February 9, 2015

Club Team Impact - The Libero and Recruiting!

Hello.  My 15 year old daughter is a libero and I feel is quite capable of playing in college - she has great athleticism has continued to progress.

However, her club does not have "tryouts" to position girls on different teams - once teams are set, they can stay together year after year, as long as the girls on the team play at a fairly comparable level to one another.

The problem is, my daughter was on what I would consider an elite team the last several years and her team broke up last year - two girls switched sports, two more changed clubs.

That meant that the the club director put my daughter on a "new" team that is really inexperienced and isn't competitive with the elite teams at all.  Does this hurt my daughter's future, or the ability to catch the eye of college coaches at tournaments?  Do college coaches tend to gravitate toward the higher performing club teams, or are they just looking at each player individually?

We really don't want to switch clubs because her training at this one is excellent.  However, right now, she is kind of the "odd man out".

Thank you!

P.
Great State of Texas



Because your daughter is just a freshman, and with the later timing for the Libero position with the recruiting process, you should not stress over this year and the recruiting impact.

The most important part of your email is, "We really don't want to switch clubs because her training at this one is excellent." A player's talent will determine her opportunity.  If she is receiving excellent training, is improving her skill sets each month, then she is putting herself into the best possible position to garner the best possible opportunity.

College coaches recruit the individual, not the team - Too many parents get too caught up in the success of the team.  Of course, the better teams seem to have college coaches watching them, but this is because of the individual talent on the team.  College coaches want players who will make their collegiate team better through their abilities; past club team performance is of little impact, while current/projected individual ability of the player is paramount.

Focus on developing talent, on educating yourselves about all the various eligibility, contact, recruiting rules, and allowing your daughter to ponder what collegiate future she is interested in (academic, athletic and geographic).  

In general, the Libero position will secure its collegiate future during the Senior year of high school/club.

The Coach

1 comment:

  1. Tried to post this comment already and not sure it worked - sorry if it is a repeat! :)
    I just emailed you a similar question yesterday, and you mostly answered it here so you can disregard it. I have an add-on to this post however.
    In my question I was also confirming that being at a smaller, less well-known club that had great coaches and training would not negatively impact her recruiting. We have been emailing close to 100 D1s and D2s andmMy 16s libero is actually getting some interest through contacts to the club coach from a few D1 mid-majors, and great D2s - so we don't want to lose them. I am comforted hearing again that they will come to see my PSA and not the team.
    We have been at this club several years and I have developed a nice relationship with coaches and directors. I think I can work with them to get an additional qualifier on the 17s schedule next year, however, I am worried about their ability to fill a team. Every year they have this problem from 16s to 17s. There are usually two 16s teams and they drop to one 17s due to attrition (not making varsity, the lure of bigger clubs, and ironically the worry that there won't be enough girls to field a team) I feel guilty considering leaving but the bigger clubs secure their players and teams months ahead of when our club is able to do so. Because varsity try outs happen late August, they lose many girls well after these other clubs are done. It is nerve wracking.
    Any advice?

    ReplyDelete

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