Committed Athlete transition to Collegiate Volleyball advice....

 Hi Coach! Back in September 2017, you answered a question that I had about the value of sending my then 14 year old daughter to combines and showcases. I also got your book and followed some of your recruiting tips. Well since I posed that question to you, I want to let you know that she‘s committed to play next Fall at DI -  It was a long hard journey, but without your tips and advice I’m not sure where we would be or how we would’ve made it up to this point.

Now that she has committed, what should she be focusing on as a HS senior between now and the day she reports next summer to campus for her team practices?Any specific things she should be working on as L/DS to prepare for D-1 volleyball?  Thanks again and I wish you continued success.

P.T.

Thanks for the update and congrats on the DI commitment; glad I could help contribute to this great news.

Three main areas that all incoming athletes need to stay focused upon as they transition from HS/Club to Collegiate Volleyball:

1. Steady improvement of skills - College coaches recruited the current talent levels of their incoming athletes, but they also expect their recruits to continue to get better.  All players should keep their strengths strong and their weaknesses less weak.  Keep touching a ball, keep focusing on fine tuning skill sets and for Liberos, make your serve receive as good as it possibly can be.  Collegiate coaches need passers more than they need defenders.

2. Enhanced Fitness - Collegiate athletics is physically more demanding than HS/Club.  The incoming freshman will be competing with/against athletes that are 2 to 5 years older and have been deeply involved in a collegiate level strength and fitness program.  While it can be a challenge for a HS/Club player to mimic these collegiate workouts, all incoming players can do cardio, pushups, situps, stairs, lunges, sprints, body weight strengthening, etc.  More often than not, the difference between a successful freshman year and a freshman year spent shagging balls is how fit does the athlete arrive?

3. No lingering Injuries - Incoming athletes should not arrive to pre-season practice with a big or small injury.  This means not showing up with knee tendonitis, or a sore shoulder, or a twingy back, or pulled muscles, or the flu or mono, etc.  Again, collegiate athletics is physically challenging and if you are not injury/pain/discomfort free, then you will not be on the court long into preseason.  Take time during your Senior spring to make sure you are physically good to go - If something is sore, rest and strengthen to make it better.  If something hurts, go see a doctor to find out exactly what is wrong and address it.

If you are able to focus on those three things, then you can set yourself up for an enjoyable first season of being a collegiate volleyball player!

Walk On to Scholarship opportunities...

Hello,

My daughter has been offered a 2 and 2 offer but the full scholarship are for years 3 and 4 as coach is at 12 counters her first two years. Clearly since the school is not bound by this offer for two years I am concerned given we have all the risk. Coach told us all the right things like he is making a 4/5 year plan with his team and expects her to make an impact right away. Said 3 or 4 times for us not to be concerned that the money comes in later years - as long as she is working hard and progressing she has zero to worry about. He is on a 4 year contract with possible 1 year extension. The school checks all the boxes my daughter wants in a school and she can get some academic merit to help years 1 and 2. 

Feel like we just have to make a bet on the coach and my daughters ability to add value. Are we being naive or dumb to accept this offer? I mean this coach  is very well respected and I would think if he or any coach made a living out of promising and then taking away money it would catch up to them soon.

Appreciate your thoughts?

C.M.

The 2 + 2 or 1 + 3 or some type of walk-on with promise of athletic scholarship scenario has become more prevalent in recent years.  General speaking, any "walk on to scholarship" offer should be based on the academics and non athletics attributes of the school.

Often, the walk on to scholarship is used with the Libero position, as college coaches can be hesitant to provide one of 12 NCAA Division I full scholarships to a freshman Libero.  It has become common place to have a few Liberos and/or Defensive Specialists on the roster, but the athletic scholarship is not awarded until the upper classmen years and after one player has emerged.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Any verbal scholarship offer is just words and is not real until the scholarship papers have been signed.

• As shown by our current extreme, unforeseen things happen which can change the equation.  Now, I didn't have world pandemic on my bingo card, yet the USA collegiate governing bodies are still trying to sort through the 2020 spring sport roster/scholarship adjustments, while trying to figure out what the heck we are going to do with collegiate sports this fall and winter!

• Less extreme is a coach getting fired, players getting hurt/quitting/flunking out which result in a program needing to recruit and scholarship another position or player.

• It DOES turn out the way the coach promised - We can't say all the time or most of the time or some of the time because there is no way to track these walk on to scholarship promises.

• As a walk-on, you do have access to scholarship support which is not athletically based.  Depending on the recruit's academic status (grade point average and SAT/ACT scores), community service and family financial status, good scholarship packages can be arranged by the school's admissions and financial aid offices.

Circling back to an earlier statement - A player should only pick a walk on to scholarship offer if the school is a great fit outside of the volleyball team.  Hope for the best and plan for the worst.  The best is everything works out as offered and everyone lives happily ever after.  The worst is the volleyball life is garbage but the school is such a good fit, that being a college student (instead of a college student athlete) is a great experience!

You made a couple of statements which merit a deeper dive:

"Said 3 or 4 times for us not to be concerned that the money comes in later years - as long as she is working hard and progressing she has zero to worry about." - This gives the coach an 'out' to not award the scholarship after 2 years. Of course, collegiate athletes need to work hard and improve their skill sets, but it opens the door to the scenario where another player could be awarded the scholarship because they are "better" or have worked "harder".

"Feel like we just have to make a bet on the coach and my daughters ability to add value." - Absolutely correct.  The number one job of a college coach is to win and they win by recruiting very good volleyball players.  If a coach believes a player will make their team better and will help them win, then they will recruit that player.  There have been many players that I thought were great young people, with outstanding academics, a wonderful attitude and had great parents, but they did not have the physical skill sets to make my collegiate team better, so I did not recruit them.

Be objective and subjective - Is the school a great fit for your daughter completely outside of the volleyball program, and does your gut tell you that the coach can be trusted?  If both answers are yes, then move forward with confidence and enjoy the life of being a collegiate volleyball family.  If any answer is no, then don't commit.

June 15 and Volleyball Recruiting.

Hi Coach Sonnichsen,

How are you? I hope you are staying safe during this uncertain time. I have been a long time fan of your blog. Your blog is the most helpful blog that I've found in the internet and I've read through all of your posts. Thank you for your time and dedication in this matter. 

I'm a mother of a 2022 setter and she is 5'9" tall. She is currently a sophomore and her GPA is on track to be 4.0 by the end of this school term. My daughter has had some successes locally and got some individual awards at tournaments. We are located in Idaho and my daughter has started emailing coaches in the northwest to express interests since last October. She has had some responses (mostly Division III and Ivy Leagues) asking her to complete a questionnaire and two Division III schools have invited her to some Zoom meetings, along with other recruits, to have a conversations with the coaches and current teammates. She hasn't had any Division I responses asking her to complete questionnaires, despite having sent out 5 emails to those coaches since last year. 

These are my questions:

1. As June 15th is quickly approaching, I am wondering what the recruits should be expecting from the coaches by that date. I heard from someone that coaches would actually extend an offer on that date. This sounds odd to me because if theoretically the coaches haven't communicated directly to the recruit before June 15th, how would they know that the recruit is a "good fit" to the team (not just skill wise, but also personality-wise, etc)? Shouldn't there be an official visit prior to an offer? 

2. My daughter's club team does not travel much for competition. For the coming club season, should she change to a club that does travel to out of region for tournaments in order to increase exposure? We are on the west coast and the furthest that the local teams usually travel to are Washington and Oregon. They don't attend the big tournaments in Las Vegas etc. Do Division I coaches generally travel to the smaller tournaments in Washington or Oregon for recruiting purposes? 

3. My daughter also plays up this year in club because she enjoys playing with tougher competition and faster pace. She tends to improve more when she's older girls. She did well and was the starting setter and she was mature enough to socialize with girls who are one year older than she was. However I have read that for recruiting purposes, the player should play at their own age because the coaches may overlook the player if they are not in the right age group at the tournament. Should she continue to play up next year or should she go back to her own age group?

4. Do you have any recommendations in terms of coaches that do personal online coaching assessment? I think it would be beneficial if I can get a coach (who ideally has a setter background) to watch a game tape or two of my daughter and then critique her play and decision making.

Thanks!

Setter Mom

Thank you for the compliments on collegevolleyballcoach.com and I am glad to hear that it has been a good recruiting resource for your family!

Allow me to jump right into your questions:

1. After June 15th of Sophomore to Junior Summer, college coaches are allowed to communicate with Prospective Student Athletes (PSA) via email, text and telephone calls.  In a very real sense, July 15th of the Sophomore summer is when direct communication between college coaches and recruits can begin.  

Leading up to this date, college coaches will find ways to communicate with athletes via club coaches, high school coaches, camps/clinics (even though no recruiting is supposed to occur at camps/clinics).  Families can still engage with the Colleges/Universities outside of the athletics department as to gain information via admissions, financial aid, student life, etc.  

With the NCAA Division I recruiting pressure for obtaining the elite athletes, college coaches don't want to be late to the scholarship offer party. They will extend that scholarship to the 6'3" Outsider Hitter, who passes nails and has a great armswing, because they have been watching them play since 8th grade and they can see if the PSA has a good attitude, is hard working, is respectful to the coaches and supportive of her teammates.

But, these early scholarship offers and the resulting commitments, can often times lead to not the best fit between athlete, coach and college.  The result of this not best fit will be transferring.  The combination of early commitments, college coach staffing changes and DI Transfer Portal has lead to an increase in the number of college volleyball players transferring each year.

2. To gain maximum recruiting exposure, PSA's should be playing in the National Qualifiers and especially out of region National Qualifiers if they are open to playing outside of their current geographic footprint.  

Because of budget and time limitations, most college programs will stay within their greater area to recruit, except for National Qualifiers (and/or the really big MLK and President's Day weekend tournaments) because they can get more recruiting bang for their buck.  The sheer size of the tournament, the concentration of talented athletes and the use of technology, allows colleges coaches to effectively evaluate hundreds of PSA's at a large tournament and maximize their recruiting dollar; this is why the National Qualifiers and huge Holiday weekend tournaments draw hundreds of college volleyball programs.

In general, local tournaments are only attended by local college coaches.  Again, it is a matter of time and money for out of region college coaches, and with the COVID 19 impacts, college volleyball programs will see significant reductions to their recruiting budgets.

If your daughter's goal is to be on a college volleyball team, and she is open to more than just schools close near Idaho, then she needs to be on a club volleyball team which plays in a National Qualifier and/or Holiday mega tournaments, especially those outside of the northwest United States.

3.  Don't think about playing up in age in terms of recruiting, but rather in skill development.  A one year jump in age group is easily manageable for recruiting by making sure her graduation information is correctly listed on the team roster, and in your recruiting outreach she makes clear she is a 17's playing on an 18's team.  If by playing up, she can readily increase her setting skills, then playing up is the better choice because college coaches recruit on talent. The better your talent the better your collegiate opportunities.

4.  I am unaware of coaches that do online assessments; plus, the setting position is the most difficult to evaluate via video, as there are just too many nuances which must be seen in person.  The most honest assessment is response to recruiting outreach.  If she has contacted 10 mid-major DI programs with video, and none respond, then she is not a mid-major DI athlete.  Her club coaches should be telling her what she needs to improve upon, and by her watching elite level club and/or collegiate setters, she can see where she needs to get better.

Overall, with her height, graduation year and grade point average, she will be in a good position to have the luxury of many collegiate choices.  The key to greater opportunity is greater exposure via playing in large tournaments outside of your region!

Good luck!

Coach

How to get recruited by The University of Hawaii

I know that you are a coach, and I just really really want to play at the University of Hawaii which is Division I.  

I have just been a setter for 6 months, I really believe in myself and I know that I have potential. But I don't know if I am going to be able to get all these awards that girls in my position at Hawaii have (with this Covid 19 and stuff). And also in Chile we don't have all these awards and stuff. 

So what would you recommend to me in order to fulfill my dream.

Thank you,

M from Chile

Your talent/skills/ability will determine if you have the opportunity to play volleyball at the University of Hawaii. Just like an athlete from the USA or Canada or Germany or Brazil - The US College Volleyball coaches focus only on ability of the player.  Don't focus on any awards you may have or may not have - Awards don't influence a college coach.  We make our recruiting decisions by what we see, not what we read. If college coaches think a player has the ability to improve their team, they will recruit that player.

Because Hawaii has very good local players (living in Hawaii) and is a popular volleyball team in the USA, being recruited to play at Hawaii is a challenge; they only recruit very, very good players at each position.

With the COVID 19 worldwide crisis, your recruiting focus should be on using video of volleyball trainings and tournaments from January/February to promote yourself to the University of Hawaii.  As every volleyball player in the USA is also experiencing your same COVID 19 volleyball shut down, the USA volleyball players must also use video to market themselves to colleges/universities which they are interested in attending.

What you did not mention in your email is your graduation year or what year in high school you are?  In addition, you did not mention your height?  These two details will determine the viability of playing volleyball at the University of Hawaii.  

NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball is height driven, especially at the popular DI schools.  The taller you are, the more recruiting attention you will receive.  In general, if you are a bit 'short' for a particular school, you can compensate by being very athletic, but this does not translate into an athletic 5'5" setter being able to play at Nebraska.

As with all high school age volleyball players who are trying to get recruited, you need to be sending emails with your video and personal/academic information to the University of Hawaii women's volleyball program (and 100 other schools which are of interest).  Everyone in the college volleyball recruiting world is operating via email and video today, and at least through the early part of the summer.

When volleyball is able to get back into the gym, you need to continue your skill development and training to become a better volleyball player.  As I noted at the top, your volleyball ability will determine your college volleyball opportunity.

Coach

Playing Position and College Volleyball Recruiting Timetable

At the many club tournaments and recruiting combines which I attend and speak at each year, I always get questions about when certain playing positions are recruited.  This question tends to come from a Libero family, as they have seen other players get recruited and make commitments, while waiting for the same recruiting attention themselves.

In general, and please understand that each year a college team may not recruit each position, college volleyball programs will recruit the positions in this order - Outside Hitter, Middle Blocker, Right Side/Opposite Hitter, Setter and Libero/Defensive Specialist.

The Outside Hitter, an attacker that can serve receive, play defense and attack from the left or right side antenna is the most important position on the court.  It is no coincidence that Stanford won 3 of the last 4 NCAA DI Women's Volleyball Championships and their primary Outside Hitter was considered the best in the country in her position for all of those years.  Beyond DI Women's Volleyball, it is rare for any team at any level to achieve great seasons without having an elite level Outside Hitter on their roster.  

From my college coaching experience, my best seasons were when we had a good outside hitter and my least succesful seasons coincided when we did not have a good primary Outside Hitter available.

Because a talented Outside Hitter is so critical to the success of a program and literally means job security and advancement, this position will always be recruited first.

The Middle Blocker used to be more important back in the day of sideout scoring and monochromatic volleyballs, but the nature of rally scoring has diminished their importance just a bit.  They a remain key to program success and college coaches will be keen to secure a tall, talented Middle Blocker to anchor their team's blocking ability.  

The Right Side/Opposite position takes home the Bronze Medal, but it was a down to the wire finish with the Setter position.  The RS/OP traditionally has been the home of the left handed outside hitter and/or the fall back position for those Middle Blockers who were not quiet elite in their position or the taller Outside Hitter who struggled with passing/defense.   With the increased importance of the Outside Hitter (who predominantly attacks at the left antenna), the need for the defense to have a tall, effective blocker at their own right side antenna also increased in importance.  Also, an effective RS/OP attack will relieve pressure on the Outside Hitters and Middle Blockers.

Setters, and this is difficult for me to say having played the position at a high level, have diminished in importance in college volleyball rally scoring.  Teams can be successful with an average setter, if they have very good Outsides and Middles, but rarely does a team reach elite success with a very good Setter, when they only have average attackers.  College coaches understand this scenario, and they also understand there are many good setters which they can recruit after the OH's and MB's.  

Liberos are Last.  With the hundreds of Recruiting Education Talks that I provide, I have to express this rough saying to many families.  A talented Libero is important to the success of a team, as they are in theory the best passer on the team and serve receive is the critical touch in any rally.  The reason Liberos are last is simply Supply versus Demand.  There are many, many good Liberos in club volleyball and a few great Liberos, but college coaches do not recruit this position every year.

With the Libero being the catch all position for the shorter player with good ball control (shorter/less powerful OH's, short Setters or players who just have always played backrow because they have always been not tall), there is an abundance of talent within this very specific position.  College coaches know that they can focus their recruiting on the other positions initially because they can always find a good Libero later in the process, just because of the sheer numbers recruits vying for backrow positions in college volleyball.

Each playing position per graduation year will have a different recruitment timing. Talented Outside Hitters may need to be focused earlier than anticipated; Middles, Right Side/Opposites and Setters have a bit more time.  Liberos will have to be the most patient to succeed in college volleyball recruiting.

NCAA Division I Scholarship for a LIbero

Hello Coach, 

My name is J. and I go to a private school but play volleyball with a public school. I am 5’1” as a freshman and I was wondering if I would have any chance for a college scholarship at a D1 school? 

Sincerely, J.

Talent will determine your opportunity.

It is generally understood that the NCAA Division I scholarship is the Lottery Ticket of volleyball scholarships.  As a quick reminder, DI Women's Volleyball provides 12 full scholarships (if the school fully funds the volleyball program, which the majority of DI programs do) but only 12 players can be on an athletic scholarship.  Because of this limit of 12 players, women's volleyball is known as a 'head count' sport among DI athletics - 12 players/heads can get a scholarship and if the program is fully funded at 12, then 12 players are receiving a Full Athletic scholarship.  

When we do the math, the odds are not forever in your favor to be selected for a NCAA Division I scholarship - For simplicity; 325 DI schools offering 3 scholarships each year versus tens of thousands volleyball players in each graduation year.

Players and families must also be aware of the excellent scholarship packages which can be found outside of NCAA Division I - By combining the additional scholarship avenues of academic, merit and need based with athletic, significant scholarship support can be obtained which can approach the total of a full scholarship.  

Quick breakdown of divisions and scholarships:

NCAA Division I - 12 full athletic scholarships, limited to 12 players.  Non athletic scholarships can be awarded to players not receiving an athletic scholarship, but these non-athletic scholarships are not influenced or under the control of the volleyball program or athletics department.

NCAA Division II - 8 full athletic scholarships (if the school fully funds the volleyball program) and these 8 scholarships can be divided among as many players desired, as long as the total value of awards equals 8 or less athletic scholarships; women's volleyball in Division II is called an "equivalency" sport.  In addition to receiving an athletic scholarship, players are allowed to also receive an academic, merit or need based scholarship.

NCAA Division III - No athletic scholarships, per DIII rules in any sport.  But, players may receive academic, merit and need based scholarships just like any other student.

NAIA - 8 full athletic scholarships (if the volleyball program is fully funded) and these athletic awards may be divided among as many players as desired.  In addition, additional academic, merit and need based scholarships may be awarded.

Junior College - JC's are divided into 3 categories, similar NCAA athletics.  JC division I provides full athletic scholarships (up to 14 depending upon school support), JC division II provides partial athletic scholarships and JC division III does not allow the awarding of athletic scholarships.

Back to your DI scholarship question - Yes, if you have the talent, you can receive a scholarship.  

With your height being 5'1" as a freshman, you would need to play the Libero position, unless there is huge growth spurt headed your way.  NCAA Division I players are tall; the power conference players are ridiculously tall and the non power conference players are still tall.  This height makes right reality of DI will eliminate the Middle, Outside and Setter positions from your possibilities.

And, to make your scholarship mountain a bit steeper, the toughest position to receive a DI scholarship in, is the Libero.  The reason is the only thing I can remember from my Economics degree; supply versus demand.

Typically, DI volleyball programs only provide 1 scholarship to the Libero position (not 1 per class, but 1 total scholarship on the team) and a number of schools don't even do that, as they only accept Libero's as walk-on players.  If we return to our simple math, that is 325 scholarships for all of DI.  The supply of Liberos is huge and the demand is small.

To further make bad math, the Libero position tends to be the catch all recruiting position in women's volleyball.  Not tall enough to play outside, switch to Libero.  Not a good enough setter, play Libero. You can pass but don't hit as well, play Libero.  Mom and Dad are not taller than 5'8", you only play Libero.

It is because of this huge supply of quality players in the Libero position, that college coaches only have to award 1 scholarship, if any at all.  They know that talented Libero players will walk-on to their program just to say they are DI players or to have a chance of maybe, possibly receiving that Lottery Ticket sometime during their collegiate career.

Enough of the scary math and let's return to Talent - If you are good enough, you can receive a DI scholarship.  But, you need to be really good.

Since you are a freshman and the Libero position is the last one recruited, you have time to focus on developing your skill sets.  Basically, you need to serve receive very well, play great defense, be in the right cover position at all times, and be a supportive/vocal teammate.

Club volleyball participation is almost mandated to develop DI skill sets, as it provides thousands of additional repetitions and hundreds of additional matches versus just playing high school volleyball.  Additional camps/clinics focused on the back row skill sets may also be necessary, if your club program is a bit lacking in Libero development and support.

Another suggestion is to play as much volleyball as you can.  For many years, before the rise of club volleyball as year round business, California players were regarded as the most talented, especially in the ball control positions (Outside, Setter, Libero).  Many believed this was due to being able to play volleyball year round with high school, beach and grass volleyball, along with recreational leagues.  But, no matter the surface, the players were playing volleyball...it was a steady diet of touches and playing the game.

So, focus on developing your skills, practice and play volleyball whenever you can, and understand that it is a challenge for a Libero to receive a DI scholarship.

Is the Club Volleyball worth it?

My daughter is a sophomore and is 5’9”. She plays front and back row on her high school team.  As she is attending a small school, she is forced to play front row as she hits hard and has a decent game vertical at about 2’ but her scrappiness is impressive in the back row. 

She has a hudl account and keeps on getting emails from ncsa, which she is hoping that it means colleges are interested but it’s more likely that paid recruiters want our money. She has been offered to play on a travel team but there is so few girls on the team that are college level girls and the cost is over $3000. Are we better to save that money for our daughter’s college or investing it toward her getting a scholarship? 

My daughter also is a softball pitcher and a basketball player and has a perfect gpa. She managed to play varsity as a freshman in all three sports.  She’s also a kind and a terrific team player.  She does love volleyball. 

I don’t know if contacting coaches is a good option. Should she get attend a camp to get some data on her athletic abilities?  Should we spend the money on her playing on a travel team?  Is she tall enough to make a D1 team?  Is her making a D2 or D3 team even worth the cost of travel volleyball?

K.O.

Thank you for your email and there are a number of questions to work through - Before answering, I will provide some additional context and information.

Club volleyball is looked at as the entry into college volleyball, but that is a little bit like "putting cart in-front of the horse".  Talent determines an athlete's ability to play college volleyball and club volleyball provides the opportunity for athletes to develop their talents.  Because an athlete will receive a significant amount of extra repetitions and hundreds of extra matches versus just playing high school volleyball, club volleyball is the dominant vehicle to increase a player's abilities.

As college athletic scholarships are limited in numbers and/or amounts, it is a competitive situation to obtain an athletic scholarship.  A player's talent will determine the opportunity to receive an athletic scholarship and the amount of such a scholarship.

Traditionally, club volleyball is commonly viewed as the pathway to college volleyball because of all the college coaches which attend club volleyball tournaments to evaluate/scout recruits.  If college coaches can't see an athlete in person, it can be uncomfortable for them to offer roster positions and scholarships to players via video tape.  Club volleyball tournaments allow college coaches to evaluate hundreds of players over the course of 2 to 3 days.  From January to the end of April, there is a large club volleyball tournament every weekend in the more populous states, which allows college coaches to constantly evaluate athletes in person!

NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball has 12 scholarships to award and since women's volleyball in DI is a 'head count' sport and only 12 heads can be on a scholarship, each player gets a full scholarship (provided the program is fully funded with scholarships, which the majority of DI women's teams are) - Obviously, the DI Full Scholarship, especially considering the crazy cost of college these days, is a huge motivation for families to participate in club volleyball.  

Families need to be aware that NCAA DI Women's Volleyball rosters are larger than 12 - Take a look at the roster page on the school's athletic website in the fall season, and you will see Volleyball teams with 16, 18 or 20 players.  This means that all the players outside of the Golden (like Greenwood) Ticket holders, are not receiving an athletic scholarship; they may well be receiving academic and/or merit scholarships, but these are not influenced or controlled by the athletic department.

NCAA Division II and NAIA have 8 scholarships (if the school fully funds the volleyball program) and these type of scholarships are called 'equivalency'.  A coach can take those 8 scholarships and divide them among 20 players, as long as the total amount awarded is equivalent to 8 full scholarships.  In Division II and NAIA volleyball, athletic scholarships are rarely awarded in full amounts, but rather in partial scholarship amounts.  But, unlike NCAA Division I, DII and NAIA schools can stack or package a variety of scholarships together; a player can receive an academic, an athletic, a merit and/or need based scholarships.  Often times, especially if the player has very good academics, the scholarship package at DII/NAIA schools can total out to a Full Scholarship.

NCAA Division III does not offer athletic scholarships.  Doesn't matter how great of a volleyball player, the division rules do not allow the awarding of an athletic scholarship. However, players can receive academic, merit and/or need based scholarships, but they cannot be influenced at all by athletic ability or the athletic department.

Junior College has a variety of athletic scholarship opportunities, depending upon the category of JC.  Junior Colleges have 3 divisions or categories of athletic programs, much like the NCAA.  DI Junior Colleges have full scholarships and the limit is 14 full scholarships if the program is fully funded.  DII gives out partial athletic scholarships, and DIII Junior College is not allowed to provide athletic scholarships.

That should provide some background information to move into your questions - As you have a number of important questions, let me break them out, along with a few other lines from your email which merit comment: 

• .....she is forced to play front row as she hits hard and has a decent game vertical....

As she is only a sophomore and she is 5'9", it is a good thing that she is playing all the way around.  The most competitive collegiate recruiting position is the Libero/DS/Back Row player because there are so many talented players and not a lot of opportunity.  All to often, the back row players don't receive much of an athletic scholarship, if any at all.  I believe 'good' all around Outside Hitters have more recruiting opportunities, than 'good' back row players.

• ....but it’s more likely that paid recruiters want our money....

Recruiting Services are businesses and they have well developed systems to encourage families to sign up for their support.  Some families do need a recruiting service and this can be a wise investment to manage the collegiate recruiting process.  

• She has been offered to play on a travel team but there is so few girls on the team that are college level girls and the cost is over $3000.

Club volleyball is expensive, but it is the protocol to increase ability and to be effectively seen by college coaches.  College coaches don't recruit the club team, we focus on the player were are evaluating.  The majority of time, we don't even know the score of the game much less stay for the entire match.  We don't judge a player by the abilities of her teammates; we judge her interaction with team mates though.

• Are we better to save that money for our daughter’s college or investing it toward her getting a scholarship?

The current club season has ground to a stop with the COVID 19 pandemic, so we will consider the Junior and Senior year of high school playing club volleyball - If we look at this from a return on investment viewpoint; $3000 per year for the next 2 years of club volleyball, plus related expenses of equipment, travel, meals, etc: say....$8,000.

If an athlete plays for 4 years and graduates in 4 years (we won't consider the possibility of a redshirt year), the per college year investment is $2,000.  To make the math work, a player would want to receive at least a $2,000 per year athletic scholarship.  There is a certain in-college value to playing collegiate sports (academic support, priority scheduling, athletic clothing and equipment, representing something larger than yourself, developing lifelong friendships through a common experience, etc.), not to mention post college life of having athletics on your resume and potential employers rating you higher.

Because of my experience as a collegiate player and as a collegiate coach, I feel that eight thousand dollars is a good investment.

• ....and has a perfect gpa....

If her ACT/SAT test scores will reflect this great g.p.a., she will be in a good position to garner academic scholarships.  For the majority of non-Division I players, the academic scholarship will be the largest scholarship award and, as long as you keep up the college mandated g.p.a, this academic award will continue until graduation!

• I don’t know if contacting coaches is a good option.

It is not only a good option, it is the only option to reach your recruiting goals.  As presented above, college volleyball recruiting is competitive - Your 5'9", all around outside hitter daughter, with the great gpa and personality, is competing against thousands of other 5'9" all around outside hitters with great grades and personalities.  Waiting for college coaches to find a player is not a plan, it is a dream.  Because there are so many talented players of average height, it is absolutely necessary for players/families to reach out to college coaches via email with player information and current video.  Even if a player is participating in club volleyball, they still need to reach out to college coaches to convince them to come to court #52 in the Dallas Convention Center during the MLK Classic tournament.

• Should she get attend a camp to get some data on her athletic abilities?

Camps are generally not designed for recruiting, unless the camp specifically says it is for recruiting and has the itinerary to support such a statement; a college camp where the only coaches are from one school (the host college) is not a recruiting camp.  A better option would be recruiting combines or showcases, where a bunch of college coaches attend and would contact an athlete if interested.  The best, but most expensive option, is club volleyball, in which the team plays in large tournaments and the player/family can easily see how they stack up!

• Should we spend the money on her playing on a travel team? 

Yes, if she does want to play in college, she needs to have the training and repetitions needed to develop her talent, along with putting herself into the live view of college coaches attending big tournaments.  There are rare occasions that a gifted volleyball athlete can secure a collegiate opportunity by playing only high school volleyball.

• Is she tall enough to make a D1 team?

Yes, but not at the Power Conference or upper mid major level.  There are plenty of 5'9"-5'10" outside hitters at the mid to lower level NCAA Division I programs.  Her ball control/passing, attacking ability and volleyball intelligence will be more of a deciding factor for these type of DI programs, rather than just her height.

• Is her making a D2 or D3 team even worth the cost of travel volleyball?

I believe so - Think of DII/NAIA in terms of a combination of scholarships and collegiate experience.  Even a partial D2/NAIA 'partial scholarship' will routinely be more than $2,000 per month.  Again, the packaging of D2/NAIA school scholarships can approach and easily total a full scholarship.

There is much to digest when it comes to today's college volleyball recruiting environment.  Hopefully my answers and background information will provide some direction as your daughter moves forward with her volleyball career!!!

How to Get Recruited by Florida State University

Hello,

I found your email in a forum that is a few years old. So I hope it’s still ok to reach out. My daughter is in 8th grade. Second year of club. 1st year with a new club team which she is a starting middle for and she is the setter for the middle school varsity team. Her dream is playing for FSU. 

So I was wondering if you could tell me or point me in the right direction as to what I or she needs to do to start to make that happen?! I saw you mention sending video in emails. Would that be best if it were video during games? Or practices? Or both? When should we start sending out emails? Once she reaches high school? Junior year?? Or sooner? Also, is there a format to use when emailing college coaches? 

I appreciate any info you have for us and thank you for taking to time to read this email.


B.A.

Thank you for your email - I am just getting back up to speed with helping families with recruiting answers and advice.

In reviewing your email, there is some information missing which would guide my answers better.  For instance, is "FSU" Florida State University?  Probably so, and I will use this upper Division I school as the reference point.  Also, how tall is your daughter?  What position does she want to play in college, middle or setter?  What region of the country are you in, which determines the relative strength and reputation of the club teams.

Generally speaking, college volleyball recruiting is height and ability driven with regards to the age.  The taller and more talented you are at a younger age, the earlier your recruiting efforts and management will commence.  If you are tall and limited or developing abilities, or you are shorter with good abilities, then your recruiting efforts would start later.  If you are short with limited abilities, then golf might be your better sport!

For those blessed players which are tall at a young age (and tall in volleyball means 6'+ in 8th grade) and talented (which means playing up in age groups or clearly the best player on the court for her age) the recruiting management efforts can start in 8th grade.  While the NCAA has enacted recruiting rules meant to limit college coaches from recruiting younger players, it is still going to occur.  

Those athletes which are average sized and average talent for their age (when I say average, I mean normal or traditional which has zero negative connotations), the recruiting management process will move forward in their sophomore and/or junior year.

As to your questions:

• If she is going to play Middle Blocker for Florida State University, then she needs to be 6'3"+; the shortest Middle Blocker on the spring roster is 6'2" and we don't know if that is a walk-on player or scholarship.  
• As a setter, she has a bit more leeway with height - Taller is better but coaches will trade a few inches for great hands and brains.  But, no amount of talent can grab a roster sport at FSU if you are a 5'5" setter.
• In addition to height, she needs ability - Florida State is recruiting the same athletes as other Power Conference programs, so her ability needs to be at a Power Conference level.
• She should determine what position she wants to play in college.
• Two types of video is best - One video should be a skills or highlight video, where a college coach can do a quick look to get a snapshot of a player's abilities - 5 minutes max on the video and this can be pulled from practice or games or a dedicated video shoot.  The second video should be a game video; don't edit the play, but take out the down time (timeouts, side changes, substitutions, etc) so the video is easy to watch by the college coach.
• If your daughter has the height and skill appropriate for the FSU level, then start sending out video in January of her freshman year of club volleyball (obviously, the 2020 club season is a bit scrambled right now....).
• When emailing a college coach, do not be fancy - Coaches just need to know your grad year, your club information, your position and how they can contact you.  Too many families try to write the next great novel when contacting a college coach.

Thank you for the email and the world famous collegevolleyballcoach.com is coming back to full speed!

Volleyball Recruiting Timeline...

Hi, Matt,

I met you at the AVCA combine in Grand Rapids last June and wrote you one other time.  My daughter, Olivia Barr, is a 6’ 2” sophomore/2020 MH (may be used as RH this fall) from this area.  We took your advice of reaching out to 100 colleges with her highlight video, and we have gotten dozens of responses from schools big and small, so thank you.

My question now is how to help her “build her resume” and move up the food chain of recruiting interest.  How important is it that we get her name on some watch lists (Max Preps, VolleyPrep, AVCA Phenom, PrepDig, etc.)?  Aren’t these often highly dependent on your coach?   (Some more actively nominate kids than others.)  And can’t the talent on these lists be significantly skewed by the level of play in which girls come from?  I’ve seen some underclassmen on these lists who likely wouldn’t even make the varsity at our high school.  Meanwhile, my kid can’t get recognized b/c she plays in a large school with a strong program and won’t even play varsity til her junior year!  So she obviously couldn’t have won any postseason awards as a sophomore at a much smaller high school might have, and, in some cases, that’s the criteria to get on the watch list!  Do college coaches care what watch lists you are or are not on?  Do they know it may not reflect your actual potential?

One more thing…  While I know this was a critical year for her recruiting-wise, Olivia insisted she not play club this season in order to spend more time with her mom who has advanced stage cancer.   This sounds like a great priority, but how much do you think it will hurt her chances at landing a good scholarship.  We’re trying to make a camp plan for this summer to increase her exposure.  Do you have any recommendations as to the type of camps to try and get her to?

Thanks,

MB

Let me break out your questions for answers:

- Glad to hear that your reach out was succesful - Families have to understand that recruiting is competitive because of the sheer volume of talented players; only by reaching out can families put themselves into the best position.

- Watch lists do not matter to a college coach.  We are focused on the talent we see on video and/or in person.  A player could be the #5 Super Duper MB on Elite Prep Rocky Mountain Watch List and it makes no impression.

-  Don't focus on building her resume but rather building her skill sets.  Her ability will determine her opportunity.  Her being able to effectively transition from a block against the opponent's outside hitter into a slide attack with minimal footsteps and speed, is significantly more important that being on a some watchlist.

-  She still has plenty of time on the recruiting clock. An argument can be made that later in the recruiting process (Junior and Senior year), slightly tall players for their positions (scary that 6'2" MB would be considered slight tall, but it is true) can have even better opportunities.  The recruiting timeline has become fluid; there are so many late scholarship openings because of job changes, injuries, transfers, etc.  Of course, the sophomore year is important but I have just seen too many late opportunities that I always tell families to stay patient and keep working the recruiting process.

-  Of course, spending time with family is critical, especially now more than ever for your family.  In support of this general concept of family first, club families quickly realize that collegiate volleyball is so much more than club and look back upon their club days wondering why they stressed out about being all things everywhere for club volleyball.  

-  College Camps for recruiting is a very poor use of your time and money.  In effect, you are paying hundreds of dollars so one program can see you.  Also, camps are Disneyland, they are not real - Camps are not college volleyball.  Better to use that money on more video, more specialized skill development, yoga, massages, a recruiting service, etc.

I think you are in a good position - Stay focused on skill development and communicating with programs, while reaching out to new programs with video!  Your patience will be rewarded, I promise!

Coach

Switch Positions for Recruiting?

Hi coach,

My daughter is a 6'1" Freshman MH on both HS and club teams. The feedback we have received from at least one very high level D1 assistant coach is that she would project as a lower D1/High D2 Middle and have had interaction with some D1 schools at least enough to know that assessment seems accurate. It was also mentioned to us that she might project higher as a Right Side. She loves to play middle, but she has always said she would be willing to move positions in order to play in college. We live relatively rural and so 6'+ athletes are rare and so it is unlikely she would play anything but Middle in club or in school.  

My question is: In her emails and other online materials, how do we list her? I'm confused as to how it is viewed by college coaches.

Option 1 - List her as a MH since that's all she's played and let the college coach direct her toward RS?

Option 2 - List her as a MH/RS so they know she is willing to play there, even though she never has and probably won't before college?

A secondary question: Does a college coach view a difference between MH or MB? I assume these terms to be interchangeable, correct?

Thanks!

A.W.

The terms MB/MH are interchangeable, so whatever works is good, but just be consistent with the term you select.

I advise players/families to play the position they enjoy the most, as opposed to switching positions for the college chase.  Unless it is obvious that a player is too short for their current position to move into a collegiate spot or they are obviously better in a different position, switching is like chasing the golden goose.

With your daughter getting some NCAA Division I recruiting attention​ as a Freshman is fantastic and don't overthink this good news.  Focus on skill development, so she has even more collegiate choices as she matriculates through high school.  

Keep her focused on becoming the best middle possible; college coaches will have their MB to RS glasses on when recruiting, so if they see a potential RS when watching her at a tourney, then let them bring that up.  

Stay focused on skill development and finding the best fit academically, athletically, geographically and socially as a family!

Coach