What can you do right now??
A question you and your family are likely asking yourselves daily… what should we be doing? What can we be doing? As tough and frustrating as these times likely are – remember that everyone is in the same boat. Coaches are also navigating new territory with their own teams, recruiting and their daily tasks.
Control what you can control:
1) Maintain or increase your level of fitness
-Sure, it’s nice to get a break from the required activities, but if you can put in the work now – you’ll be a little more prepared when it’s time to get after it again. Not sure where to start? Start small and allocate a certain part of your day towards being active; go for a run, pushups/situps, sprints down the street, approach/blocks jumps in the back yard, do one of the ten thousand YouTube home fitness routines… Writing it down makes it real and helps you hold yourself accountable too.
2) PLAY VOLLEYBALL!
-Volleyball, no doubt is a team sport. However, you can always do skill work on your own or with a buddy if possible. Get creative if you have to – there are so many things people are trying while staying home. It’s fun to see more volleyball outside of the gym than ever before. Keep a ball nearby at all times is an easy start! Being self-motivated to improve your skills is so important for you and for college coaches to see.
3) Recruiting
-While physically playing volleyball in a gym filled with tons of teams and college coaches just really isn’t an option right now… that doesn’t mean your recruiting ends or stops. This can be a good time to reevaluate what you are looking for in your college search. Start with making a list of factors that are most important to you (ie location, major, level competition, cost, size of school). The best thing to keep in mind is how much recruiting comes from building relationships. Coaches put more emphasis in to finding the right fit for their program when it comes to personalities, character, communication styles etc. Volleyball is one small piece of the pie. So, while you may feel it’s all come to a halt, there’s much more you can be doing. Start with creating or sharing a short video (2-4 minutes) that you can share with coaches. If this is past play – try to keep it to the current year if you can. If you need to film a skills video instead, don't hesitate to try and create one! Creativity is going to be key for some - Coaches understand! Once you have a short video to update coaches, start emailing them to express interest and get a feel of their program needs for your class. Aim or 20-30 target schools in total. Try to stay consistent with your outreach (maintain contact every 4-6 weeks). See this guide to reference the recruiting rules for coaches in terms of their responses:
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Student_Resources/CBSA.pdf
Stay focused on what YOU can control. Don’t worry about the start dates, contact dates or practice dates constantly changing. Make a plan that you feel works for you and get to it. You want to be ahead of the curve for when it’s go-time.
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