Rogue coach!
How many coaches out there at the D1 or D2 level have had little experience actually playing themselves? I am a 35 year old male teacher who grew up in SoCal. I started a year of club ball in H.S. then moved to San Diego where everyone was light years ahead of me. I played a year on a club team at a D2 four year school (Chico State) in Northern California. Despite having little team experience under my belt I play surprisingly well. The deal is that I truly love the game, wish I had been presented more opportunities to play organized ball (of any sort being 6'5" and 240), and really want to direct all that somewhere worthwhile but am quite hesitant feeling like I don't know the logistics/mechanics of the game very well.
What kind of advice would you have towards starting out and moving up the ladder?
After getting rolling which way would be offer the most opportunities in the future? 2yr college vs. Club coaching vs. HS?
Do you have to have a degree in athletics (or usual minimum of a masters) to coach at a 4 year university?
And do you have any rough reference of where coaches start out at with pay in 2yr and 4yr schools?
Great blog by the way.
Thanks, Shane
"Rogue Coach" - I like it! Anything that creative gets the question moved to the front of the answer line and then posted on site!!
You would be surprised at the number of DI/D2 male coaches who have had limited, if any playing experience - It happens with female coaches to a certain degree, but not as much because of the opportunities afforded. Quite a number of coaches just have some college club volleyball or adult league experience, then get an opportunity somehow within the collegiate setting and run with it.
I feel that these type of coaches are successful because they don't rely upon their overwhelming playing experience to guide their development as coaches - In a sense they realize they need to stay current and proactive in their education of coaching. One of the mistakes I made as an young coach, was to think since I was a very good player, that I would be a very good coach, just because of association. It took a number of seasons, especially after moving into the head coach slot, to learn to translate my physical experience into practical coaching application for my players. Too often, young good former players turned coaches get frustrated because their players 'don't get it' and the coach is not willing or able to make the adjustments to present or teach the game.
In previous posts, I may have answered a number (if not all of your questions), but I have also sent out many return e-mails to others which have your same questions that I did not post on line. I will try to give you a brief run down to help, and hopefully the full answers are somewhere on the site.
1. Get into Club volleyball as a coach - It will provide the opportunity to 'work' on your coaching skills in a higher volleyball environment, provide an avenue to meet other volleyball coaches and possible open some doors to college spots.
2. Inquire about working any college volleyball camps during the summer - Again, a chance to coach athletes, and learn skills/philosophies from other coaches, while developing contacts.
3. If you have the funds or location, try to become a volunteer coach at a collegiate program. Just build the resume and your experience, plus it allows you to work with college age players in the gym, while gaining some experience in an athletic department.
4. High school is a part time stipend pay position with crazy high school politics (ie high school football coaches who think they are the next Saben or basketball coaches who want the gym the first day of school) - Club has crazy travel and parents who pay for the right to dictate policy, but a higher level of volleyball. JC is a great entry with pay ranges from 1 dollar to a healthy standard of living, but the resources can be limited. The brass ring gets shinier as you climb but harder to attain - the three NCAA Divisions.
5. Undergraduate degree is all you need to coach in college - no specific subject requirement (in the majority of positions). Some DII-DIII or JC's may mandate a Masters, and sometimes within desired disciplines, but usually just a masters level degree - These masters level degree requirements seem to be lessening for DII but still holding for DIII (remember DIII is academically oriented).
6. Pay - That is a tough question because of so variables - age, experience, departmental philosophies, part of the country, etc. Starting Head Coach JC full time is probably high 20's (depending on physical location), part time is just a few thousand - JC assist full time (which is rare) migh be high teens and most likely part time for a few grand. 4 year assist full time depends on classification, but can start from low, low 20's (scary cheap some DI's) to mid 40's, some can be part time (DII or DIII) and will just be a few K stipend. Full time 4 year head coach can run from high 20's (think NAIA or token DII schools) up to big money if you land the name brand school. This is possibly the most frustrating thing to college volleyball coaches; the huge range of pay scale and some of the salaires being embarrassingly low, comparative to football and basketball college opportunities of same schools.
Good luck with your future and I the quick reply helps.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Vacation Time - Maybe?
I have started a new poll on the right side bar of the site - This one about what Volleyfolks will do on their vacations.
My previous post was which 'championship' event players would be attending this year. I was surprised by the limited number of votes for the AAU's and VolleyFest. This could be more of a readership issue than a reflection about the merits or attractiveness of the tournaments. But still, I was expecting a bit more balance between all four events.
Back to Vacation Time - Maybe? May is rather nice time for volleyball coaches because spring season is over, qualifiers are over, recruiting is in a Dead Period, semester classes are done or nearly so and the championship events have not commenced. A number of college coaches try to grab some off time during the segment from the end of semester classes to the start of the June volleyball events.
I would think the same premise exists for families and club coaches, but a much smaller window. On the belief that qualifiers are done, regional championships are concluded and summer plans have been coordinated, with high schools letting out for class in late May. This would lead to an opportunity for a vacation frame from late May to mid'ish June (depending on your championship event).
The other opportunity which I could see existing for families is post championship events which might open up a 3 week window from early July to August 1st (when school practices would start). For college coaches, this vacation window is there, but camps, recruiting, administrative details before the team reports for practice the first week of August tends to make this down time not so down.
I have learned to make an effort to create a number of vacation or mental off days after the July camp, recruiting, details craziness. In the past, I got myself in trouble by going into the season with my gas tank empty - Starting a college volleyball year tired is not the best choice.
For the scientific approach to this poll, we will pretend that everyone associated with the greatest sport on earth can capture 2 weeks for vacation. To that end, what will you do with your vacation. Please vote on the right side bar.
For instance, I am on a vacation time frame now, but still doing volleyball stuff; this will end all too soon as June comes to say hello.
My previous post was which 'championship' event players would be attending this year. I was surprised by the limited number of votes for the AAU's and VolleyFest. This could be more of a readership issue than a reflection about the merits or attractiveness of the tournaments. But still, I was expecting a bit more balance between all four events.
Back to Vacation Time - Maybe? May is rather nice time for volleyball coaches because spring season is over, qualifiers are over, recruiting is in a Dead Period, semester classes are done or nearly so and the championship events have not commenced. A number of college coaches try to grab some off time during the segment from the end of semester classes to the start of the June volleyball events.
I would think the same premise exists for families and club coaches, but a much smaller window. On the belief that qualifiers are done, regional championships are concluded and summer plans have been coordinated, with high schools letting out for class in late May. This would lead to an opportunity for a vacation frame from late May to mid'ish June (depending on your championship event).
The other opportunity which I could see existing for families is post championship events which might open up a 3 week window from early July to August 1st (when school practices would start). For college coaches, this vacation window is there, but camps, recruiting, administrative details before the team reports for practice the first week of August tends to make this down time not so down.
I have learned to make an effort to create a number of vacation or mental off days after the July camp, recruiting, details craziness. In the past, I got myself in trouble by going into the season with my gas tank empty - Starting a college volleyball year tired is not the best choice.
For the scientific approach to this poll, we will pretend that everyone associated with the greatest sport on earth can capture 2 weeks for vacation. To that end, what will you do with your vacation. Please vote on the right side bar.
For instance, I am on a vacation time frame now, but still doing volleyball stuff; this will end all too soon as June comes to say hello.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Random Thoughts which may apply to College Volleyball
Well, here they are:
- I read about the measures which conferences are taking to save money in the current economic climate, yet none of these measure seem to include the three largest drains on the budgets of schools - Football, Men's Basketball and Women's Basketball. Conference tourneys are being reduced or cut for all sports, except Men's and Women's Basketball. Conference Championship Football games are still being played. To say these sports "make money" is such a wonderful farce which nobody has the courage to call a lie.
- Instead of conferences or schools taking an honest economic look at the three largest expenditure sports and how they can save significant amounts of money, they would rather slice the salami even thinner for sports which have as much extra fat as Lindsay Lohan.
- Here is a simple and effective way for schools to save huge money - Don't allow football teams to take all their players and staff to a hotel the night before home games!!! How this was ever allowed in the first place is a such a display of weakness by administrators. What a great waste of money - Since coaches cannot trust their team to go to sleep early and be prepared to compete the next day, we will spend the following: Rooms in a hotel for the entire home roster and staff ($5,500), charter buses to and from campus ($2,400), all meals while away from campus ($7,000) - Conservatively, it looks like almost $15,000.00 just to play a home game. Times that by 6 home games and I have found a way to save each school $100,000.00 minimum without taking anything away from the student-athletes.
- I wish I would have been smarter or studied harder or not been such a brilliant athlete, because being a Tenured Professor sure is a nice blanket in these economic times. I once had a professor say that they could walk through campus stark naked with their hair on fire and not be terminated because they had tenure.
- All volleyball club events (including the 94 different championships) should end no later than June 15th. Let's give the players at least six weeks off before high school volleyball starts up. Let's give the parents time to take a vacation without making some volleyball coach upset.
- Speaking of changing the dates of everything - I would vote for adjusting the July 1st Open Season on Recruiting (calling players, doing home visits for Seniors) back to at least July 15th. Just think, when the last tournament ends on June 15th, college coaches would have a lunar cycle to just do other things than chase the next best whatever.
- You may not be a loyal reader of the opening page of the ncaa.org web page, but I have just about had my fill of the sand volleyball propaganda (at least they put something which looks like a volleyball on the sand in the picture). It has been voted as an "Emerging Sport", now let's see if it emerges. Don't sell it to me, don't tell me why this is the greatest thing to happen to indoor volleyball since rally score, don't do anything (believe me, you have done too much) - Just let schools decide if they will want to sponsor the sport based on their own interests.
- Ever wonder why the NCAA did not allocate more scholarships to women's indoor volleyball instead of creating sand volleyball? It is because sand volleyball can be counted as a women's sport, and thus be counted in the total of women's sports sponsored to meet minimum sport levels for Division I certification. Oh, I am sure the equity counters do not mind the opportunity to add to the total of female athletes within the athletic department to off-set the 100+ football players either.
- Instead of the NCAA or the conferences or the athletic departments having the courage to yank the chain of football and limit rosters, they have supported the rowing as a NCAA sport. Nothing like having a varsity boat, a novice boat, a freshman boat and boats for 2 or 4 or 8 person teams on the water in each classification - A little bit of math goes a long ways towards balancing inequity. I wonder if the rowing team goes to a hotel before a home event?
- By the way, when we do pull out of the economic down turn, which programs do you think will benefit first? All the Olympic sports which have been cut? Or will it be the football and basketball programs which have really 'suffered' lately and must be brought back up to competitive levels for the future of the team and my gosh, the university? Why will they get the fresh squeezed green juice first? I think because they have a coaches association which focuses on one thing - Making life better for their coaches.
- I really hope my team works out this summer. You tell them to work out, you call and ask how their workouts are going, then you just hold your breath to see what walks in the door for the first practice. A tan looks good, but it can't hide what you have not done in the off-season. I have grown to view athletes returning heavier and not in good (I don't expect great shape) shape as nothing more than an insult to the program, myself and a very selfish statement.
- How come a first assistant women's basketball coach in Division I will be paid more money than a Head Volleyball coach at 90% of schools? Approximately the same roster, one less staff member, same travel schedule, etc., but the assistant makes more! When I think of this and then read the drivel coming out about sand volleyball, I get a headache in my eye.
- It seems to me that the formula to gain financial reward in college athletics is to win, but to do so in an egomaniac manner with a smile on your face while driving your team into the ground and breaking every rule you can get away with. Oh the stories I could tell (and not about volleyball programs, just the things I have seen in other sports).
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Future Hall of Fame Volleyball Coach!
Hi. I'm in middle school and I've only been playing volleyball for 2 years but its now something i love, and that I'd like to continue doing for future years to come. An assignment that I have for a class of mine is what our dream job is. For me, one thing I'd love to do is become a college volleyball coach. So, i was wondering what some requirements to become a college volleyball coach are. Do you have to have a college degree, and how much prior coaching experience is needed? Also, how much time do you spend each day coaching? Thank you for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it.
Emily
I am glad to help with your class assignment and maybe point you in right direction to a lifelong and rewarding career! All I ask in return is don't vote for any more rule changes!!!
If you look at the ncaa.org web page, on the left hand side bar you will notice a link for Employment. When you highlight this link, a side menu pops up and you want to click Membership; the next page that pops up has another link in the middle of the page to view for athletic positions (coaching and staff) at schools which post openings (NCAA schools and other associations). When you click this link, another page pops up (and this page is rather confusing - don't know why the NCAA reformatted this section because it seems more complicated), on this page, look to the left side bar and there will be a very small link that says "Browse Jobs" - Click this link and you will see a breakdown of many different positions. On this page, just click "Volleyball" to see all available volleyball positions listed on the NCAA website - Quite a long Internet journey, but is is here you can see the requirements needed for various positions.
Most volleyball job listing will have "required qualifications" and additional "preferred qualifications". In a sense, the "required" gets your resume accepted, and the "preferred" is what gets your resume through the first round of selections.
Having applied for my fair share of positions, the majority of Head Coach jobs require:
1. An undergraduate degree from a four year college or university.
2. A certain number of years of college or high school coaching experience (usually ranges from 2 to 5 years).
Additionally, any number of college Head Coaching jobs prefer:
1. Experience as a player at the college level.
2. NCAA coaching experience (any Division).
3. Demonstrated success recruiting high caliber volleyball student-athletes.
4. Demonstrated competitive success at the NCAA level.
5. Masters degree.
The qualification for an assistant coach vary according to the position (first, second, part time, etc.), but the required qualifications can include:
1. Undergraduate degree from a 4 year institution.
2. Collegiate playing experience.
Preferred qualifications for assistants entail:
1. Experience with various computer software.
2. Experience with statistic and video software.
3. Experience interacting with members of the volleyball community.
As a rule, to be a college volleyball coach (assistant or head) you must have your undergraduate degree - There are times when an assistant may be hired without a degree, but it is usually stipulated that the assistant must obtain their degree within a certain time period.
In general, Athletic Directors like to see that a coaching candidate either has playing experience or demonstrated success as a coach (if they did not play volleyball). Also, to be selected as a head coach, it would be important that a candidate bring a few years of experience to the position, even if they have a great playing resume
As for the actual amount of time coaching, it is the least amount of time that college coaches spend with the position. Surprisingly, actually being on the floor coaching the players is the smallest amount of time I spend as a Head Coach. Part of this is because of NCAA rules - The NCAA is very specific about how many hours per day and per week we can spend training the student-athletes, both in the playing season and during the non-traditional season (a fancy way of saying the 'off-season') and part of it is just what needs to be done when you run a college volleyball program.
Being a College Volleyball coach entails so many other details which take up a significant amount of time. Please allow me to list the various things that volleyball coaches must do other than coach the players:
After reading my list, I think I should have studied harder in college!!! Not really - I very much enjoy being a college volleyball coach and would not wish to be employed doing anything else!
I hope my answer is of help for your assignment and I wish you the very best as you continue down the road of volleyball - It is a great game and maybe you can enjoy a wonderful career.
Emily
I am glad to help with your class assignment and maybe point you in right direction to a lifelong and rewarding career! All I ask in return is don't vote for any more rule changes!!!
If you look at the ncaa.org web page, on the left hand side bar you will notice a link for Employment. When you highlight this link, a side menu pops up and you want to click Membership; the next page that pops up has another link in the middle of the page to view for athletic positions (coaching and staff) at schools which post openings (NCAA schools and other associations). When you click this link, another page pops up (and this page is rather confusing - don't know why the NCAA reformatted this section because it seems more complicated), on this page, look to the left side bar and there will be a very small link that says "Browse Jobs" - Click this link and you will see a breakdown of many different positions. On this page, just click "Volleyball" to see all available volleyball positions listed on the NCAA website - Quite a long Internet journey, but is is here you can see the requirements needed for various positions.
Most volleyball job listing will have "required qualifications" and additional "preferred qualifications". In a sense, the "required" gets your resume accepted, and the "preferred" is what gets your resume through the first round of selections.
Having applied for my fair share of positions, the majority of Head Coach jobs require:
1. An undergraduate degree from a four year college or university.
2. A certain number of years of college or high school coaching experience (usually ranges from 2 to 5 years).
Additionally, any number of college Head Coaching jobs prefer:
1. Experience as a player at the college level.
2. NCAA coaching experience (any Division).
3. Demonstrated success recruiting high caliber volleyball student-athletes.
4. Demonstrated competitive success at the NCAA level.
5. Masters degree.
The qualification for an assistant coach vary according to the position (first, second, part time, etc.), but the required qualifications can include:
1. Undergraduate degree from a 4 year institution.
2. Collegiate playing experience.
Preferred qualifications for assistants entail:
1. Experience with various computer software.
2. Experience with statistic and video software.
3. Experience interacting with members of the volleyball community.
As a rule, to be a college volleyball coach (assistant or head) you must have your undergraduate degree - There are times when an assistant may be hired without a degree, but it is usually stipulated that the assistant must obtain their degree within a certain time period.
In general, Athletic Directors like to see that a coaching candidate either has playing experience or demonstrated success as a coach (if they did not play volleyball). Also, to be selected as a head coach, it would be important that a candidate bring a few years of experience to the position, even if they have a great playing resume
As for the actual amount of time coaching, it is the least amount of time that college coaches spend with the position. Surprisingly, actually being on the floor coaching the players is the smallest amount of time I spend as a Head Coach. Part of this is because of NCAA rules - The NCAA is very specific about how many hours per day and per week we can spend training the student-athletes, both in the playing season and during the non-traditional season (a fancy way of saying the 'off-season') and part of it is just what needs to be done when you run a college volleyball program.
Being a College Volleyball coach entails so many other details which take up a significant amount of time. Please allow me to list the various things that volleyball coaches must do other than coach the players:
- Develop recruiting priorities and coordinate travel for recruiting.
- Travel to/from club and high school volleyball matches to recruit.
- Submit expense reports for recruiting travel, including completing supporting NCAA recruiting paperwork (listing all recruits, sites, etc. from trip).
- Evaluate and rank recruits while watching volleyball matches.
- Manage the recruiting database.
- E-mail, write and telephone recruits.
- Coordinate and host Unofficial Visits.
- Coordinate and host Official Visits, including transporting Prospective Student-Athlete to and from airport, transport PSA and family around the campus and town.
- Submit expense reports from Official Visits, including NCAA supporting documentation.
- Complete paperwork for National Letter of Intent and scholarship signing day.
- Monitor signed player application process (including housing application), NCAA Eligibility Certification and NCAA Amateurism Certification.
- Coordinate all Team Travel details.
- Travel to/from Traditional season matches and tournaments.
- Submit expense reports for Team Travel, including NCAA supporting documentation.
- Film all home and non-league away matches.
- Send copies of recent matches to conference opponents or upload to central video database for distribution to conference opponents.
- Break down opposing team match films in preparation for upcoming matches.
- Break down own team film to determine practice focus for upcoming matches.
- Develop practice plans after results of matches, film breakdown, travel itinerary and any injuries.
- Obtain supplier bids for team equipment and clothing.
- Order all team equipment and clothing.
- Check status of order, confirm arrival of product, make changes, send out clothing for screening and embroidery.
- Submit NCAA documentation concerning number of hours spent training, traveling, lifting, etc. for the volleyball players during the season (one report per week, signed by the players).
- Pass the annual NCAA rules and regulations examination, after reviewing all NCAA rules changes and updates.
- Develop the Non-Traditional season plan.
- Coordinate Non-Traditional season team travel.
- Travel to/from Non-Traditional season competitions.
- Coordinate all camp and clinic plans, inclusive of securing facility space, producing and mailing camp information, registering participants, securing camp coaches, securing insurance, preparing all pre-camp school documentation and contracts, completing all post-camp payments, completing all post-camp school documentation, completing all post camp NCAA documentation, etc.
- Attending all required athletic department meetings.
- Attending all required school meetings.
- Meeting with the marketing and promotions administrator to review season plans.
- Meeting with the Director of Athletic Facilities to review program needs and conflicts.
- Directing team managers and support staff.
- Develop community outreach projects and complete community outreach projects.
- Assist in non-volleyball athletic department events or functions as directed by the administrations.
- Develop and successfully raise funds for the volleyball program.
- Participate in Athletic Department booster and fund raising events.
- Review and manage the academic success of the volleyball team.
- Manage the dynamics of the team to develop on and off court success.
- Attend conference and national coaches meetings as directed by Athletic Department.
After reading my list, I think I should have studied harder in college!!! Not really - I very much enjoy being a college volleyball coach and would not wish to be employed doing anything else!
I hope my answer is of help for your assignment and I wish you the very best as you continue down the road of volleyball - It is a great game and maybe you can enjoy a wonderful career.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Does this Uniform make me look tall?
Kids these days sure do grow up fast:
It seems like the standard has become to add 2 inches to a player's true height to list them on a roster or elsewhere. I routinely stand next to player who are shorter than I am but who are listed as being taller than I am.
I have a daughter who is exactly 5'10" in her bare feet. In her shoe's she measures right around 5'11 1/2". She has been told by her coach that she should list herself at 6' because "that's the standard" - that you're supposed to "round up." Well, we ain't doing it. I get the "measured in shoes" thing, sort of - it's how tall they are when they're actually playing the game.
As a college coach and recruiter, what do you think about this? How many times do you see PSA's who are obviously inflating their height? I guess the same question goes for "vertical jump inflation."
Thanks as always for your insightful and informative blog.
Anna
This is something which college coaches tend to get a good chuckle about - the height on the paper versus the height which we see on the court. As coaches, we have gotten rather adept at guesstimating a player's height. I will usually put a note next to the height column on my scout sheets just to confirm or adjust what was provided by the recruit.
I had one player on my team which 'upped' her height by at least 3 inches on her recruiting material. When she became an assistant, we would joke about recruits - "Where they really 5'11" or where they Mary 5'11" (i.e. 5'8")". When I asked her why she elevated her height in the recruiting material, she said she did not want to be negated as a potential recruit because she was not the average height for outside hitters.
To an extent, this true. College coaches have become so height driven that I feel club coaches and parents are 'rounding' up at any opportunity as to not disqualify Prospective Student-Athletes from getting a look. Would I have made the effort to go see Mary if she would have listed her true height on the initial information she sent me? Probably, but it would not have been at the top of my list. Conversely, if Mary was really 5'11" and was not very good, height would not have mattered one bit to me. I recruited Mary because she was an excellent player with a great attitude.
As recruiters, we tend to build in a 1" to 2" cushion onto all of the recruiting information which is sent to us. I don't think there is any harm in measuring height with shoes on, because this is what the actually playing height reflects. Yet, folks should be careful when they start rounding up beyond that. Again, coaches are rather good about determining height and you can come off with a bit of a poorer first impression when your fudging your height 2+ inches.
With as much of a critical eye which coaches use upon the statement of height, it becomes double for any vertical jump measurements. This is one area upon which PSA's tend to inflate the numbers. When we see 5'11" players listing a 9'9" approach touch, that can be hard to believe. In general, I have just stopped looking at approach or block numbers on recruiting information and focus upon how a player performs.
Don't be afraid as a PSA to list your shoe height and correctly list your approach and block touch numbers. If anything, you want to make a surprising impression with your abilities, rather than average impression. I would rather have a true 5'9" OH with tremendous skills blow me away, than an 5'11" OH just be another average player which I am evaluating.
For many years, and it may be still true, some of the toughest outside hitters in the country were the 5'9" OH's from southern California. I know for a fact, that a number of Midwest and east coast programs will not schedule no-name California schools because they don't want to take a loss against these type of players and against a school their AD may comprehend the volleyball abilities. It is OK to drop a match to UCLA, but losing to UC Irvine does not look too cool to those administrators at UpsideDown State University.
The reason the SoCal 5'9" OH's are so tough is because they are tough volleyball players. They can't rely on height and to be successful in a region of the country where there exists many, many good volleyball players, these 5'9" OH's have to become very skilled. They don't look like anything great (not like watching some monster in a Nebraska or Texas uniform walk by), but they can all pass, play defense, hit smart and play smart.
Another example is the U. of Hawaii. Of course they routinely have their share of monsters (and I mean monsters in a complimentary way), but they also have any number of very good, well rounded, smaller outside hitters. When I say smaller, I mean smaller in terms of where they finished the season ranked in the national polls. The Hawaii players are the complete package, just like the southern California players.
I really believe that if you round up too much, anything beyond your shoes and your actual jump touches, you are just setting yourself up to make a poor impression. I would rather have a player write me and say, "Hi, I am 5'8", but I am awesome!!!". That is someone I will make an effort to see!
Anna
This is something which college coaches tend to get a good chuckle about - the height on the paper versus the height which we see on the court. As coaches, we have gotten rather adept at guesstimating a player's height. I will usually put a note next to the height column on my scout sheets just to confirm or adjust what was provided by the recruit.
I had one player on my team which 'upped' her height by at least 3 inches on her recruiting material. When she became an assistant, we would joke about recruits - "Where they really 5'11" or where they Mary 5'11" (i.e. 5'8")". When I asked her why she elevated her height in the recruiting material, she said she did not want to be negated as a potential recruit because she was not the average height for outside hitters.
To an extent, this true. College coaches have become so height driven that I feel club coaches and parents are 'rounding' up at any opportunity as to not disqualify Prospective Student-Athletes from getting a look. Would I have made the effort to go see Mary if she would have listed her true height on the initial information she sent me? Probably, but it would not have been at the top of my list. Conversely, if Mary was really 5'11" and was not very good, height would not have mattered one bit to me. I recruited Mary because she was an excellent player with a great attitude.
As recruiters, we tend to build in a 1" to 2" cushion onto all of the recruiting information which is sent to us. I don't think there is any harm in measuring height with shoes on, because this is what the actually playing height reflects. Yet, folks should be careful when they start rounding up beyond that. Again, coaches are rather good about determining height and you can come off with a bit of a poorer first impression when your fudging your height 2+ inches.
With as much of a critical eye which coaches use upon the statement of height, it becomes double for any vertical jump measurements. This is one area upon which PSA's tend to inflate the numbers. When we see 5'11" players listing a 9'9" approach touch, that can be hard to believe. In general, I have just stopped looking at approach or block numbers on recruiting information and focus upon how a player performs.
Don't be afraid as a PSA to list your shoe height and correctly list your approach and block touch numbers. If anything, you want to make a surprising impression with your abilities, rather than average impression. I would rather have a true 5'9" OH with tremendous skills blow me away, than an 5'11" OH just be another average player which I am evaluating.
For many years, and it may be still true, some of the toughest outside hitters in the country were the 5'9" OH's from southern California. I know for a fact, that a number of Midwest and east coast programs will not schedule no-name California schools because they don't want to take a loss against these type of players and against a school their AD may comprehend the volleyball abilities. It is OK to drop a match to UCLA, but losing to UC Irvine does not look too cool to those administrators at UpsideDown State University.
The reason the SoCal 5'9" OH's are so tough is because they are tough volleyball players. They can't rely on height and to be successful in a region of the country where there exists many, many good volleyball players, these 5'9" OH's have to become very skilled. They don't look like anything great (not like watching some monster in a Nebraska or Texas uniform walk by), but they can all pass, play defense, hit smart and play smart.
Another example is the U. of Hawaii. Of course they routinely have their share of monsters (and I mean monsters in a complimentary way), but they also have any number of very good, well rounded, smaller outside hitters. When I say smaller, I mean smaller in terms of where they finished the season ranked in the national polls. The Hawaii players are the complete package, just like the southern California players.
I really believe that if you round up too much, anything beyond your shoes and your actual jump touches, you are just setting yourself up to make a poor impression. I would rather have a player write me and say, "Hi, I am 5'8", but I am awesome!!!". That is someone I will make an effort to see!
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