Many Questions - Many Answers about College Volleyball Recruiting

Hi coach,

       I have a couple of questions and it would be great if you would be able to answer them. I am 5'8 I'm currently playing opposite for my club team and play outside for high school. I am currently a sophomore living in ct. 

      I started volleyball my freshman year and I loved it ever since.  My questions are how do you  get Gatorade player of the year? I am on captainU to get recruited is that the best website to get recruited from? I know I am a sophomore and I shouldn't be worry about getting committed or knowing that you have college interested in you but I do. Because some girls are already committing to colleges or universities or know that big schools are looking at them. At my age which is scary. Should I be worried that I'm not? The only way I'm getting looked at is going to camps and getting invited to camps from college coaches. Is that enough to get scouted? 

Another question is about my height. I am really short and I believe I do a decent job outside but I know it's not enough to get scouted from a D1 or D2 school unless it's small. I can set good but I'm not the best passer. Should I start working on my passing to become a libro or a DS to get scouted by colleges? what are the requirements to get noticed by a D2 or D1 school do I have to get all-state or play on the USA volleyball team? My last 2 questions I promise sorry I have a lot of questions. I can jump I have a lot of muscles in my legs but how to my jump higher by doing my approach lower to the ground? I see college players jump with their legs and their feet are almost touching their butts how do I do that? 

It's okay if you can't answer all of them cause you probably have other people to answer. Thank you for taking the time to respond if you can. 

From S.M.

As you have listed a number of questions, please allow me to break them out, so I can be sure to answer all of them:

• "....how do you  get Gatorade player of the year?" It is my understanding that Gatorade has a player of the "state" and from these state players a national player is selected.  I am not sure how the players are nominated, but I think it is via their high school program and then a selection committee chooses the state and national player.  Obviously, the Gatorade player of the year is extremely talented and committed to one of the top NCAA Division I programs in the country.
• "I am on captainU to get recruited is that the best website to get recruited from?" For transparency, my full time job (I know it is amazing that collegevolleyballcoach.com is not my full time job) is with NCSA Athletic Recruiting, so I believe NCSA's combination of a Free Recruiting Profile and Premium Membership options, makes them the best recruiting service or I would not be working for them.  That being said, Captain U is popular but I could not provide you any pertinent feedback or evaluation of their abilities.  The key to any recruiting website, and any recruiting effort, is how much you reach out to college coaches and promote/market yourselves.  Recruiting services can be a great tool to achieve your recruiting goals, but you still need to maximize their resources.
• "I know I am a sophomore and I shouldn't be worry about getting committed or knowing that you have college interested in you but I do. Because some girls are already committing to colleges or universities or know that big schools are looking at them. At my age which is scary. Should I be worried that I'm not?"  As a sophomore, you should be aware and involved (but not "worried") with the recruiting process.  The sophomore year is the time segment to start evaluating what you desire and can realistically achieve in college volleyball recruiting.  What part of the country are you comfortable attending school? What level of volleyball can you succeed at?  What are your academic desires?  How big or small of a school are you comfortable with?  These are all questions that should guide your outreach and interaction with college volleyball programs/schools.
• "The only way I'm getting looked at is going to camps and getting invited to camps from college coaches. Is that enough to get scouted?"  No.  As I have written and spoke about, using college volleyball camps as a recruiting mechanism is not the best use of your time and money.  Because of a loophole in the NCAA rules, college volleyball programs/coaches are allowed to send camp information to any age high school player.  Unfortunately, many college volleyball coaches will use the potential of recruitment as a means to drive registrations.  Players must understand that each program will only have a couple of scholarships and a few total openings, and there are hundreds of high school players that attend a camp.  In addition, college coaches know if you can play at their level after they see you play in club or watch a video tape.  Sure, that camp scholarship does happen for some players but winning the lottery does happen for some people also.  You avenue to get evaluated is by reaching out to college coaches with your information and A VIDEO LINK.  As you play club, if the college coaches believe (after watching your video) that you can make their team better, then they will recruit you and come see you play in person. You should be using the email and internet to reach hundreds of schools for free, rather than spending hundreds of dollars to reach a couple of schools thru camps.
• "Another question is about my height. I am really short and I believe I do a decent job outside but I know it's not enough to get scouted from a D1 or D2 school unless it's small. I can set good but I'm not the best passer. Should I start working on my passing to become a libro or a DS to get scouted by colleges? what are the requirements to get noticed by a D2 or D1 school do I have to get all-state or play on the USA volleyball team?" College volleyball is specialized and in the recruiting process, you must specialize in the position you play.  As a 5'8" OH/OP, you would be on the shorter side but you will not be disqualified because of your height.  Because you are an OH, you should always be working on your passing because that position necessitates ball control.  Realistically, a 5'8" OH is not going to get a lot of love from DI coaches, but if you have a good jump, good ball control, a positive attitude and solid work ethic, then many DII's and NAIA schools will recruit you (if they know about you from you reaching out).
• "My last 2 questions I promise sorry I have a lot of questions. I can jump I have a lot of muscles in my legs but how to my jump higher by doing my approach lower to the ground? I see college players jump with their legs and their feet are almost touching their butts how do I do that?"  Every player has their own body movements when jumping; some go into a deep squat while others slightly bend their legs.  In general, the more you bend your legs (to a certain point) the higher you will jump.  One area that many players don't maximize is the use of their arms.  When doing an approach, the drive of the arms back and then up, will increase the heigh of the attack jump.  Like anything, practicing approaches at max jumping (but not with a ball or set) will allow you to increase your ability.  You want to get better at something, then practice it while using the technique or skills you wish to utilize.

In summary, reach out to college coaches, keep improving your ball control and your physical conditioning!

Coach