating faster than one of Mercury's moons and veer off at a minimum angle of 30 degrees to the setters shoulder target line. As funny as this may sound, the funnier line is that the officials will still make an incorrect call on some player who just flew across the court, pivoted and set a ball high to target that happened to rotate 2 times. We continue to dumb down the game and this is just the next brick in the wall.
Gem Number Three:
The volleyball rules book was slated to move to a two-year cycle starting with the 2009 publication. The committee is forwarding a request to PROP to start its two-year cycle with the 2010 book. This will provide a better cycle to consider those rule changes made by Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
If we don't even feel that we are the sole representative of volleyball in the USA, who else will? Once again, does NCAA Basketball wait to see what International Basketball does before setting policy? Does NCAA Football consult with the NFL before instituting rule changes? NCAA Football and Men’s Basketball are not the apex of their respective professions, but they sure do act like it and they enjoy the benefits.
In one fell swoop, the NCAA Rules Committee dropped NCAA Volleyball on the volleyball totem pole. Right now, we rank just above High School Volleyball and in a sense, we are equal to them because we allow the libero to serve. The FIVB, the USA National Teams and now USA Junior Volleyball can now be seen as more important than NCAA College Volleyball because we follow their rules. Why are we tying our sport to the falling star of USA Volleyball is beyond my comprehension - this is an organization that has a one in four year opportunity to shine and the last too many Olympics they have not done anything. Quick - Name the last time the United States won a Medal in Olympic Indoor Women's Volleyball? And we have agreed to follow this organization? BANG - We just shot ourselves in the foot again.
It is not our job to be the feeder system for USA Volleyball. They only have themselves to blame for their poor international performance - we can not be party to an incestuous organization that enriches the very top of the pyramid by the monies from the base.
If anything illustrates the total lack of logic of our Rules Committee it is the quote below:
A recommendation from the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee was reviewed to amend Rule 18 to include an option for relocating the first referee to the bench side of the net for the NCAA championships. ESPN has made this request to enhance the television production of the championship. No action was taken on the request at this time, but continued research and consideration are planned in the near future.
For how many years have we heard the siren's song of television? Every year the Rules Committee references how the latest, greatest rule change will get more volleyball matches on television. We must get on television, more matches on television, etc. - this is a constant. The AVCA even has a Media Fee on the dues of NCAA DI Head Coaches specifically to promote televised matches.
So, when ESPN, 'The World Wide Leader in Sports' makes a request for televised matches, what happens? The Rules Committee does NOTHING!!!! How do we change the most basic tenet of volleyball (how the games are scored and the length of the games), a change that affects every level of the sport, but for television matches we can't switch the up official so the camera and thus the viewing audience has a better picture of the match. A simple change, requested by the undeniable leader in sports television, that will have an immediate positive impact upon the game is not supported by the Rules Committee – Amazing.
The most frustrating part of this whole process is the lack of recourse we as coaches have. Coaches rarely see the results of the survey that is sent out before the "vote", we never see how the committee voted on the proposals, and then we have a Comment period before the rules become official. What the heck is a Comment period and what is the function? We send in an e-mail stating how upset we are about the changes and they hit the delete button. This is no posting of the results of the Comments - There is not even any discourse about how to veto or defeat the proposed rules - just make Comments.
The committee might as well be honest and say if we don't like the new rules, we can go into the forest and yell at the trees.
Once again, we are our own worst enemy and have only ourselves to blame for our amateurish presentation of the one of the most popular sports in the world.
The NCAA Rules Committee has put forth three gems of wisdom for us to review this year. Outside of the noteworthy changes, they did address a serious of administrative issues that will not impact the game, but rather help in the physical management of the game. By the way, each of the rule changes can be found on the NCAA web site or the AVCA web site.
Gem Number One:
Points Required to Win a Set. (Rule 8.2.1, page 45)—The number of points required to win sets one through four is now 25. Rationale: There is a significant reduction in the intensity of many contests in the middle of a set that is played to 30 points. Fan and player focus and fan excitement will increase with this change. Additionally, a significant number of televised games are extending more than two hours in duration. Note: the number of points required to win the fifth set remains at fifteen.
"The 25-point sets will add an intensity and excitement level to our matches that has been missing," said Marcia Alterman, the committee's secretary-rules editor. "I believe that players, coaches and fans will agree that the critical nature of every point will emphasize the need for focus and consistency to every play."
Silly me, I though the whole reason we switched to Rally score originally was because Sideout score was boring and we would be on television all the time. So, now if we shave 5 points from each game, then everyone will be excited because the games are really boring now and the television contracts will be jamming up the FAX machine.
(A quick side note - Why is someone who is not a coach or NCAA/Conference administrator providing a quote on a critical change to the sport of college volleyball? Just another example of the amateurish efforts of our sport. Would NCAA Men's Basketball use the quote of the Rules Secretary? Heck no, a big time NCAA official or Athletic Director from a major conference would have their name attached to the release!)
My first reaction is this change comes 5 years too late - it should have been done when the NCAA first switched over to Rally score. The bottom line is that 25 point games are too quick for a feature match. If you have ever had the opportunity to watch an elite level team play a 25 point game (high school and club do not count), they go very fast - you may not think so, but there is a significant difference in the length of the game with the loss of those 5 additional points. This shortening of length, will virtually eliminate any in-game comebacks. Making a comeback was already tough, but now you might as well go grab a soda with a few points left so you don't miss the start of the next game. The matches will be much quicker - if a team is just slightly less talented and loses by scores of 21, 21 and 21, the match will be over in less than 1 hour. What NCAA team sport is done in one hour? Nothing like asking a family to spend over $20.00 in tickets for a one hour sporting event. Some supporters will say that we need to follow the FIVB scoring format - I say why? The NCAA is not part of the FIVB. Does NCAA Basketball follow the format of International Basketball? I am sure that that International Basketball does not play 20 minute halves.
Gem Number Two:
The following points are new emphases by the rules committee, and should decrease the number of whistles that stop play: Only the most obvious violations should be called. Referees should be less severe when judging an athletic play by a player in less than ideal position. In other words, be lenient when a player makes their best effort that results in unorthodox technique. However, don’t confuse clumsiness or lack of skill with athleticism. A player who has the opportunity to set the ball from good position will be expected to execute without a double contact. Referees should avoid being overly mechanical or technical in their judgments, and work within the current culture of the sport and the spirit of the competition.
"There has been a demand for more consistency regarding the referees' ball handling decisions for several years across all divisions as well as regions of the country," said Kerry Carr, chair of the committee and head women's volleyball coach at the University of Pennsylvania. "I think the game will benefit from a decrease in the whistles that stop a rally due to a marginal infraction on ball handling, especially when there's been a great athletic attempt to keep the ball alive."
Easier rules do not make better referees. Except for being clearly spelled out in the rule book, the double hit has ended. This new direction for the calling of double hits makes it plain that the only way a double hit will be called is if it is within the first 5 points of the first game, the setter is standing in the setting zone and has been there for a solid 2 minutes, the ball she is about to set is from a free ball pass, has no CSI detectable foreign substances on it, has zero rotation, the setter does not have to take a step or even shift her weight and the free ball pass will hit her on the forehead; then to even merit consideration as a double hit, the ball must be rotating faster than one of Mercury's moons and veer off at a minimum angle of 30 degrees to the setters shoulder target line. As funny as this may sound, the funnier line is that the officials will still make an incorrect call on some player who just flew across the court, pivoted and set a ball high to target that happened to rotate 2 times. We continue to dumb down the game and this is just the next brick in the wall.
Gem Number Three:
The volleyball rules book was slated to move to a two-year cycle starting with the 2009 publication. The committee is forwarding a request to PROP to start its two-year cycle with the 2010 book. This will provide a better cycle to consider those rule changes made by Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
If we don't even feel that we are the sole representative of volleyball in the USA, who else will? Once again, does NCAA Basketball wait to see what International Basketball does before setting policy? Does NCAA Football consult with the NFL before instituting rule changes? NCAA Football and Men’s Basketball are not the apex of their respective professions, but they sure do act like it and they enjoy the benefits.
In one fell swoop, the NCAA Rules Committee dropped NCAA Volleyball on the volleyball totem pole. Right now, we rank just above High School Volleyball and in a sense, we are equal to them because we allow the libero to serve. The FIVB, the USA National Teams and now USA Junior Volleyball can now be seen as more important than NCAA College Volleyball because we follow their rules. Why are we tying our sport to the falling star of USA Volleyball is beyond my comprehension - this is an organization that has a one in four year opportunity to shine and the last too many Olympics they have not done anything. Quick - Name the last time the United States won a Medal in Olympic Indoor Women's Volleyball? And we have agreed to follow this organization? BANG - We just shot ourselves in the foot again.
It is not our job to be the feeder system for USA Volleyball. They only have themselves to blame for their poor international performance - we can not be party to an incestuous organization that enriches the very top of the pyramid by the monies from the base.
If anything illustrates the total lack of logic of our Rules Committee it is the quote below:
A recommendation from the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee was reviewed to amend Rule 18 to include an option for relocating the first referee to the bench side of the net for the NCAA championships. ESPN has made this request to enhance the television production of the championship. No action was taken on the request at this time, but continued research and consideration are planned in the near future.
For how many years have we heard the siren's song of television? Every year the Rules Committee references how the latest, greatest rule change will get more volleyball matches on television. We must get on television, more matches on television, etc. - this is a constant. The AVCA even has a Media Fee on the dues of NCAA DI Head Coaches specifically to promote televised matches.
So, when ESPN, 'The World Wide Leader in Sports' makes a request for televised matches, what happens? The Rules Committee does NOTHING!!!! How do we change the most basic tenet of volleyball (how the games are scored and the length of the games), a change that affects every level of the sport, but for television matches we can't switch the up official so the camera and thus the viewing audience has a better picture of the match. A simple change, requested by the undeniable leader in sports television, that will have an immediate positive impact upon the game is not supported by the Rules Committee – Amazing.
The most frustrating part of this whole process is the lack of recourse we as coaches have. Coaches rarely see the results of the survey that is sent out before the "vote", we never see how the committee voted on the proposals, and then we have a Comment period before the rules become official. What the heck is a Comment period and what is the function? We send in an e-mail stating how upset we are about the changes and they hit the delete button. This is no posting of the results of the Comments - There is not even any discourse about how to veto or defeat the proposed rules - just make Comments.
The committee might as well be honest and say if we don't like the new rules, we can go into the forest and yell at the trees.
Once again, we are our own worst enemy and have only ourselves to blame for our amateurish presentation of the one of the most popular sports in the world.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Big Time Volleyball?
If you are active and interested in the sport of college volleyball, you hear a constant chatter about what/when/how the sport can become big time. By and large, the volleyball masses have realized that professional indoor volleyball is not going to happen in the USA. Beach Volleyball continues to be the only professional avenue for talented players to pursue as a career in the States.
This brings us back to college volleyball - college sports are considered (erroneously) to have a more level playing field than professional sports. With the NCAA as the organizational and governing body, the U.S. government's passing and then enforcement of Title IX, the Presidential Council in NCAA athletics (a group of university/college presidents that supposedly wield power over the NCAA), the various Faculty Senates of higher education which try and influence policy and the various NCAA Student-Athlete committees, all present the theory that college sports are equally important. The NCAA works very hard in its media campaign to forward the image that each sport is embraced - just look at all the commercials aired by the NCAA during the football bowls.
The disappointing reality is that the gap between sports is huge and getting wider each day because those who have the power to do something, will not. Just by reading the USA Today sports page, you can find something that clearly illustrates the disparity between NCAA sports. Guaranteed multi-million dollar salaries for head football coaches (a lesser known figure is that offensive and defensive coordinators are approaching $500,000.00 a year!), basketball locker rooms that look like a NASA Space Shuttle pre-launch room, private jets so football and basketball will not miss any additional classes and will have more time to study - I could not imagine how low their already lowest on-campus grades would be if they had to take a bus or fly commercial! By the way, the NCAA just settled a law suit that will fund the payment of moneys to football and basketball players (nobody else) to offset any expenditures these athlete's have which their full scholarships don't cover.
Where does volleyball fall into the ever widening gap of modern college sports? Just above the middle. Football and Men's Basketball are the two Titans that wage a symbiotic battle for resources which continuously enrich each other. The Remora of this two-some is Women's Basketball; they swim right along and have expertly positioned themselves to whisper "Title IX" into the ear of the athletic administration. It is not by television ratings, fan attendance totals, grade point averages or graduation rates that Women's Basketball enjoys charter flights, 4 star hotels and staff salaries well into 6 figures - it is the 9, as is Title IX.
While Volleyball is NO WHERE near what the top 3 are receiving, we are definitely in a better spot than crew, tennis, cross country, etc. The reality is that we are like a mid-major conference that is in a battle to emerge as the next possible major conference. Remember when the ACC, Big East, WAC and C-USA were all going through membership changes a few years ago? The effort behind these shifts was to attain the status of being next in line after the Big 10, Pac 10, Big 12 and SEC in terms of reputation and profitability via network television packages for football and basketball.
We are going head to head with Men's Baseball, Women's Soccer and Women's Softball to emerge as the 4th sport of the Flagship sports. The current vernacular of NCAA athletics is to anoint a small group of sports as Flagship and a large group of sports as Olympic. These two terms were felt less offensive and less hypocritical than the previously used terms of Revenue and Non-Revenue sports (hypocritical because the majorities of football and basketball programs lose money and lose a lot more money than a non-revenue sport).
On average, Football, Basketball and Women's Basketball are the Flagship sports and everyone else is the Olympic Sports. Where is this designation determined? Ultimately by the sponsoring school. I know from experience that just because a conference designates a sport as a Flagship sport, does not mean that the school will do the same (a bit disappointing as you might expect). But, almost without exception, the Flagship sports of any school and conference will always include Football, Basketball and Women's Basketball.
A mistake which I believe the college volleyball leadership is making concerns who we are trying to pass. First of all, let's not fall into the defeatist trap of thinking that we should only concern ourselves with doing the best that we can as a sport. That is exactly what the Flagship sports NEVER did - a prime example is Women's Basketball; they aggressively and constantly push for better funding, better media support, the status as a Flagship sport without regard to how it affects any other sport than Women's Basketball. I can promise you that when the coaches associations of Football and Men's Basketball are meeting, they are active in their discussions about how to get more for their sports and their coaches, with no regard for the impact upon others.
College Volleyball needs to focus on two issues - Separating ourselves from Women's Soccer and Softball. Currently, I would place us just ahead of Soccer (but just barely) and lagging behind Softball. Much of this could be attributed to the success and media coverage of the respective national teams of each sport, along with the fact that Softball competes at a time of the collegiate school year when Football is not in season and Men's Basketball is finishing out. We need to have a focused professional strategy to separate ourselves from these two sports.
After we have attained some degree of separation, then we can focus on the second issue - Volleyball needs to be beyond aggressive in our efforts to present our sport as the Title IX answer to the imbalance of the Flagship sports. There are 2 male sports and 1 female sport in the perceived make-up of the Flagship sport membership - Women's Volleyball should be going flat out to become the 2nd female sport. The female sport that attains this acknowledgement will enjoy a significant increase in status, while the losers will stay within the middle ground of not really big time.
What we cannot do, as a sport, is what I witnessed during my latest conference coaches meeting - complain about everything, but not be willing to act. For over three hours we went through an agenda of things that are not up to specs with our conference volleyball, yet we did not even try to create proposals to forward to the Athletic Directors to be voted upon as new policy. This mindset of complain and complain some more, without having the courage or convictions to make positive change is all too common within the college volleyball biosphere.
Awhile ago, I was reading a newspaper about the LSU Women's Basketball program and the problems with a current/former head coach. Beyond the assertion of a completely inappropriate relationship between the head coach and a current player, what caught my attention and really floored me, was the fact that the 1st assistant coach was being paid over $100,000.00 per year, plus a car, plus a country club membership, plus guaranteed camp money. This is to coach a Women's Basketball team that was in a good run, but by no means synonymous with long time winning. It only took a split second to realize that each SEC 1st assistant would be getting paid over 100K per year, along with each 1st assistant in the PAC 10, Big 10 and Big 12.
Knowing the structure and pay scales of college sports, it is easy to realize that, with two or maybe three exceptions, in the 4 power school conferences, the 1st assistant coach in Women's Basketball will be making more than the head coach of Women's Volleyball. And since most sports are relative to each other in each conference, basically every 1st assistant Woman’s Basketball coach will be making more than the Women's Volleyball Coach.
Then to take my depressing realization to the full conclusion, on each NCAA Division I campus, in general, there will be 8 to 10 assistant sport coaches who will earn a higher salary than the head coach in Women's Volleyball.
People talk about Big Time College Volleyball and when/what/how do we become a big time sport. To me, the answer is when the head coaches are paid more than the assistants in other sports.
Everything else will fall into line after this. Don't agree? How many sports that pay their coaches well over $100,000.00 have poor budgets and support?
None.
This brings us back to college volleyball - college sports are considered (erroneously) to have a more level playing field than professional sports. With the NCAA as the organizational and governing body, the U.S. government's passing and then enforcement of Title IX, the Presidential Council in NCAA athletics (a group of university/college presidents that supposedly wield power over the NCAA), the various Faculty Senates of higher education which try and influence policy and the various NCAA Student-Athlete committees, all present the theory that college sports are equally important. The NCAA works very hard in its media campaign to forward the image that each sport is embraced - just look at all the commercials aired by the NCAA during the football bowls.
The disappointing reality is that the gap between sports is huge and getting wider each day because those who have the power to do something, will not. Just by reading the USA Today sports page, you can find something that clearly illustrates the disparity between NCAA sports. Guaranteed multi-million dollar salaries for head football coaches (a lesser known figure is that offensive and defensive coordinators are approaching $500,000.00 a year!), basketball locker rooms that look like a NASA Space Shuttle pre-launch room, private jets so football and basketball will not miss any additional classes and will have more time to study - I could not imagine how low their already lowest on-campus grades would be if they had to take a bus or fly commercial! By the way, the NCAA just settled a law suit that will fund the payment of moneys to football and basketball players (nobody else) to offset any expenditures these athlete's have which their full scholarships don't cover.
Where does volleyball fall into the ever widening gap of modern college sports? Just above the middle. Football and Men's Basketball are the two Titans that wage a symbiotic battle for resources which continuously enrich each other. The Remora of this two-some is Women's Basketball; they swim right along and have expertly positioned themselves to whisper "Title IX" into the ear of the athletic administration. It is not by television ratings, fan attendance totals, grade point averages or graduation rates that Women's Basketball enjoys charter flights, 4 star hotels and staff salaries well into 6 figures - it is the 9, as is Title IX.
While Volleyball is NO WHERE near what the top 3 are receiving, we are definitely in a better spot than crew, tennis, cross country, etc. The reality is that we are like a mid-major conference that is in a battle to emerge as the next possible major conference. Remember when the ACC, Big East, WAC and C-USA were all going through membership changes a few years ago? The effort behind these shifts was to attain the status of being next in line after the Big 10, Pac 10, Big 12 and SEC in terms of reputation and profitability via network television packages for football and basketball.
We are going head to head with Men's Baseball, Women's Soccer and Women's Softball to emerge as the 4th sport of the Flagship sports. The current vernacular of NCAA athletics is to anoint a small group of sports as Flagship and a large group of sports as Olympic. These two terms were felt less offensive and less hypocritical than the previously used terms of Revenue and Non-Revenue sports (hypocritical because the majorities of football and basketball programs lose money and lose a lot more money than a non-revenue sport).
On average, Football, Basketball and Women's Basketball are the Flagship sports and everyone else is the Olympic Sports. Where is this designation determined? Ultimately by the sponsoring school. I know from experience that just because a conference designates a sport as a Flagship sport, does not mean that the school will do the same (a bit disappointing as you might expect). But, almost without exception, the Flagship sports of any school and conference will always include Football, Basketball and Women's Basketball.
A mistake which I believe the college volleyball leadership is making concerns who we are trying to pass. First of all, let's not fall into the defeatist trap of thinking that we should only concern ourselves with doing the best that we can as a sport. That is exactly what the Flagship sports NEVER did - a prime example is Women's Basketball; they aggressively and constantly push for better funding, better media support, the status as a Flagship sport without regard to how it affects any other sport than Women's Basketball. I can promise you that when the coaches associations of Football and Men's Basketball are meeting, they are active in their discussions about how to get more for their sports and their coaches, with no regard for the impact upon others.
College Volleyball needs to focus on two issues - Separating ourselves from Women's Soccer and Softball. Currently, I would place us just ahead of Soccer (but just barely) and lagging behind Softball. Much of this could be attributed to the success and media coverage of the respective national teams of each sport, along with the fact that Softball competes at a time of the collegiate school year when Football is not in season and Men's Basketball is finishing out. We need to have a focused professional strategy to separate ourselves from these two sports.
After we have attained some degree of separation, then we can focus on the second issue - Volleyball needs to be beyond aggressive in our efforts to present our sport as the Title IX answer to the imbalance of the Flagship sports. There are 2 male sports and 1 female sport in the perceived make-up of the Flagship sport membership - Women's Volleyball should be going flat out to become the 2nd female sport. The female sport that attains this acknowledgement will enjoy a significant increase in status, while the losers will stay within the middle ground of not really big time.
What we cannot do, as a sport, is what I witnessed during my latest conference coaches meeting - complain about everything, but not be willing to act. For over three hours we went through an agenda of things that are not up to specs with our conference volleyball, yet we did not even try to create proposals to forward to the Athletic Directors to be voted upon as new policy. This mindset of complain and complain some more, without having the courage or convictions to make positive change is all too common within the college volleyball biosphere.
Awhile ago, I was reading a newspaper about the LSU Women's Basketball program and the problems with a current/former head coach. Beyond the assertion of a completely inappropriate relationship between the head coach and a current player, what caught my attention and really floored me, was the fact that the 1st assistant coach was being paid over $100,000.00 per year, plus a car, plus a country club membership, plus guaranteed camp money. This is to coach a Women's Basketball team that was in a good run, but by no means synonymous with long time winning. It only took a split second to realize that each SEC 1st assistant would be getting paid over 100K per year, along with each 1st assistant in the PAC 10, Big 10 and Big 12.
Knowing the structure and pay scales of college sports, it is easy to realize that, with two or maybe three exceptions, in the 4 power school conferences, the 1st assistant coach in Women's Basketball will be making more than the head coach of Women's Volleyball. And since most sports are relative to each other in each conference, basically every 1st assistant Woman’s Basketball coach will be making more than the Women's Volleyball Coach.
Then to take my depressing realization to the full conclusion, on each NCAA Division I campus, in general, there will be 8 to 10 assistant sport coaches who will earn a higher salary than the head coach in Women's Volleyball.
People talk about Big Time College Volleyball and when/what/how do we become a big time sport. To me, the answer is when the head coaches are paid more than the assistants in other sports.
Everything else will fall into line after this. Don't agree? How many sports that pay their coaches well over $100,000.00 have poor budgets and support?
None.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Conference and Team Rankings
A question from a reader:
What is the best way to find out the strength of a conference? I am being told that it may be better to play in a "top" Division II school vs. a weak Division I school; however, I am not sure the best way to figure out that type of info (conference strength). Thanks for your help! Whitney
There is a bunch of information about the relative strength of each NCAA Division I and Division II Volleyball team that can be found on the NCAA Women's Volleyball page (click here). Unfortunately, it does not present the conference strength of schedule stats, though they are available because we are provided these from our conference office - I just can't find them on the web site.
In the rating of a team, the strength of a conference plays a large, but not always accurate part. For instance, in every better conference, there is always a poor team or two, which has a respectable RPI because they compete in a top conference. Even though they are going 1-15 in league, the conference rating is so strong that those losses are "good" losses. In a real sense, the team is not as good as their ranking.
The flip side is also there - some teams that are one or two in the standings of an average ranked league, are actually very good teams, but the overall rating of the conference is low, so their individual ranking is pulled down. You can easily find this situation in many of the so-called "mid-major" conferences.
With Division II Volleyball, the Regions are more important than conference. To find the strength of a team, you would need to see how they are regionally ranked. On the link above, it lists the regional rankings for DII Volleyball, but not an RPI index. Review the Regional rankings, along with the Top 25 polls and this should provide a picture of the team and conference in general.
The premise of what Whitney has heard, that it may be better to play elite DII rather than low DI, is correct for a number of reasons. As I have written about in past posts, a number of low DI (and not so low DI) programs are trading on the title "Division I", instead of providing appropriate resources. I know for a fact, that a large number of DII programs, when compared to a large number of lower DI teams will provide better scholarship support, a larger budget for team travel and equipment, have larger attendance totals and better marketing programs, offer larger staff salaries and contracts, and provide an environment that lifts the team rather than marginalizing it.
Unfortunately, this difference can be many times attributed to Division I programs feeding the beast of football - which as a sport, has a large financial and emotional appetite that Athletic Departments must satisfy.
A suggestion when evaluating opportunities for your daughter - If she has the talent level that falls into the lower Division I/Upper Division II range, take a look at where the teams are finishing in their respective conferences, which are actively recruiting her. For instance, if State U is in last place in a Division I conference that you have never heard of, then they may not be better than State College which is a Division II Region leader, which has four teams from the conference also ranked in its NCAA region.
Just try and sort thru the RPI, conference finish and Regional rankings of the potential programs. By doing that and paying attention to what you see and what is told to you during an Official or Unofficial Visit, you should get a good feel about the schools. I congratulate you on not being 'fooled' by the Division I label - Take it all in; academics, location, staff quality, team ability and conference/regional standings!
Good luck!
What is the best way to find out the strength of a conference? I am being told that it may be better to play in a "top" Division II school vs. a weak Division I school; however, I am not sure the best way to figure out that type of info (conference strength). Thanks for your help! Whitney
There is a bunch of information about the relative strength of each NCAA Division I and Division II Volleyball team that can be found on the NCAA Women's Volleyball page (click here). Unfortunately, it does not present the conference strength of schedule stats, though they are available because we are provided these from our conference office - I just can't find them on the web site.
In the rating of a team, the strength of a conference plays a large, but not always accurate part. For instance, in every better conference, there is always a poor team or two, which has a respectable RPI because they compete in a top conference. Even though they are going 1-15 in league, the conference rating is so strong that those losses are "good" losses. In a real sense, the team is not as good as their ranking.
The flip side is also there - some teams that are one or two in the standings of an average ranked league, are actually very good teams, but the overall rating of the conference is low, so their individual ranking is pulled down. You can easily find this situation in many of the so-called "mid-major" conferences.
With Division II Volleyball, the Regions are more important than conference. To find the strength of a team, you would need to see how they are regionally ranked. On the link above, it lists the regional rankings for DII Volleyball, but not an RPI index. Review the Regional rankings, along with the Top 25 polls and this should provide a picture of the team and conference in general.
The premise of what Whitney has heard, that it may be better to play elite DII rather than low DI, is correct for a number of reasons. As I have written about in past posts, a number of low DI (and not so low DI) programs are trading on the title "Division I", instead of providing appropriate resources. I know for a fact, that a large number of DII programs, when compared to a large number of lower DI teams will provide better scholarship support, a larger budget for team travel and equipment, have larger attendance totals and better marketing programs, offer larger staff salaries and contracts, and provide an environment that lifts the team rather than marginalizing it.
Unfortunately, this difference can be many times attributed to Division I programs feeding the beast of football - which as a sport, has a large financial and emotional appetite that Athletic Departments must satisfy.
A suggestion when evaluating opportunities for your daughter - If she has the talent level that falls into the lower Division I/Upper Division II range, take a look at where the teams are finishing in their respective conferences, which are actively recruiting her. For instance, if State U is in last place in a Division I conference that you have never heard of, then they may not be better than State College which is a Division II Region leader, which has four teams from the conference also ranked in its NCAA region.
Just try and sort thru the RPI, conference finish and Regional rankings of the potential programs. By doing that and paying attention to what you see and what is told to you during an Official or Unofficial Visit, you should get a good feel about the schools. I congratulate you on not being 'fooled' by the Division I label - Take it all in; academics, location, staff quality, team ability and conference/regional standings!
Good luck!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Verbal Offer and Commitment
Another good question from one of our readers:
What happens if a junior recruit has been offered a scholarship at a D1 univeristy and the coach leaves to go to another school before the recruit has verbally committed? Can the recruit still make a verbal commitment or does the offer die with the departing coach? If the recruit has verbally committed to the school and the old coach, does the new coach have to accept the verbal commitment or can they withdraw it? Jack
Sorry about your situation - An unfortunate by product of early offers/commitments and the mobility of coaches.
To answer your question - The scholarship offered was verbal and since there was not a commitment from the junior recruit, than that offer is done (it travelled with the coach). Had a verbal commitment been made, then a majority of departing coaches would inform their Athletic Director that they have received a verbal commitment. It then becomes the decision of the AD whether to tell the new coach to accept the commitment or to allow the new coach to make their own decision; most AD's will not force a new coach to accept a verbal commitment.
Verbal commitments are just that - a word of promise made between the player and the coach. The National Letter of Intent is the legal, signed contract that obligates the recruit and the school to each other - the letter specifically says that coaching changes do not affect the NLA.
If a verbal commitment has been made, the new coach is under no obligation to honor this commitment. Usually what happens, is that most coaches will evaluate the player (skills and attitude) to determine if that player is someone they want to have in the program - if the recruit is talented and has a good attitude, then odds are everything will work out fine.
My suggestion is to contact the new coach, let her/him know that the recruit very much likes the school and the program, so much so that she was about to verbally commit to the school. I would not put pressure upon the coach to re-offer the commitment, but rather to start a dialogue between both parties so the new coach can get to know the recruit and the recruit can get to know the coach!
We are seeing much more head coach mobility within college volleyball - This year must be a record year for job postings; not only head coaches, but a number of top flight assistant positions that will attract current head coaches to apply. I believe the mobility is being encouraged by the dissimilar compensation structures of schools - some pay suprisingly low, even though they are a recognizable national institution. Then, another nationally recognized institution, in a comparable league and in a comparable cost of living city, is going to salary thier head coach at $20,000.00 more; this disparity creates the motivation to change positions.
This affects the prospective student athlete (PSA) and the family because of the early recruiting time frame. By verbally committing to a school early in your Junior year, the PSA is effectively taking themselves off the recruiting market. While a family may want to have answered a very serious question (the child's college future), they risk the coach moving to another position before being able to sign the NLI.
Whenever possible, it is best to wait to provide a verbal commitment until after the college volleyball hiring season is finished. In general, the hiring season runs from December 1st through April. Right now we are in the peak of the interviews and hirings - you can see a number of new hires listed on the avca.org web page under Coaching Transactions. By the way, DO NOT pay attention to any of the message or chat boards that talk about coaching positions, they are wrong many, many more times than they are right (until after the fact).
If you cannot wait until March/April to make a commitment, then please keep a contact list of your top schools as a safety net. Worse case, if your future coach jumps to another school, immediately contact those other schools that you were very interested in to inform them that you are available again because the coach left State U.
What happens if a junior recruit has been offered a scholarship at a D1 univeristy and the coach leaves to go to another school before the recruit has verbally committed? Can the recruit still make a verbal commitment or does the offer die with the departing coach? If the recruit has verbally committed to the school and the old coach, does the new coach have to accept the verbal commitment or can they withdraw it? Jack
Sorry about your situation - An unfortunate by product of early offers/commitments and the mobility of coaches.
To answer your question - The scholarship offered was verbal and since there was not a commitment from the junior recruit, than that offer is done (it travelled with the coach). Had a verbal commitment been made, then a majority of departing coaches would inform their Athletic Director that they have received a verbal commitment. It then becomes the decision of the AD whether to tell the new coach to accept the commitment or to allow the new coach to make their own decision; most AD's will not force a new coach to accept a verbal commitment.
Verbal commitments are just that - a word of promise made between the player and the coach. The National Letter of Intent is the legal, signed contract that obligates the recruit and the school to each other - the letter specifically says that coaching changes do not affect the NLA.
If a verbal commitment has been made, the new coach is under no obligation to honor this commitment. Usually what happens, is that most coaches will evaluate the player (skills and attitude) to determine if that player is someone they want to have in the program - if the recruit is talented and has a good attitude, then odds are everything will work out fine.
My suggestion is to contact the new coach, let her/him know that the recruit very much likes the school and the program, so much so that she was about to verbally commit to the school. I would not put pressure upon the coach to re-offer the commitment, but rather to start a dialogue between both parties so the new coach can get to know the recruit and the recruit can get to know the coach!
We are seeing much more head coach mobility within college volleyball - This year must be a record year for job postings; not only head coaches, but a number of top flight assistant positions that will attract current head coaches to apply. I believe the mobility is being encouraged by the dissimilar compensation structures of schools - some pay suprisingly low, even though they are a recognizable national institution. Then, another nationally recognized institution, in a comparable league and in a comparable cost of living city, is going to salary thier head coach at $20,000.00 more; this disparity creates the motivation to change positions.
This affects the prospective student athlete (PSA) and the family because of the early recruiting time frame. By verbally committing to a school early in your Junior year, the PSA is effectively taking themselves off the recruiting market. While a family may want to have answered a very serious question (the child's college future), they risk the coach moving to another position before being able to sign the NLI.
Whenever possible, it is best to wait to provide a verbal commitment until after the college volleyball hiring season is finished. In general, the hiring season runs from December 1st through April. Right now we are in the peak of the interviews and hirings - you can see a number of new hires listed on the avca.org web page under Coaching Transactions. By the way, DO NOT pay attention to any of the message or chat boards that talk about coaching positions, they are wrong many, many more times than they are right (until after the fact).
If you cannot wait until March/April to make a commitment, then please keep a contact list of your top schools as a safety net. Worse case, if your future coach jumps to another school, immediately contact those other schools that you were very interested in to inform them that you are available again because the coach left State U.
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