Hi, I have an eighth grade daughter who's a middle hitter for a club team. It's apparent to all that she's the most consistent and strongest middle of 2, yet the coach starts her in the back row where she then switches out with libero. The weaker middle starts in front middle. Do you have an idea why the coach might be doing this? Thank you. K
In a 25 point rally score game, there are a finite number of times a team will rotate. This limited number of times a team will rotate, was part of the learning curve of moving to rally score for those coaches who began coaching in the side out scoring format (as my long time readers know, I miss the good old days of side out scoring when coaches actually got to coach during a match!).
I would think that a really smart staff somewhere, like at an Ivy League school, has come up with the statistical average number of rotations in a game (or set, or period, or semester, or the square root of pi, or whatever the unknowns have decreed we now call must call what used to be called a game). By my fuzzy off season memory, it seems like 12 to 15 rotations was about right for a typical game - Again, someone hopefully has mathematically figured out the average.
Because there are just a limited number of rotations, it is important for a coach to determine where to start certain effective hitters to ensure that they spend the larger percentage of their eligible rotations front row. Rally score has adjusted volleyball more towards an offensive orientation versus a defensive orientation. Back in the glorious past of Duran Duran and side out scoring, defensive/blocking match ups were given much more consideration than today.
Back to your question - Your daughter's coach is considering three options:
1) By starting your daughter back row, this will result in her being front row for a larger number of rotations during a typical match.
2) With rally score's finite rotation numbers and the overwhelming importance of the Outside Hitter (including the Opposite) and specifically the Outside 1 position, your coach may be starting this outside player left front or middle front, which would result in your daughter beginning back row (depending on which Middle position your daughter plays).
3) Many coaches simply start their setter right back, which normally translates into a Middle Blocker starting middle front and a Middle Blocker starting middle back. It also means the setter has three set options to start the first three rotations of the game.
If I had to choose among the three options, because of your daughter's age, I would say her beginning position in rotation is a result of the coach starting the setter right back. It is not a reflection or judgment upon upon your daughter's ability, it is just basic volleyball.
Allow me to explain some volleyball terminology and strategy with regards to how the 6 players are arranged on the the court.
1) Today, there are two offensive systems being employed in college and club volleyball; a traditional 5-1 (1 setter and 5 non-setters) or a front to back 6-2 (2 setters share the setting duties, but these setters only play back row, so they front row and back row with an Opposite Hitter).
2) In a 5-1 offense, there are two ways to arrange the players around the setter and the way these players are arranged around the setter dictates their positional name. Think visually about the setter being surrounded in rotation and either pushing the player ahead of her or pulling the player behind her in the rotation.
3) The traditional 5-1 rotation set up, in beginning the setter in the right back section (remember there are 6 sections of a volleyball rotation, much like a tic-tac-toe pattern). In the traditional rotation, an outside hitter would be right front and a middle blocker would be middle back. Thus, the setter is 'pushing' the middle and 'pulling the outside'. Because of the proximity of the middle and the outside to the setter, these two positions are called M1 and OH1. The player who is opposite the setter in rotation is called the Opposite (some international teams call this player Diagonal) or OP and would start in the left front position. The middle front position would be occupied by a Middle and since this player is not next to the setter, she would be designated as the M2. And, to finish the 6 spots, the remaining left back starting position would be filled by an outside hitter, designated as the OH2.
4) How a coach arranges their hitters around the setter also determines how many times an outside hitter and/or opposite attacks the ball on the right or left side of the court, along with how many times a middle blocker and/or outside hitter is front row with the setter, which dictates if the hitter is part of a two or three hitter (front row attackers) rotation. In a traditional 5-1 rotation; the OH1 attacks twice left and once right, along with being in the 2 hitter rotation twice and the 3 hitter rotation once; the OH2 attacks three times left side, along with being in the 2 hitter rotation once and the 3 hitter rotation twice; the OP player attacks one time left and two times right, along with being in the 3 hitter rotation three times; the M1 is in the 2 hitter rotation two times and 3 hitter rotation one time; the M2 is in the 2 hitter rotation once and the 3 hitter rotation two times. Coaches can make changes to this typical attack pattern by significantly shifting their serve receive formation, but the above example is the traditional way.
5) A non-traditional way of arranging the 5-1 rotation is to switch the order of the line-up by having the setter pull the M1 and push the OH1. So, a quick overview of the starting rotation is Setter right back, OH1 middle back, M2 left back, OP left front, OH2 middle front, M1 right front. Using this rotation system changes the number of times each outside position hits either right or left, but the number of times front row with the setter remain the same. The OH1 now hits 3 times left, the OH2 hits 1 time left and 2 times right, and the OP hits 2 times left and 1 time right. This type of pattern is typically used when you have a strong, tall OP player who can attack left side well, but may not be the best ball control player. Also, this arrangement allows for a strong passing/defensive OH2 player to be on the court, without having to attack a great number of balls on the left side; a coach can 'hide' this player in the attack options since more sets go to the left side zone, while taking advantage of her ball control.
6) In a front to back 6-2, either positioning rotation pattern can be used, with the OP coming out when it is her time to rotate to the back row and she is replaced by a setter. In a front to back 6-2, there are always three attackers and the setter is always back row. I am seeing more and more club teams use this option, and I believe it is a matter of allowing 2 extra players the opportunity to play during matches.
But K's question brings up a good point which players and parents must remember - That where your daughter may start on the court, should not be a reflection of her abilities or importance to the team. With the limited number of rotations, coaches are arranging positions based on statistical averages with regards to being offensive.
Hope this rather long answer to your short question helped!
January 28, 2010
January 25, 2010
Random Recruiting Observations
Where did my vacation go?
Yes, like the lemmings to the sea, I was swimming in the warm waters of college volleyball recruiting this weekend.
Some random (and very random) observations on my weekend of looking important while at the Tour of Texas Qualifier in San Antonio:
* I am going to wear a hat with my school name on it just to save the burden of parents/players having to bounce their eyes from my face to my chest to figure out who I represent.
* The Alamodome seems like it would be a nice place to watch a football game, as it did not have a bad seat in the space and seats were relatively close to the floor. Amazingly, the floor space only held about 25 courts, which when initially considering the Alamodome as a site, you would think it would hold many more than that.
* The Mexican food was so good and close to the Alamodome that there needs to be a post-lunch nap room for college coaches. After lunch, I was in such a state of sleepy gastronomic bliss that I just stood at the end of one random court with a glazed look in my eyes - Logan Tom's 17 year old sister could have been trying to verbally commit to my school and I would have not even seen her in front of me.
* Those kid's shoes with the wheel in the heel are really cool.
* I still cannot fathom Liberos who will not go after the ball. Amazes me the number of balls that hit the floor and the Liberos just watch it fall and shrug their shoulders - "my bad" - Amazing.
* Without fail, the great grandma with the glasses is going to get pegged by the ricochet warm-up ball that bounces over two courts before connecting with her right in the nose. I have reached the point that I can spot the upcoming victim before it happens.
* Fans cannot stick their feet halfway out on the playing surface and then scream interference to the referee when their team can't chase down a dig on the edge of the court.
* I see club coaches going berserk; veins popping out of their face, net, head, eyeballs and think to myself - Wow, I gotta mellow out when I coach my team because it is just a game.
* If the setter's feet are not stopped, the sets are not going to be consistent. Saw a bunch of setters flinging balls around with lazy feet - The tough thing about these kind of sets is that they look good coming out of the setter's hands, but usually don't end up having the same visual when the hitter gets ready to swing.
* It would be nice to see club coaches 'coach' during tournaments - Yelling "why did you do that" or "what are you doing" is not coaching. Rally score volleyball is about making small adjustments to the usual protocol of how your team/players perform, i.e. Try to get a little wider on your approach, get your feet stopped when you set the ball, keep your point of contact high on your swing, let's release for the tip early, let's double block the middle and go solo on their OH, work hard to finish the dig, don't release your base until after the set, etc.
* By and large, referee's are not calling anything to do with touching the ball - everything goes and it is ugly, way ugly. I understand that officiating game after game, in two day format must lead to a certain autopilot when blowing the whistle, but this was just silly. It was to the point that something must have come down the Officiating Official Pipeline saying let it all go. FIVB rules are different than NCAA rules, so I can't comment on the specific interpretations, but something is amiss. I say this because I have recruited internationally, and when I watch international youth matches, the FIVB rules are the same FIVB rules being used by USA Volleyball. In these international matches, unacceptable ball contacts are called; lifts are ALWAYS called (lifts calls in Club ball are as rare as a player calling their own touch on the block) and double contacts are ONLY allowed when the physical action immediately before contact is deemed very athletic (taking two steps to set the ball is not an athletic play internationally). It is actually refreshing to see FIVB international officiating because it does not allow for the slop volleyball that club teams are allowed to engage in.
* Parent's need to use the Drop and Loop technique when coming to a tournament. The Alamodome parking was $10.00 with no in/out privileges - that is just nuts. Parking charges are reimbursed for me, but I still could not bring myself to pay the charge and ended up just parking in the neighborhood across the street for free. Back to the parents, at most sites, if you spend a couple of minutes Looping around the facility, after Dropping everyone off, you many times can find a free or greatly reduced spot to park. I remember one time at the USA JO's in Dallas, on the back side of the Convention Center parking was $1.25 versus $8.00 at the front!
* I strongly encourage parents to not CHEER the mistakes of the opposing teams. With rally score, points are awarded on every play, but when player makes a bad play, an embarrassing mistake, it only makes a young player feel even worse to hear the CHEERS of the opposing families. By all means, clap when fortune rewards your team with a point; clapping is so much more appropriate than CHEERING the gift point. I guess I just don't want to see volleyball turn into one of those obnoxious, loud sports where opponent's mistakes are cheered with more enthusiasm than the home team's brilliant plays.
* By the way, if you are not a middle blocker or setter, college coaches want to see you pass as much as we want to see you do anything else. Having too many good passers is like having too much money - no such thing.
* I think the host club/organization should charge college coaches $25.00 per day to enter the tournament and not charge families anything. That admission fee is not coming out of my pocket, it comes out of the budget, while the parents are digging in once more (team dues, tourney entry fee, hotel, food, gas, parking and now admission to see their child play in something which they have already paid to make happen).
Hope everyone had a nice weekend of the greatest sport on earth!
Yes, like the lemmings to the sea, I was swimming in the warm waters of college volleyball recruiting this weekend.
Some random (and very random) observations on my weekend of looking important while at the Tour of Texas Qualifier in San Antonio:
* I am going to wear a hat with my school name on it just to save the burden of parents/players having to bounce their eyes from my face to my chest to figure out who I represent.
* The Alamodome seems like it would be a nice place to watch a football game, as it did not have a bad seat in the space and seats were relatively close to the floor. Amazingly, the floor space only held about 25 courts, which when initially considering the Alamodome as a site, you would think it would hold many more than that.
* The Mexican food was so good and close to the Alamodome that there needs to be a post-lunch nap room for college coaches. After lunch, I was in such a state of sleepy gastronomic bliss that I just stood at the end of one random court with a glazed look in my eyes - Logan Tom's 17 year old sister could have been trying to verbally commit to my school and I would have not even seen her in front of me.
* Those kid's shoes with the wheel in the heel are really cool.
* I still cannot fathom Liberos who will not go after the ball. Amazes me the number of balls that hit the floor and the Liberos just watch it fall and shrug their shoulders - "my bad" - Amazing.
* Without fail, the great grandma with the glasses is going to get pegged by the ricochet warm-up ball that bounces over two courts before connecting with her right in the nose. I have reached the point that I can spot the upcoming victim before it happens.
* Fans cannot stick their feet halfway out on the playing surface and then scream interference to the referee when their team can't chase down a dig on the edge of the court.
* I see club coaches going berserk; veins popping out of their face, net, head, eyeballs and think to myself - Wow, I gotta mellow out when I coach my team because it is just a game.
* If the setter's feet are not stopped, the sets are not going to be consistent. Saw a bunch of setters flinging balls around with lazy feet - The tough thing about these kind of sets is that they look good coming out of the setter's hands, but usually don't end up having the same visual when the hitter gets ready to swing.
* It would be nice to see club coaches 'coach' during tournaments - Yelling "why did you do that" or "what are you doing" is not coaching. Rally score volleyball is about making small adjustments to the usual protocol of how your team/players perform, i.e. Try to get a little wider on your approach, get your feet stopped when you set the ball, keep your point of contact high on your swing, let's release for the tip early, let's double block the middle and go solo on their OH, work hard to finish the dig, don't release your base until after the set, etc.
* By and large, referee's are not calling anything to do with touching the ball - everything goes and it is ugly, way ugly. I understand that officiating game after game, in two day format must lead to a certain autopilot when blowing the whistle, but this was just silly. It was to the point that something must have come down the Officiating Official Pipeline saying let it all go. FIVB rules are different than NCAA rules, so I can't comment on the specific interpretations, but something is amiss. I say this because I have recruited internationally, and when I watch international youth matches, the FIVB rules are the same FIVB rules being used by USA Volleyball. In these international matches, unacceptable ball contacts are called; lifts are ALWAYS called (lifts calls in Club ball are as rare as a player calling their own touch on the block) and double contacts are ONLY allowed when the physical action immediately before contact is deemed very athletic (taking two steps to set the ball is not an athletic play internationally). It is actually refreshing to see FIVB international officiating because it does not allow for the slop volleyball that club teams are allowed to engage in.
* Parent's need to use the Drop and Loop technique when coming to a tournament. The Alamodome parking was $10.00 with no in/out privileges - that is just nuts. Parking charges are reimbursed for me, but I still could not bring myself to pay the charge and ended up just parking in the neighborhood across the street for free. Back to the parents, at most sites, if you spend a couple of minutes Looping around the facility, after Dropping everyone off, you many times can find a free or greatly reduced spot to park. I remember one time at the USA JO's in Dallas, on the back side of the Convention Center parking was $1.25 versus $8.00 at the front!
* I strongly encourage parents to not CHEER the mistakes of the opposing teams. With rally score, points are awarded on every play, but when player makes a bad play, an embarrassing mistake, it only makes a young player feel even worse to hear the CHEERS of the opposing families. By all means, clap when fortune rewards your team with a point; clapping is so much more appropriate than CHEERING the gift point. I guess I just don't want to see volleyball turn into one of those obnoxious, loud sports where opponent's mistakes are cheered with more enthusiasm than the home team's brilliant plays.
* By the way, if you are not a middle blocker or setter, college coaches want to see you pass as much as we want to see you do anything else. Having too many good passers is like having too much money - no such thing.
* I think the host club/organization should charge college coaches $25.00 per day to enter the tournament and not charge families anything. That admission fee is not coming out of my pocket, it comes out of the budget, while the parents are digging in once more (team dues, tourney entry fee, hotel, food, gas, parking and now admission to see their child play in something which they have already paid to make happen).
Hope everyone had a nice weekend of the greatest sport on earth!
January 20, 2010
NCAA Clearinghouse Question
My daughter is a 2010 h.s. grad that will walk on 1st year but has full scholarship for yrs 2-4 at a D1 university. We are trying to complete the Clearinghouse section that asks the following question:
Since turning 14 years old have you practiced or played with any women's volleyball team other than a U.S. High School team?
Does this include club ball? My take was club ball was considered "girls" and not "women's", and the question was asking about practice with a college or other than club type of team. Anyway, she does play club ball and we are wondering how to answer this one.
Amy
Yes, this question does include club volleyball.
The NCAA is just trying to make sure that when high school age athletes play on teams that are not high school based (Club Volleyball, AAU Basketball, Church Softball, etc), that the players are not getting 'scholarships' to play or paid to play on certain teams - this has been a problem in year's past with elite level AAU men's basketball teams.
Because of the growth of USA Junior Club volleyball, along with the continued interest in international players coming to the USA to play college volleyball, the NCAA is trying to keep a handle on determining what is an amateur athlete. The definitions seem to be in flux, but the basic concept is that someone or organization is not paying for your athletic services before you get to college (so we can pay for your athletic, uh, I mean student-athlete services!).
Amy
Yes, this question does include club volleyball.
The NCAA is just trying to make sure that when high school age athletes play on teams that are not high school based (Club Volleyball, AAU Basketball, Church Softball, etc), that the players are not getting 'scholarships' to play or paid to play on certain teams - this has been a problem in year's past with elite level AAU men's basketball teams.
Because of the growth of USA Junior Club volleyball, along with the continued interest in international players coming to the USA to play college volleyball, the NCAA is trying to keep a handle on determining what is an amateur athlete. The definitions seem to be in flux, but the basic concept is that someone or organization is not paying for your athletic services before you get to college (so we can pay for your athletic, uh, I mean student-athlete services!).
Just answer yes to the question and there might be follow up questions on a later segment, but you don't have to worry about any negative ramifications with the NCAA Clearinghouse. There is nothing illegal about playing on a club team, the NCAA is just doing their job to cover the bases.
It is so much better to just answer questions as they appear and not over think what is being asked. The NCAA Clearinghouse will often 'fine-tune' a question on later yearly paperwork when it realizes a clarity change must be made.
If there is any issue or concerns, the NCAA will just send you another e-mail asking you to re-answer the question or clarify. Again, the NCAA is not trying 'catch' people in mistakes, they are just trying their best to manage what must be a huge beast of information!
Just remember, that this Clearinghouse is nothing compared to the forests of paperwork still to come with being a NCAA Athlete - We do love to use paper!
It is so much better to just answer questions as they appear and not over think what is being asked. The NCAA Clearinghouse will often 'fine-tune' a question on later yearly paperwork when it realizes a clarity change must be made.
If there is any issue or concerns, the NCAA will just send you another e-mail asking you to re-answer the question or clarify. Again, the NCAA is not trying 'catch' people in mistakes, they are just trying their best to manage what must be a huge beast of information!
Just remember, that this Clearinghouse is nothing compared to the forests of paperwork still to come with being a NCAA Athlete - We do love to use paper!
January 15, 2010
NCAA Women's Volleyball Recruiting Question
Dear Coach,
I am trying to help a friend that is interested in playing college volleyball. I have been involved in the Softball recruiting process but am not sure about time lines for Volleyball. My questions are follows:
If you are a freshman, should you be writing to colleges of interest? My friend is probably going to be looking at DII or DIII opportunities, possibly smaller DI schools. I guess my question is what is the true recruiting window, I don't want her to be behind.
Also she plays club volleyball but may not want to play high school volleyball because she really wants to work on her academics? I have heard that most opportunities come from Club Volleyball? Does it hurt her in the recruiting process not to play high school volleyball?
Your site was very helpful to me as I am not a volleyball parent but have had some experience in the recruiting process. I just want to help this young lady reach her best potential and find a school and volleyball program that will be best for her.
I appreciate any guidance.
Sincerely, Leah
Thank you for your question and it 'tis the season for recruiting!
First of all, I encourage you to read through my Recruiting Plan (left side labels). In this year by year game plan, I have tried to provide some general guidelines for the recruiting process with an emphasis on the Division I process. I hope to update/edit this four year plan soon, to capture any nuances in recruiting which may have changes in the last year or so.
A true recruiting window is best viewed as simply a window of time based upon the specific details concerning a Prospective Student Athlete (PSA). I get nervous when I hear parents saying that they are panicked because so and so just committed to State U and she is a sophomore, while someone else is getting tons of letters from coaches as a freshman - This peer pressure can easily lead to a penguin panic where everyone goes of the side of the recruiting ice cliff.
Please do not misunderstand me, there are many times when elite level players have found the perfect fit for what they wish to have out of their collegiate experience and do commit their sophomore year or early in their Junior Year; and on the rare occasion you hear of a fabulous freshman making a verbal commitment.
My view is that the pre-Christmas Junior Year commitments occur, but may be trending down a bit. These time table commitments tend to be for the very good players, which are comfortable with the parameters of the recruiting process; location, size of school, conference membership, etc.
I say trending down a bit because a season or so ago, college coaches got really ahead of themselves and were offering scholarships to anything that was tall and shiny during the sophomore summer. The problem which has arose, is that all too often the shiny sophomore was not quite as polished as previously thought. VolleyFolks are realizing that what may look great as a sophomore against other sophomores, can look average the next year when everyone is a year older and stronger; many times the improvement curve is not symmetrical between all athletes.
My general philosophy that the Spring of the Junior Year of Club Volleyball is the time to look at making a commitment, if an athlete is comfortable with the schools which are recruiting her. Remember that the Spring is a long window of time, from after January 1st to early summer. I believe that an athlete needs this time frame to take a few unofficial visits, try to see potential schools in practice or spring season matches and compare/contrast potential futures.
I say, looking at making a commitment, not to make a commitment. What PSA's want to stay away from is to commit to a place that is not exactly what they want - better to wait a bit longer and find exactly what is desired than just to take something to be able to say they are committed.
I get concerned with there are schools of college coaches circling the 14s and 15s age groups - 8th graders and freshman in high school should be concerned with a thousand other things in volleyball and life than aware of the college volleyball recruiting process; no matter what any parent or coach says, seeing college volleyball coaches observing play on a court makes players aware of the process.
Proof of this way too early pressure to make commitments, encouraged and supported by college coaches and families, is evident in recent rumblings of NCAA proposals to eliminate the one time transfer rule exception currently being enjoyed by NCAA Women's Volleyball. What is being volleyed around (now give me some love for that blending of volleyball and NCAA legislature!!) is for Women's Volleyball to be like Basketball and Football - You can still transfer, but it will cost you one year of eligibility and you have to sit for a full year! The misguided hope is that this move will discourage transferring by student-athletes because they are not happy or the coach is not happy with the player; thus when PSA's are going through the process they will take more time to make a make a college choice
Now, with no further delay - Your questions:
1) Not playing High School Volleyball - This is something that the mass majority of college coaches are really not concerned with. One, we are in season so really can't go see players very much, and the level of training (on average) and competition is not particularly good. If your young friend wishes to concentrate of academics, I think this is better in the fall because she is not missing out on any top flight development, versus a club season.
Please note that I said on average, so those high school coaches which are outstanding and have a tremendous grasp of elite level training should consider themselves not of the average group! I am referring to those lucky individuals who get told a few weeks before the season, that they are now the volleyball coach - Congratulations!
2) I would go far as to say almost ALL NCAA opportunities are the result of club volleyball training - the exception would be for some DIII programs (which are sincerely academically based) or regional DII programs which know of a two sport athletes.
3) My belief is it does NOT hurt the recruiting process to not play high school volleyball. Again, college coaches view club volleyball as the elite training and most of us don't have time during our season/high school season to get out and watch/evaluate PSA's. If one of our potential recruits said they were not going to play high school volleyball, my reaction would be no problem.
For my committed PSA's, my only concern is that they make it through the season uninjured - that is all I care about. They could to 30 and 0, or 0 and 30, and all I want is them healthy at the end.
Hope you are able to be a resource for the young lady and I wish you both the best of luck!
I am trying to help a friend that is interested in playing college volleyball. I have been involved in the Softball recruiting process but am not sure about time lines for Volleyball. My questions are follows:
If you are a freshman, should you be writing to colleges of interest? My friend is probably going to be looking at DII or DIII opportunities, possibly smaller DI schools. I guess my question is what is the true recruiting window, I don't want her to be behind.
Also she plays club volleyball but may not want to play high school volleyball because she really wants to work on her academics? I have heard that most opportunities come from Club Volleyball? Does it hurt her in the recruiting process not to play high school volleyball?
Your site was very helpful to me as I am not a volleyball parent but have had some experience in the recruiting process. I just want to help this young lady reach her best potential and find a school and volleyball program that will be best for her.
I appreciate any guidance.
Sincerely, Leah
Thank you for your question and it 'tis the season for recruiting!
First of all, I encourage you to read through my Recruiting Plan (left side labels). In this year by year game plan, I have tried to provide some general guidelines for the recruiting process with an emphasis on the Division I process. I hope to update/edit this four year plan soon, to capture any nuances in recruiting which may have changes in the last year or so.
A true recruiting window is best viewed as simply a window of time based upon the specific details concerning a Prospective Student Athlete (PSA). I get nervous when I hear parents saying that they are panicked because so and so just committed to State U and she is a sophomore, while someone else is getting tons of letters from coaches as a freshman - This peer pressure can easily lead to a penguin panic where everyone goes of the side of the recruiting ice cliff.
Please do not misunderstand me, there are many times when elite level players have found the perfect fit for what they wish to have out of their collegiate experience and do commit their sophomore year or early in their Junior Year; and on the rare occasion you hear of a fabulous freshman making a verbal commitment.
My view is that the pre-Christmas Junior Year commitments occur, but may be trending down a bit. These time table commitments tend to be for the very good players, which are comfortable with the parameters of the recruiting process; location, size of school, conference membership, etc.
I say trending down a bit because a season or so ago, college coaches got really ahead of themselves and were offering scholarships to anything that was tall and shiny during the sophomore summer. The problem which has arose, is that all too often the shiny sophomore was not quite as polished as previously thought. VolleyFolks are realizing that what may look great as a sophomore against other sophomores, can look average the next year when everyone is a year older and stronger; many times the improvement curve is not symmetrical between all athletes.
My general philosophy that the Spring of the Junior Year of Club Volleyball is the time to look at making a commitment, if an athlete is comfortable with the schools which are recruiting her. Remember that the Spring is a long window of time, from after January 1st to early summer. I believe that an athlete needs this time frame to take a few unofficial visits, try to see potential schools in practice or spring season matches and compare/contrast potential futures.
I say, looking at making a commitment, not to make a commitment. What PSA's want to stay away from is to commit to a place that is not exactly what they want - better to wait a bit longer and find exactly what is desired than just to take something to be able to say they are committed.
I get concerned with there are schools of college coaches circling the 14s and 15s age groups - 8th graders and freshman in high school should be concerned with a thousand other things in volleyball and life than aware of the college volleyball recruiting process; no matter what any parent or coach says, seeing college volleyball coaches observing play on a court makes players aware of the process.
Proof of this way too early pressure to make commitments, encouraged and supported by college coaches and families, is evident in recent rumblings of NCAA proposals to eliminate the one time transfer rule exception currently being enjoyed by NCAA Women's Volleyball. What is being volleyed around (now give me some love for that blending of volleyball and NCAA legislature!!) is for Women's Volleyball to be like Basketball and Football - You can still transfer, but it will cost you one year of eligibility and you have to sit for a full year! The misguided hope is that this move will discourage transferring by student-athletes because they are not happy or the coach is not happy with the player; thus when PSA's are going through the process they will take more time to make a make a college choice
Now, with no further delay - Your questions:
1) Not playing High School Volleyball - This is something that the mass majority of college coaches are really not concerned with. One, we are in season so really can't go see players very much, and the level of training (on average) and competition is not particularly good. If your young friend wishes to concentrate of academics, I think this is better in the fall because she is not missing out on any top flight development, versus a club season.
Please note that I said on average, so those high school coaches which are outstanding and have a tremendous grasp of elite level training should consider themselves not of the average group! I am referring to those lucky individuals who get told a few weeks before the season, that they are now the volleyball coach - Congratulations!
2) I would go far as to say almost ALL NCAA opportunities are the result of club volleyball training - the exception would be for some DIII programs (which are sincerely academically based) or regional DII programs which know of a two sport athletes.
3) My belief is it does NOT hurt the recruiting process to not play high school volleyball. Again, college coaches view club volleyball as the elite training and most of us don't have time during our season/high school season to get out and watch/evaluate PSA's. If one of our potential recruits said they were not going to play high school volleyball, my reaction would be no problem.
For my committed PSA's, my only concern is that they make it through the season uninjured - that is all I care about. They could to 30 and 0, or 0 and 30, and all I want is them healthy at the end.
Hope you are able to be a resource for the young lady and I wish you both the best of luck!
January 12, 2010
NCAA Division III Volleyball
I really enjoy the site. Thanks for creating such an informative resource.
I have been a high school coach for several years now and I am planning to interview for some local college jobs in the near future. (Div. III level). What is the best way for me to educate myself about the various NCAA rules of recruiting and contacting players? I am also interested in potential conflicts of interest with NCAA coaches involved with Junior Olympic clubs at various age levels. I have coached juniors for several year and I was trying to figure out what level of involvement (if any) I could keep up if I was a Div III head volleyball coach.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sal
I have jumped right into answering the questions presented by Sal in his e-mail:
1. Go to this NCAA page and look for the Division III Manual - You can download the exact rule book that all Division III schools/coaches use. This is the best way to educate yourself about the rules - remember that each NCAA division has variations on the rules, especially with recruiting.
2. Other than a possible school rule, there is no conflict of interest (per NCAA rules) with college coaches coaching club. You are allowed to have any level of involvement you wish, provided you stay within NCAA rules of Division III as they specifically involve involvement with Club or Outside Sport Teams.
In terms of the NCAA rules, each NCAA Division will have their own slight variations of guidelines. In Division I versus Division II Volleyball recruiting, the DI Dead and Quiet periods are significantly longer than DII. Also, DII rules allow for playing volleyball while on an Official Visit. Division III rules are the most unknown to me and I would hesitate to give any clear distinctions in variations between DIII and the other Divisions, but I know they exist.
Division III is most notable for not allowing athletic scholarships to be provided. Some DIII institutions will view athletics as just part of the experience of being a student at their school, while other institutions will follow a traditional model of collegiate athletics.
You are doing the right thing to get some general information about the Division. I would not stress out too much about not being comprehensive on all topics, as an Athletic Director would understand you have a learning curve as part of the transition to NCAA Athletics.
Good luck,
Coach
I have been a high school coach for several years now and I am planning to interview for some local college jobs in the near future. (Div. III level). What is the best way for me to educate myself about the various NCAA rules of recruiting and contacting players? I am also interested in potential conflicts of interest with NCAA coaches involved with Junior Olympic clubs at various age levels. I have coached juniors for several year and I was trying to figure out what level of involvement (if any) I could keep up if I was a Div III head volleyball coach.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sal
I have jumped right into answering the questions presented by Sal in his e-mail:
1. Go to this NCAA page and look for the Division III Manual - You can download the exact rule book that all Division III schools/coaches use. This is the best way to educate yourself about the rules - remember that each NCAA division has variations on the rules, especially with recruiting.
2. Other than a possible school rule, there is no conflict of interest (per NCAA rules) with college coaches coaching club. You are allowed to have any level of involvement you wish, provided you stay within NCAA rules of Division III as they specifically involve involvement with Club or Outside Sport Teams.
In terms of the NCAA rules, each NCAA Division will have their own slight variations of guidelines. In Division I versus Division II Volleyball recruiting, the DI Dead and Quiet periods are significantly longer than DII. Also, DII rules allow for playing volleyball while on an Official Visit. Division III rules are the most unknown to me and I would hesitate to give any clear distinctions in variations between DIII and the other Divisions, but I know they exist.
Division III is most notable for not allowing athletic scholarships to be provided. Some DIII institutions will view athletics as just part of the experience of being a student at their school, while other institutions will follow a traditional model of collegiate athletics.
You are doing the right thing to get some general information about the Division. I would not stress out too much about not being comprehensive on all topics, as an Athletic Director would understand you have a learning curve as part of the transition to NCAA Athletics.
Good luck,
Coach
January 10, 2010
Division II Scholarship Question
My daughter is a Jr in High School. She will be a 2011 graduate.
I understand that NCAA Div II can NOT give full-ride scholarships but how do you know if you really are getting a fair scholarship offer? Is the scholarship amount firm or do you try to barter???
We have started the recruiting process and have made one "Unofficial " college/coach visit.
I have several DII colleges interested in her but as of now I believe we should keep our options open..
When is the earliest time frame a coach can make a scholarship offer to my daughter and when is the soonest date my daughter can sign a Letter of Intent?
Thanks for your help!!!!
Sherry
Let me go ahead and jump right into answering your questions:
1) There is no rule in Division II limiting the amount of an individual scholarship offer. It can be from 1 penny to a Full ride.
2) Determining "fair" is a tough call. There are two ways to consider if an offer is fair - Does the offer provide the necessary financial support for your daughter to attend a school? Does the offer reflect the ability of your daughter? If your family enjoys a positive financial situation, then maybe a fair offer makes college costs easily manageable. If your daughter is a solid player, but not elite, then maybe a fair offer is a half or three quarter scholarship. Fair is an awfully subjective term.
3) You can always barter. Coming to an agreement is part of determining a scholarship amount that works for the program and the family. The program wants to get a player as inexpensively as possible, and a player/family wants to get as much scholarship support as possible. This meeting of the financial minds is part of being an Equivalency Sport, no matter the NCAA Division.
4) I believe it is beyond way too early to commit to a DII program as a Junior, unless it is just the absolute, with out a doubt, perfect fit in every possible way. I caution DI players from making early Junior commitments, even though the peer/family pressure may be big. Most DII schools are down stream a bit, and make their selections after the DI's are done fishing. Again, I would caution an early DII commit, unless it is exactly what a player wants.
5) A college volleyball coach can make a verbal financial offer at any time they wish. I could offer Logan Tom's future grand daughter a scholarship right now.
6) The National Letter of Intent, the legal document binding the school to the athlete, has specific signing dates for each division and each sport. You can look these exact future dates up at this web site here.
For some general information - NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball places a limit of 8 athletic scholarships to be awarded. This is the NCAA maximum, and it is up to each individual member school to determine if they will fund the sport to the NCAA maximum number. Many, many schools do not financially support the Women's Volleyball program with a full allotment and in fact, some conferences make it a conference rule that Women's Volleyball may only be funded at a certain number, say 4.
NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball is an Equivalency Sport, as opposed to a Head Count Sport, which is what NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball is classified. Equivalency Sports are allowed to distribute their scholarship totals in any way they feel fit, with the total amount awarded being equal to the NCAA or conference limits. For example, a fully funded NCAA DII program can have 18 kids on some amount of athletic scholarship, as long as the total of all those awarded scholarships equal 8 Full rides (or less).
It is important to note, that NCAA Division II programs are very good about obtaining other scholarship support for their prospective student athletes. Some different examples of non athletic scholarships which are available include academic, merit, need based, state supported or federal government supported. It can get a little tricky to determine which types of scholarships may be stacked or combined with athletic scholarships, while still staying under the limit (this is a complicated situation that must be worked out with the school's Compliance person).
I hope this information was of help and don't be in a hurry - Your daughter has lots of time to explore her options.
Coach
Sherry
Let me go ahead and jump right into answering your questions:
1) There is no rule in Division II limiting the amount of an individual scholarship offer. It can be from 1 penny to a Full ride.
2) Determining "fair" is a tough call. There are two ways to consider if an offer is fair - Does the offer provide the necessary financial support for your daughter to attend a school? Does the offer reflect the ability of your daughter? If your family enjoys a positive financial situation, then maybe a fair offer makes college costs easily manageable. If your daughter is a solid player, but not elite, then maybe a fair offer is a half or three quarter scholarship. Fair is an awfully subjective term.
3) You can always barter. Coming to an agreement is part of determining a scholarship amount that works for the program and the family. The program wants to get a player as inexpensively as possible, and a player/family wants to get as much scholarship support as possible. This meeting of the financial minds is part of being an Equivalency Sport, no matter the NCAA Division.
4) I believe it is beyond way too early to commit to a DII program as a Junior, unless it is just the absolute, with out a doubt, perfect fit in every possible way. I caution DI players from making early Junior commitments, even though the peer/family pressure may be big. Most DII schools are down stream a bit, and make their selections after the DI's are done fishing. Again, I would caution an early DII commit, unless it is exactly what a player wants.
5) A college volleyball coach can make a verbal financial offer at any time they wish. I could offer Logan Tom's future grand daughter a scholarship right now.
6) The National Letter of Intent, the legal document binding the school to the athlete, has specific signing dates for each division and each sport. You can look these exact future dates up at this web site here.
For some general information - NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball places a limit of 8 athletic scholarships to be awarded. This is the NCAA maximum, and it is up to each individual member school to determine if they will fund the sport to the NCAA maximum number. Many, many schools do not financially support the Women's Volleyball program with a full allotment and in fact, some conferences make it a conference rule that Women's Volleyball may only be funded at a certain number, say 4.
NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball is an Equivalency Sport, as opposed to a Head Count Sport, which is what NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball is classified. Equivalency Sports are allowed to distribute their scholarship totals in any way they feel fit, with the total amount awarded being equal to the NCAA or conference limits. For example, a fully funded NCAA DII program can have 18 kids on some amount of athletic scholarship, as long as the total of all those awarded scholarships equal 8 Full rides (or less).
It is important to note, that NCAA Division II programs are very good about obtaining other scholarship support for their prospective student athletes. Some different examples of non athletic scholarships which are available include academic, merit, need based, state supported or federal government supported. It can get a little tricky to determine which types of scholarships may be stacked or combined with athletic scholarships, while still staying under the limit (this is a complicated situation that must be worked out with the school's Compliance person).
I hope this information was of help and don't be in a hurry - Your daughter has lots of time to explore her options.
Coach
January 7, 2010
Volleyball Training Question
Hi coach,
Thanks for putting together a very informative and engaging blog. I recently read one of your older posts, entitled "Volleyball Training Styles", in which you mentioned some situations where you would change how you structured practice. I was curious about your belief that using the Latin style of training, which puts an emphasis on scrimmaging, during a heavy competition schedule would lead to a team playing flat in matches. Could you elaborate on how playing in practice negatively affects a team's match performance? At the high school level, after scouting our upcoming opponents, I've used situational scrimmages prior to big matches to prepare the team to exploit our opponent's weaknesses and defend against their strengths. In matches where we underperformed, I attributed our shortcomings to anxiety causing individual players to not play up to their potential. I'm now wondering if we scrimmaged too much and it led to our flat play.
Thanks, Greg
Glad you enjoy the site. As to your question, I am still trying to understand the phenomena (too strong a word but I can't figure out another) of team scrimmaging leading to flat play during matches. I have seen it happen too often to doubt its validity, but it is still somewhat of a mystery to me.
Some college programs will just play of the time. For instance, Coach Rose at Penn State has his teams in competitive scrimmage situations as their primary training regimen. This philosophy could be seen at the Final Four (which per NCAA business protocol, Women's Volleyball is not allowed to use this term!) team practice in Omaha; Penn State did a couple of warm up drills and went directly into competitive play. Back in the glorious past, when I played, we were in rotation or situational scrimmages as our practice main stay.
As apparent by results, the scrimmage practice philosophy has not been a detriment to Penn State and I could name any number of college programs which also rely heavily upon games in practice to increase abilities.
But, back to your question - Why and How does scrimmaging lead to flat match play.
My instincts lead me to a few reasons:
1) If a team is not 12 deep in comparative talent, the scrimmages will be one sided affairs. Even if you engage in wash drills which place extra burden upon the starters, they know they are better and will eventually win the scrimmage drill.
2) Practice scrimmages can be like going for a jog - Not competitive enough to really get the juices going, but just challenging enough to provide a little fool's gold about abilities. This false sense of team talent, can wreck havoc during a match and many teams will just fold it in, rather than fight through situations.
3) Playing a match is special. Think about giving a child candy. If a kid rarely gets a piece of candy, they are going to savor that sweetness. If you are always handing out candy to your kids, it loses its value because it is always there. Maybe the playing candy is being given out too much, so the players don't respond to it when the match comes around.
4) Scrimmages tend to focus upon team ability and don't focus upon player development (unless you specifically set up competitive situations and then force certain skill sets to be employed; this can be a tough thing to do in a practice environment). This repetition of set habits, can lead to a certain atrophy of the playing mind; easier to just do what I have always done and hope things turn out okay.
These are just some observations born of coaching and playing in both the Latin and Asian style of Volleyball training.
During a typical season, I tend to start with the Asian style to bring skill sets up to speed after the summer break (not all schools can afford summer school for each player and gym space dedicated to just volleyball pick up games), then I rapidly bring in the Latin style for the starting unit to get comfortable around each other with regards to serve receive and defensive rotations. As the season progresses, and we are playing in more matches, I will revert back to the Asian style. This is an effort to attain desired repetitions for skill maintenance, in a shorter and safer training regimen. Very rarely will I scrimmage late in a season, unless we have had an injury which mandated changes to player positions and/or a revamping of our rotations.
A last item of note - Using the Latin style is much easier on coaches than the Asian style. Blowing a whistle for serve or punching in a free ball is simpler than whacking rep after rep in a dig and dive drill.
Okay, one more last item of note - I think the more elite a team, the more it may be able to use scrimmages as its practice regimen. Elite teams tend to relish competition and have learned to use competition in a positive manner, whether it is unit versus unit or position versus position. Elite teams also understand that matches are a time of challenge and responsibility. They are very aware of their reputations and will raise their intensity to another level than in practice scrimmages.
I keep getting more ideas, so one more additional last item of note - Practice competition is comfortable; you know the opponents, you know the systems, you know the gym, you know the time of day, you know the referee (if any); it is comfortable for the players/team. Matches are usually not comfortable because of variables. Really good teams are comfortable with the variables of a match (comfortable being uncomfortable?) and confident in their abilities, while lesser teams are not. Being uncomfortable usually leads to a flat or going through the motions performance during a match. Lessor teams go from being comfortable in a scrimmage practice, a fools gold feeling, to being uncomfortable in a matches - This is a transition that will lead to under performing.
As you can read, I am still trying to get my Volleyball mind around this situation.
Thanks, Greg
Glad you enjoy the site. As to your question, I am still trying to understand the phenomena (too strong a word but I can't figure out another) of team scrimmaging leading to flat play during matches. I have seen it happen too often to doubt its validity, but it is still somewhat of a mystery to me.
Some college programs will just play of the time. For instance, Coach Rose at Penn State has his teams in competitive scrimmage situations as their primary training regimen. This philosophy could be seen at the Final Four (which per NCAA business protocol, Women's Volleyball is not allowed to use this term!) team practice in Omaha; Penn State did a couple of warm up drills and went directly into competitive play. Back in the glorious past, when I played, we were in rotation or situational scrimmages as our practice main stay.
As apparent by results, the scrimmage practice philosophy has not been a detriment to Penn State and I could name any number of college programs which also rely heavily upon games in practice to increase abilities.
But, back to your question - Why and How does scrimmaging lead to flat match play.
My instincts lead me to a few reasons:
1) If a team is not 12 deep in comparative talent, the scrimmages will be one sided affairs. Even if you engage in wash drills which place extra burden upon the starters, they know they are better and will eventually win the scrimmage drill.
2) Practice scrimmages can be like going for a jog - Not competitive enough to really get the juices going, but just challenging enough to provide a little fool's gold about abilities. This false sense of team talent, can wreck havoc during a match and many teams will just fold it in, rather than fight through situations.
3) Playing a match is special. Think about giving a child candy. If a kid rarely gets a piece of candy, they are going to savor that sweetness. If you are always handing out candy to your kids, it loses its value because it is always there. Maybe the playing candy is being given out too much, so the players don't respond to it when the match comes around.
4) Scrimmages tend to focus upon team ability and don't focus upon player development (unless you specifically set up competitive situations and then force certain skill sets to be employed; this can be a tough thing to do in a practice environment). This repetition of set habits, can lead to a certain atrophy of the playing mind; easier to just do what I have always done and hope things turn out okay.
These are just some observations born of coaching and playing in both the Latin and Asian style of Volleyball training.
During a typical season, I tend to start with the Asian style to bring skill sets up to speed after the summer break (not all schools can afford summer school for each player and gym space dedicated to just volleyball pick up games), then I rapidly bring in the Latin style for the starting unit to get comfortable around each other with regards to serve receive and defensive rotations. As the season progresses, and we are playing in more matches, I will revert back to the Asian style. This is an effort to attain desired repetitions for skill maintenance, in a shorter and safer training regimen. Very rarely will I scrimmage late in a season, unless we have had an injury which mandated changes to player positions and/or a revamping of our rotations.
A last item of note - Using the Latin style is much easier on coaches than the Asian style. Blowing a whistle for serve or punching in a free ball is simpler than whacking rep after rep in a dig and dive drill.
Okay, one more last item of note - I think the more elite a team, the more it may be able to use scrimmages as its practice regimen. Elite teams tend to relish competition and have learned to use competition in a positive manner, whether it is unit versus unit or position versus position. Elite teams also understand that matches are a time of challenge and responsibility. They are very aware of their reputations and will raise their intensity to another level than in practice scrimmages.
I keep getting more ideas, so one more additional last item of note - Practice competition is comfortable; you know the opponents, you know the systems, you know the gym, you know the time of day, you know the referee (if any); it is comfortable for the players/team. Matches are usually not comfortable because of variables. Really good teams are comfortable with the variables of a match (comfortable being uncomfortable?) and confident in their abilities, while lesser teams are not. Being uncomfortable usually leads to a flat or going through the motions performance during a match. Lessor teams go from being comfortable in a scrimmage practice, a fools gold feeling, to being uncomfortable in a matches - This is a transition that will lead to under performing.
As you can read, I am still trying to get my Volleyball mind around this situation.
January 4, 2010
College Volleyball Coach
The craziness of the college volleyball hiring season got me thinking about the profession of being a college volleyball coach. Below are some observations which may be of enlightenment for those individuals who are college volleyball coaches or those folks who are trying to join the ranks of the collegetely employed.
* Sometimes the hiring process can make perfect sense, while at other times it will leave you scratching your head like an early episode of Monty Python.
* I have tried all types of game plans when pursuing a job - The 'everything under the sun' resume, the minimalistic resume, the short cover letter, the long cover letter, had national championship coaches call upon my behalf, had nobody call, I called, sent in a volleyball program plan for success, etc. In reviewing places where I was hired or offered a job, I can't tell you if any of these things helped our hurt.
* On average, female candidates and/or assistant coach candidates from power conference successful programs will have an advantage in the hiring process with regards to head coach positions.
* Many times the person in charge of making the selection of a head coach, may not have a clue about volleyball. The overwhelming majority of Athletic Directors are male, and a very large percentage of the Senior Women's Administrators/Associate Athletic Directors do not have a volleyball background. Unfortunately, this is the position we are in with athletic departments during the hiring process.
* Assistant coach positions can fall into three categories; 1) The Head coach already has the person they want to hire, before the position is advertised, 2) The position is wide open and everyone will be given a fair shake, 3) The position is semi open, with the Head coach looking to hire a certain gender.
* There is no Golden Parachute when you are terminated as a College Volleyball coach. Unlike football and basketball coaches, when 'not renewed' or 'resigned' leave with a six to seven figure thank you card, we hope to walk away with a decent reference. By the way, ever wonder why these coaches don't walk empty handed? They almost never go into their last year of a contract when coaching; they always make sure to have at least one year beyond the current season on their contract. I guess the basketball coaches' association may be a bit more effective than ours.
* If College Volleyball coaches break NCAA rules or treat athletes in a questionable manner, like Coach Sampson from Indiana basketball or Coach Mangino from Kansas football (the jury is still out on Coach Leach from Texas tech football) we don't get paid to leave.
* For Volleyball programs, or Olympic Sports programs, there is still a national recession going on which mandates mid-fiscal year reductions in our program budgets, yet does not seem to apply to football and basketball.
* By the way, the cuts/reductions usually come during the recruiting season. With this in mind, it is best to purchase your tickets or lock in your travel plans immediately upon the end of the playing season. Most administrations simply look at your budget lines to see where there appears to be a surplus (team travel and recruiting are the two largest), so reduce this surplus by pre-paying travel for recruiting and the spring season. Do not let it sit and think you can spend it later in the fiscal year on something like a new television or computer. As Dana Carvey said as President Bush, "Not gonna happen".
* We are caught in a unique position with fund raising; we have to nickel and dime it. It is a big no-no to ask for money from donors, because the administration wants the deep pockets for their financial goals. Yet, we are constantly told or 'encouraged' to generate outside income to support our program. In a very real sense, too many college volleyball teams are like high school programs trying to raise money via car washes, selling candy and running club tournaments!
* Finally, make sure you take time away from the office and away from volleyball. I have experienced and seen my fellow coaches just burn out. All too often, college volleyball is caught in the middle - We are rolled out by athletic departments when they wish to showcase a sport which makes good grades, engages in community service, displays the best sportsmanship and is successful on the court, yet we are the first to be told to sacrifice when it comes to budgets, salary or departmental support.
If you have resumes working their way through Alice and Wonderland, or you are gearing up for a spring semester of recruiting and team training, I wish you the very best.
* Sometimes the hiring process can make perfect sense, while at other times it will leave you scratching your head like an early episode of Monty Python.
* I have tried all types of game plans when pursuing a job - The 'everything under the sun' resume, the minimalistic resume, the short cover letter, the long cover letter, had national championship coaches call upon my behalf, had nobody call, I called, sent in a volleyball program plan for success, etc. In reviewing places where I was hired or offered a job, I can't tell you if any of these things helped our hurt.
* On average, female candidates and/or assistant coach candidates from power conference successful programs will have an advantage in the hiring process with regards to head coach positions.
* Many times the person in charge of making the selection of a head coach, may not have a clue about volleyball. The overwhelming majority of Athletic Directors are male, and a very large percentage of the Senior Women's Administrators/Associate Athletic Directors do not have a volleyball background. Unfortunately, this is the position we are in with athletic departments during the hiring process.
* Assistant coach positions can fall into three categories; 1) The Head coach already has the person they want to hire, before the position is advertised, 2) The position is wide open and everyone will be given a fair shake, 3) The position is semi open, with the Head coach looking to hire a certain gender.
* There is no Golden Parachute when you are terminated as a College Volleyball coach. Unlike football and basketball coaches, when 'not renewed' or 'resigned' leave with a six to seven figure thank you card, we hope to walk away with a decent reference. By the way, ever wonder why these coaches don't walk empty handed? They almost never go into their last year of a contract when coaching; they always make sure to have at least one year beyond the current season on their contract. I guess the basketball coaches' association may be a bit more effective than ours.
* If College Volleyball coaches break NCAA rules or treat athletes in a questionable manner, like Coach Sampson from Indiana basketball or Coach Mangino from Kansas football (the jury is still out on Coach Leach from Texas tech football) we don't get paid to leave.
* For Volleyball programs, or Olympic Sports programs, there is still a national recession going on which mandates mid-fiscal year reductions in our program budgets, yet does not seem to apply to football and basketball.
* By the way, the cuts/reductions usually come during the recruiting season. With this in mind, it is best to purchase your tickets or lock in your travel plans immediately upon the end of the playing season. Most administrations simply look at your budget lines to see where there appears to be a surplus (team travel and recruiting are the two largest), so reduce this surplus by pre-paying travel for recruiting and the spring season. Do not let it sit and think you can spend it later in the fiscal year on something like a new television or computer. As Dana Carvey said as President Bush, "Not gonna happen".
* We are caught in a unique position with fund raising; we have to nickel and dime it. It is a big no-no to ask for money from donors, because the administration wants the deep pockets for their financial goals. Yet, we are constantly told or 'encouraged' to generate outside income to support our program. In a very real sense, too many college volleyball teams are like high school programs trying to raise money via car washes, selling candy and running club tournaments!
* Finally, make sure you take time away from the office and away from volleyball. I have experienced and seen my fellow coaches just burn out. All too often, college volleyball is caught in the middle - We are rolled out by athletic departments when they wish to showcase a sport which makes good grades, engages in community service, displays the best sportsmanship and is successful on the court, yet we are the first to be told to sacrifice when it comes to budgets, salary or departmental support.
If you have resumes working their way through Alice and Wonderland, or you are gearing up for a spring semester of recruiting and team training, I wish you the very best.
January 2, 2010
Long Intro - Short Questions
Coach,
As volleyball parents, we often think our child is either better or worse than what she is. I have to frame my thoughts and questions, because I’d love to know what college coaches are looking for and what you might feel about my daughter’s circumstances.
First, she is a junior (Class of 2011), almost 17 and has been in both club and school volleyball since the 6th grade. She seems to get a little better every year she plays and has not “leveled off” yet. She is an outside left side hitter, but also has really good hands. She has not set on any of her teams. Basically, if she has the ball come to her, she does set very effectively.
In high school, her team this year went to the semi-finals of her Region and was a top 16 team in 6A (Florida). It is a very good team, but she did not get as many “attempts” since the team played a 6-2, with the setters getting quite a few “kill” attempts, as well as the middles. The team was very good across the board, so the players all had “good” stats. There was no “standout” or player who received more credit than another. For the season, she played in 18 matches, but they only took 4 of the matches to 4 games, so they played a lot of three game matches. She has not had a “great” setter in either club or school and makes a lot of adjustments while hitting. I guess what I am saying is she seldom gets those “perfect” sets, but when she does, they are usually kills. She was clearly the team leader in kills (over 100) and is good defensively. She had good stats for digs, service points & aces. She passes really well, so she does not hurt the team when in the back row after serving. I might be biased, ok I am, but it seems whenever she was not in, the team struggled a bit and she was brought in whenever the team needed points or a “lift”. She can hit very hard across court or place it smoothly down the line and can read the blockers well if she has to “tip”. I hope she has a breakout year in club this year.
Measurements taken in August were: She was almost 5”10”, 8’11” approach jump, 8’8” block jump touch. She might have better stats now, but haven’t measured since.
In club she plays all around most of the time as a left side hitter. They do not keep stats and play the gold metal squared. They are a very good team, but will probably not make JO’s. We are going to mostly Florida tournaments and the NE qualifier in Baltimore.
We are attending the AVCA showcase in a couple of weeks in Tampa. This is her first exposure to any college coaches. She has received only one letter from any college and it was kind of a “broadcast” letter from a “military institution”. By reading your recruiting time frames and we are quite a bit behind. She is a “B” student and try’s hard on the academics. I see this as strength, but other parents have told me she needs to speak up more….she is a very nice person, she speaks her mind but only when she feels she has to speak up. She laughs and smiles a load on the court (she has fun) and brushes off the bad plays when on the court. She is a cooperative, team-first style of player. I have had to remind her to “call” for the ball when she is open and ready. She can “size-up” her competition pretty quickly. She is never selfish and very “quiet”. She is very intense and determined on the inside and competitive, she is just not a demonstrative person. After a tough loss or when she feels she plays a bad game, after the team meetings she will quietly go off and grieve away from her teammates and us as parents.
We have not done any video but have started a PSA information sheet. We have a load of great pictures.
I know there must be a lot of players in this kind of “category”. I am not sure if she has the height to get recruited in D1. I have my three questions below and I would imagine a load of parents and players have the same ones:
How does she get noticed by recruiters? (Any tips for her while at the showcase?)
As parents, we have the philosophy never to question or interfere when we see things that should be happening on the court. We have told our daughter that this is her job. Is this the right thing to do or should we in a nurturing way ask some question?
Can coaches “see” the attitude of a player (and parents) and how much does this count?
Thanks,
Proud Dad in Florida
First of all, please let me apologize for not getting to your question before 2010 (and before the AVCA Showcase which your daughter attended - By the way, could you make a Comment on this post about what you thought of the AVCA Showcase from a parent/participant point of view? Was it worth it (did it cost money to participate?), were there a bunch of college coaches, was it well organized, etc.)
I appreciate the back ground information which you have provided before presenting your questions, which should allow me to provide a bit more direct answers for your situation. Honestly, I think your daughter standing is similar to hundreds, if not thousands of other high school players.
Pre Question #1 - It is not that your daughter would not have the height to get recruited by Division I, it is more does she have the jump to get recruited by Division I? There are many 5'10" outside hitters in Division I, yet they would look to have a higher attack touch than what you listed for your daughter (8'11"). By and large, most DI OH's are coming in with mid 9's as a base to be an OH and then they back this jump up with very good ball control. A reference is that the lower the attack jump, the better the ball control must be - There are very good 'low jumping' OH's but they pass nails, play great defense and can hit every angle, speed, and tip/roll shot there is.
Question #1 - How to get noticed by recruiters? And Tips for the Showcase? Second part first - From being in tryout situations myself, the best thing to do is just be yourself, but to go 100%. If a player tries to be something they are not, tries to make plays or execute skill sets they are not comfortable doing, or tries to act in a way out of their comfort zone, the results will not be good. With any try out or showcase or combine, the best thing to do is just relax, stay within your comfort zone with skills and go 100%.
First part second - I suggest you read and follow the recruiting game plan I set forth in the label, Recruiting Plan (on the left side bar). In a nut shell, what you need to do is identify the playing level most appropriate for your daughter, make sure she has expressed her academic, geographic and school size preferences, and then hammer this target group of schools with an introductory e-mail and video link attachment. Being a Junior entering winter/spring, this is the time to go hard in getting your daughter's information out to schools - As I said earlier, there are many, many 5'10" OH's with good ball control and average jumps out there in the Club world; the ones who get the opportunities will be those players which work hard to promote themselves to potential schools. Also, don't be hesitant to look at Division II programs - I have written extensively about my support of this Division of play and how it may be the best Division of play for a well rounded college experience. Since her team is just playing in local Florida tournaments, with attending one Qualifier and not expecting to make Nationals, then the opportunity for a college coach to happen upon your daughter is less than other players who participate in a national schedule. This scenario demands that the player/family put forth the extra effort for attention.
Question #2 - Asking Questions. By your writing, I would think you mean that, should you ask questions of your daughter about things happening on the court? Usually, folks don't use the word 'nurturing' when they contemplate asking a coach a question! You have presented a challenging scenario. My suggestion would be to provide supportive, positive feedback. One of the things that parents do, many times inadvertently, is reinforce a privileged or entitled mentality with a player. The bottom line is that sports are competitive and in elite level competitions, the best players are going to play with the belief that victory will be the outcome. Even though it may seem coaches partake in illogical choices or may have favorites or don't give all players opportunities, the truth is coaches are putting the players on the court who they feel will achieve victory. When parents act as emotional therapists and support the victim mentality, it does no one any good. It is a tough situation because a parent wants their child to succeed and be happy, and should be there in support when a bad outcome occurs (tough loss, or a terrible match). The problem arises when parents validate excuses or the player's reality. If a player is complaining that so and so played, or they did not get enough sets or they did not have a chance to play, and the parent is supporting and validating these statements, it just creates a negative situation for all parties.
As simple as it sounds, I suggest that parents state the obvious within a team framework and give lots of hugs. If your daughter struggled in a match and she asks you, then let her know she had a tough match but it is not the end of the world and you know she will do better next match. If she is upset she did not play or wanted to be on the court, then say you understand it is tough but she needs to stay positive and be ready when she gets her chance.
I provide these simplistic examples because selfish, entitled behaviors are team killers and when kids come to college with such attitudes, they will be in for a harsh reality. Remember that one of the main differences in college versus club, is that the dime is coming out of the college's pocket, not the families and as such, the college coach makes the rules and will seldom tolerate poor behavior.
Question #3 - Coaches can definitely see the attitudes of players and parents; for me (and I would think many other coaches) this is a key component of our recruiting evaluations. As I referenced above, selfish behavior is a team killer and to recruit such behaviors to your team is illogical. No matter how great of a coach I am, or how good I may be at managing players and a team, I cannot undo 18 years of learned behavior. I would rather take a lesser skilled volleyball player with a great attitude, than the reverse. Parents are also under the microscope; we realize that not only do we get the player for 4 to 5 years, we also get the parents. It is no fun getting the evil eye from parents after matches because precious did not play or got pulled after hitting negative. The last thing I want to do is bring in high maintenance parents along with a high maintenance player - That is the double whammy!
By my reading of your e-mail, it sounds as if you have a solid grasp of your daughter's situation and are being supportive. The only area which I would drastically change is your efforts to promote her to potential schools.
Good luck!
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