I am a junior in high school and I have had a lot of attention from a decent sized list of colleges. I have already turned down one offer after a campus visit that I just wasnt impressed with. I now have another offer from a school that I really like and i love the coaching style and the way they approach their players, my only reservation is that i dont want to sell myself short. I was in contact with a coach from a high power division II school and i loved the school and was ok with his intense style of coaching. Recently he hasnt replied to any of my emails or anything so i assumed that he wasnt interested anymore until he showed up at our court at a big tournament this weekend. Basically what i am asking is do i wait to see if i can play at the higher level and a school that i like a lot or do i take the offer from the school that i really like and has a great program for volleyball at the NAIA level?
Thank you!
Confused Recruit
Apologies for the later reply - Just finished the busy season with my NCSA Athletic Recruiting responsibilities!
You are in a challenging (but overall good) position - If you are getting scholarship offers as a junior from NAIA/NCAA Division II schools, then that is a nice compliment as these programs tend to focus their recruiting efforts very late in the spring and into the Senior year.
But, since you are getting offers from this level, this leads me to believe that you could also obtain scholarship/roster offers from lower NCAA Division I programs. These DI teams tend to complete their rosters (a last scholarship opening) in a PSA's senior year, and it happens quite often because of coaching changes/transfers/cuts.
Buyer beware......Many low DI athletic departments treat volleyball as a throw away sport and no matter how much a coach loves his player or his employer, if the department does not support the program then the stands will be empty, the hotels will be shabby and the van rides will be long.
I had written on this site and Inside College Volleyball about how a well supported DII or NAIA program will provide a much better experience for a player than a low DI team. At the end of the career, you will remember the experience of wearing the uniform, not the name on the uniform.
Believing that your college/university opportunities enjoy relatively the same academic standing, then don't worry about selling yourself short, worry about selling yourself happy.
Coach Matt
The fact that you state that the DII coach didn't reply to you emails kinda gives you an insight to how important a recruit he thinks you are. But I digress.
ReplyDeleteBut to your question about quality, I have found that the NAIA is simply not as deep, but just as competitive once you reach the top tiers. So at the NAIA and DII it truly is what you make it.