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!!!

Volleyball Recruiting and Academically Elite Schools

Hello;

I came across your website and QAs. I am not sure if your site is still active. I enjoyed reading your answers to other parents and find them very informative. 

I would like to receive some insight from you about my daughter’s options. 

She will be a junior soon. She has a 4.0 GPA with many AP classes. She has a good record volunteering. She’s been playing volleyball since 4^th grade and has been in variety of clubs since 5^thgrade (U11), most of those clubs were well known in our state of Washington but she was not in the top teams. We tried different clubs each other and she had many summer camps as well. She’s been playing varsity at her high school since freshman year. However, her school is relatively small and though it should have been under D3 category, they actually compete in D2 since there aren’t any other similar schools around, hence they always rank low in the region. She’s been one of the top players in that school and captain of the team. She’s 5’5”, has been playing as a left OH and her hits are consistent. She’s a great server. Her secondary position is DS which she’s good at. She can also set and is a back up setter. She’s not great at jumping though. 

Academics are more important to her. But we wonder if applying for volleyball D3 would increase her chances of getting into an exceptionally good school. What Elite schools and Ivy Leagues have D3 and D2 that she would be a good fit for and we should consider? Would volleyball help her get an acceptance over other similarly honored tudets? Any comments, suggestions, and ideas are welcome. 

Thank you,

F.D.

Thank you for your email question and I have been quite lax on keeping the website updated - My day job with NCSA = Next College Student Athlete was a bit nuts through the club season but now I am back answering questions!

The first thing that college coaches look at is talent; does a player have the talent to make their team better.  All the other attributes of a player (grades, personality, work ethic, hair style, etc) are secondary to talent when coaches take that first look at a recruit.  Recruiting elite talent allows coaches to keep cashing a paycheck, and hopefully jump to another better paycheck.  

Because of your daughter's height and her average jumping ability, she would need to focus on the Defensive Specialist/Libero position if she wishes to play college volleyball at any level.  Her talent level will determine what collegiate level she can play at.

In terms of admission to academically elite schools, it depends upon the admission criteria of each school.  Some schools take athletics into account when reviewing a prospective student, while others pay no attention.  

My suggestions:

1) Have your daughter focus on the Libero/DS position moving forward with club (high school is a situation where she needs to play where the coach needs her to play), and then concentrate on skill development.  The better her talent the more numerous her collegiate options will be.

2) By using the web or NCSA's Free or Premium site, you can start researching which schools are academically elite, along with fitting any geographic and financial preferences of your family.

Because of her position, she needs to cast a wide net (all divisions/all organizations - NCAA and NAIA) when considering schools and then she must use email/videos to reach out to college programs as to promote herself.  

The Libero/DS position is arguably the most competitive recruiting position as a result of the sheer volume of players within this position.  Sitting back and hoping that something works out just because you play club is not going to get the job done; club is the vehicle but the player/family must be the one doing the driving!

Good luck!

Coach

Early College Volleyball Scholarship Offer

Coach,

I enjoy your insight and realistic approach to those pursuing their dreams of playing volleyball at the Collegiate level. Our daughter, 16, is a Sophomore Libero in HS and has just been presented with a formal verbal offer with a partial scholarship to play D2 for a school that is one of her top 4 choices. 

She is very happy (as are we), for this opportunity-but we are unsure what to do next. She wants to see how the rest of this season and camps that she will be attending this summer go before she does anything more definitive with this offer. We know that until you sign a NLI, that nothing is final.   She would like to be in a position to sign an NLI before the end of this year so that he College plans are known.

I am a fan of taking a good opportunity and running with it, but we need some advice as to how to proceed.

Thanks!

G.H.

Thank you for your email and my apologies for the later reply.

First of all, congratulations on your daughter receiving a scholarship offer as a sophomore and as a Libero.  By the backstory which you have provided about your daughter, you have answered the question about how to proceed. 

It does not seem like she is mentally ready to commit to the scholarship offer, even though it is one of her top 4 choices.  I do think it is wise that she plays through the rest of the season and attends summer camps.  

If you have read through collegevolleyballcoach.com, you will remember that I say that Liberos are Last in the recruiting process.  While being that last player offered/selected during the recruiting process can be frustrating for Libero families, it can be a blessing in disguise when considering all the turnover in the coaching ranks today.

I also bring this timetable to your attention because if your daughter is receiving athletic scholarship offers as a sophomore, she still has 2 years on the recruiting clock to improve her skill sets and to also potential improve the scholarship garnered.

But, back to your question - My advice is to follow the path laid out by your daughter; keep playing volleyball and keep working the recruiting process.

College Volleyball Transfer Recruiting

Hi Coach,

My daughter is in her first year of a D2 school.  Her regular season has ended and she hasn't stepped on the court once.  She was told by her coach today that the program had too many girls (22 total as of today with a potential of 24 with new recruits) and cuts would need to be made.  Her coach made some reference to the scholarship/academic ratio was too high.  My daughter is getting a very small amount and has a 3.65 gpa.  My daughter was told that she needed to be one of the top 4 outside hitters to remain on the team and coach would let her know by Spring. There are currently 9 outside hitters. So as you can tell by my previous statement of her playing time, that is probably not going to happen.  Plus, Spring is too late to make any transfer decisions.  Coach offered two options to my daughter if she is let go, the club team or just be a student. 

My daughter strongly wants to continue her volleyball career but where do we begin when she has nothing to show for her first year as a college athlete other than time spent in practice?  What do we do if we have no video to show potential coaches??? What do we say to a potential coach to get her noticed?? Is a transfer even possible being faced with these challenges ?? Should her father and I set a meeting with her current coach to discuss what happened this season?? The amount of frustration, hurt and betrayal I feel is unexplainable.  As you have heard before, she was told one thing in the recruiting process and had a completely different coach/experience during the season. This coach has her favorites and no one else gets on the court, win or lose.  

Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated and needed.  My heart is breaking for my daughter and I want to guide her to make the wisest decision possible. 

Best Regards, 

A.M.

Thank you for your email and reading collegevolleyballcoach.com!

Please understand that your daughter is not the only collegiate volleyball player, and you folks are not the only family, which is having to manage such an uncomfortable situation.  We are entering the crazy season of college volleyball, where coaching and roster changes can cause such upheaval to many, many families.

First of all, I would encourage you to use the links/search bar for collegevolleyballcoach.com to read a number of the articles which I have written about the college volleyball transfer process; again, this is the crazy season and so many families have gone through what you are facing.

Please allow me to break out your questions/points, one at a time:

* She was told by her coach today that the program had too many girls (22 total as of today with a potential of 24 with new recruits) and cuts would need to be made -  Within the collegiate ranks, college volleyball programs will have a "desired" number of players on the roster, as told to them by the athletic director.  Often times this is to drive enrollment numbers (as dictated by the university administration) or it is to balance gender equity numbers (I had a DI athletic director "strongly encourage" me to carry 18 to 20 players on the roster, to help balance the walk ons which football used...).  This number is constantly changing and is a source of irritation to many college volleyball coaches.

*  My daughter is getting a very small amount and has a 3.65 gpa - Small silver lining, since the transfer will not 'cost' you a bunch of lost scholarship monies...

* There are currently 9 outside hitters - That is a bit crazy; by what you have written above and with this number of position players on the roster, your daughter may have just been a roster spot recruit for roster minimum...sorry to write that....

* Plus, Spring is too late to make any transfer decisions - Agreed.  You need to move forward now, to start the process to find a new opportunity.

* My daughter strongly wants to continue her volleyball career but where do we begin when she has nothing to show for her first year as a college athlete other than time spent in practice? - Couple of things here; 1) She did practice within the collegiate game, so she will have improved; volleyball players get better in practice not so much in games, 2) If she has not played, then she can 'redshirt' this season, which means she will still have 4 more years of playing eligibility.  It was actually better for the coach to not play your daughter, than to just put her in randomly for a few rotations; this year does not count against her 4 years of playing eligibility!

* What do we do if we have no video to show potential coaches??? - Over the Holiday break, get her into a gym (her old High School or Club team) and film her peppering, passing, and attacking.  Nothing fancy, but just capture about 5 minutes of film.  When sent to college coaches, she just lets them know she redshirted this year, so there is no game film.

* What do we say to a potential coach to get her noticed?? -  Nothing you say will get her noticed; she will be of interest to other colleges because of her talent.  If she has the talent to make a collegiate team better, then they will recruit her.  She just needs to be honest that she wants to find a program where she can contribute in matches, as opposed to just practices.

* Is a transfer even possible being faced with these challenges?? -  Absolutely!  Don't get bogged down in the bad karma with the current situation.  Take the video, load it up to youtube, send to the a large number of appropriate level colleges along with her academic and contact information.  Again, if she has the talent to make a team better, then the collegiate coach will recruit her.  Be sure to send her video/info to a large number of programs where she has the ability to play.

*  Should her father and I set a meeting with her current coach to discuss what happened this season?? - No, this would be a waste of everyone's time.  Collegiate athletics is a business and the college coach made a business decision. Now, it is time for the family to move forward with the next steps to make the best possible choice with the future.

* The amount of frustration, hurt and betrayal I feel is unexplainable -  This is the tough part of being a parent, and what I am going to write next will be hard to read - This is not about you and since your daughter is now in college, it is time for her to manage this situation like an adult.  Still hurts, still stinks, but this is part of all collegiate athletics...

Let me close with this - College coaches REALLY don't want to deal with parents when it is a collegiate transfer situation.  If a parent takes the lead and manages the recruiting process on a collegiate transfer, it is a huge red flag and the majority of college coaches will back away.

Get the video together, compile a list of realistic potential collegiate programs (you don't want to transfer to another school and sit the bench for 3 more years), reach out to all of them with the video, collegiate transcript and brief intro letter.  

Bottom line, is there is no time to feel sorry, because recruiting is competitive and your daughter is now competing against every high school senior and collegiate transfer for that roster spot!

Coach

College Volleyball Recruiting and the Outside Hitter

5'5 OH / college future,

Hello, my daughter is going into the ninth grade and she loves volleyball. She wants to play on the collegiate level. Does she have a good chance on playing with taller girls as well as playing on a D1 or D2 level with her height?

She is 5'5 right now, and has a 9'2 approach and 8'3 block. My daughter played all around in the last club season. Her speciality is OH/DS but she says she is open to any position that will get her a scholarship. She is also a powerhitter. She continues to play club ball in the DFW area because she loves the game and want to get to the next level after high school.

Thank you in advance for your response. 

SA

With your daughter's height and current jumping ability, NCAA Division I will not be a realistic possibility.  Even if she grows to 5'7"+, her approach touch would need to go over 9'6"+ - DI volleyball is extremely height driven for attackers.

If your daughter has the passion to be an attacker at the collegiate level, the categories outside of NCAA Division provide the best opportunity for a roster spot and scholarship.

The key with scholarships outside of DI, is to remember that they are packaged scholarships which are inclusive of athletics, academics, merit and need based avenues.  The packaging of these avenues allows many non DI athletes to actually receive a full scholarship, but it does not come exclusively from athletics.  Not having the scholarship fully funded by athletics, can be a safety net because your financial future is not subject to the whims of a coach or the cruelness of the volleyball gods.

You mentioned NCAA Division II, and be aware of NCAA Division III, NAIA and Junior College categories. NCSA - Next College Student Athlete has a great free recruiting profile, which includes the definitions and protocols for each of the above categories!

Being a "shorter" outside hitter, means that passing and ball control are keenly important. A college coach can accept a smaller attacker, provided they are one of the best passers on the team.  Many coaches will recruit smaller attackers, knowing that they can transition this player to a back row athlete, should the need arise.

With your baby girl being in 9th grade, she has more time on the recruiting clock than a 6'2" OH.  This is a positive because it allows her to develop skill sets before becoming actively engaged in the recruiting process and needing to interact/evaluate collegiate programs!

Stay focused on developing her all around game and keeping the game fun!

Coach

College Volleyball Recruiting Management

Please allow me to inject my responses directly into your email below! (original email edited for clarity and privacy!).

Hi, Coach,

I enjoyed sitting in on your session at the Grand Rapids, MI combine in June.  Learned lots. 

​Thank you; I love speaking at Combines (both the AVCA and the Championship Combines events.  It is nice to have a dedicated speaking time to really share as much information as I can.

​

Now I have a few questions for you.  My daughter is a 6’ 2” sophomore (U15) MH.  You preached that one can never start too early promoting your child as a player, and that a person should get some good quality video together and out there as soon as possible to try and catch coaches’ attention.  

​Let me jump in here; I think what I said may have been misunderstood.  I believe it is never too early to educate yourself about the recruiting process.  If you have read through the collegevolleyballcoach.com ​website, you may remember "Freshman Free and Sophomore Slow".  Because of how important this decision is, and how the recruiting landscape changes, the parents must be educated as soon as possible.  I apologize if I was not clearer on this philosophy when I spoke!

That’s exactly what I did for my daughter.  Then when our club director learned I was sending out her video, I get a note from her saying, in part:  “She is an athlete with a ton of potential, … but she has some room to go at learning to play at a faster speed and higher level.… but the best advice I can give is that it’s not a great idea to call attention to her before she is “ready” … because then when anyone sees her based on a list or an email to a college coach they many only see what she is as opposed to what she can be.”

​As your daughter is 6'2" and a sophomore, you did do the right thing by getting her information and video out to college coaches.  The attack position (MB/OH/RS) recruiting is height driven; the taller the player, the more likely and applicable that 'early' recruiting is going to happen.  ​

I was kind of offended because I was following what you recommended and trust your opinion/experience more.  I mean which is it?  Does a person wait to send video until they’re a finished product (Is any high school kid ever?), or rather expect that qualified, experienced coaches will identify/recognize “potential” which they can mold?  While my daughter is admittedly young and raw and not playing against the highest competition here, she has already had many colleges of all sizes inquire about her since sending this video, so I think it’s having the intended effect. Would a D-I coach really judge a player based on her freshman video that she could never play for him/her?  This director makes it sound as though they’re not going to come back and peek again in 6 months or a year as the athlete develops and ramps up her competition. 

​College coaches recruit on potential, not the finished product because the player is not really finished until her upperclassmen years in college.  As you noted, you have enjoyed a positive response to the video which you promoted.  If a player is a bit raw, but has the desired height, then a college coach would put that player in their recruiting database with a note to see later on in the club season or ask for a current video in a few months.​

This is the same person who told me I should let my daughter handle sending all her own e-mails to coaches, even though she (my daughter) hardly checks her e-mail, much less keeps it organized and responds to appropriately.  She’s simply not mature enough yet to know the value and to care!  My response to the director was:  “I’ll eventually turn this over to her in the next year, but right now the stakes are too high to leave all this to a young adolescent.”  Do you agree?  Is the “parent-agent” model really frowned upon by college coaches?  I know that parents are consummately biased, but don’t coaches understand and just take the video and the measurables (verified by 3^rd party) at face value?

​College recruiting and recruiting management is a financial situation​ (cost of club, cost of visits, scholarship offers, scholarship packages) and money is an adult issue.  I think that the marketing and promotion should be a joint venture between player and parent.  Emails are not the language of today's youth but they are the desired form of communication for college coaches (because of compliance and oversight considerations). A college coach will not want to communicate exclusively or mostly with a parent, but we understand that parents will be involved especially during the outreach.

Also, how important is it that she plays “national” level competition for her club?  While she was invited to do so last winter, we really can’t afford what it would cost our family financially, nor do we want her missing church and youth group every Sunday all winter.  It’s just not a price we are willing to pay as a family.  My daughter has already said she may not even want to play D-I (I know you are high on the D-II experience).  However, if she does decide she’d like to, is it impossible for a kid to get a D-I scholarship who hasn’t played national level club.  I know John Cook of my alma mater, Nebraska, has turned many relatively inexperienced players into great college players – some even All-Americans – presumably because he can recognize and mold raw talent.

​The bottom line in any recruiting situation, is does the recruit have the ability/potential to make the collegiate team better?  If so, then the coach will recruit the player.  If not, then the coach will not recruit the player.  

When it comes to club teams, I encourage VolleyFamilies to focus on training as opposed to competition.  While there are many great teams within an elite program, there are instances where a non-national level club will have a great training situation.  Not every national level team will have great coaches, simply because they may have to find 50+ coaches!  

As to your specific question, yes, Division I athletes can come from non national level club programs.  Again, it is all about talent combined with height/athleticism.

​

By the way, we created a profile for my daughter on NCSA.  Now that it’s supposedly been up and public for 3 weeks, the stats say it’s only gotten one profile review.  ONE!  Does that make any sense for a fairly athletic 6’ 2” sophomore-to-be?  It seems to me that something isn’t working.  I would love to get any thoughts you might have on that.  What can we do to increase traffic?  Admittedly, I’ve only done the free profile/service so far b/c we don’t have a lot of money, and I’m willing to do lots of the leg work myself.

​Specific to the NCSA profile, the Free Profile is "searchable" by college coaches but the free profiles are located on the lower page below the Premium Profile matches.  In addition, this is the slowest recruiting time segment for college coaches; they have been insanely focused on their current collegiate season since later July.  Many VolleyFamilies, especially rising Seniors, get panicky this time of year because of how quiet college coaches are; things will 'heat up' rapidly after Thanksgiving when college programs are addressing the recruiting needs which the season just exposed.

As you are comfortable putting in the work to market and promote your daughter, then use the NCSA Free Profile as the link you send to college coaches, which contains her collegiate stats and current video.​

Thanks,

B.M.

P.S. I’m also making the “evaluation video” as you called it with a couple of complete sets to share even when she was not directly involved in the play.

​By my read of your email, it sounds as if you are doing everything correct - Just stay the course, stay patient during the next couple of months and then after Thanksgiving, have current video to send to college​ coaches in preparation for the traditional recruiting season!

Coach

NCAA Volleyball Recruiting Calendar and Recruiting Rules

Thanks to NCSA Next College Student Athlete for the below NCAA recruiting information!

NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Recruiting Calendar (2017-2018) - http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2017-18DIREC_Women%27sVolleyballRecruitingCalendar_20170711.pdf

NCAA Division I Women's Beach Volleyball Recruiting Calendar (2017-2018) - http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2017-18DIREC_Women%27sBeachVolleyballRecruitingCalendar_20170711.pdf

NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Recruiting Calendar (2017-2018) - http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2017-18DIIREC_OtherSportsRecCal_20175031.pdf

NCAA Division III/NAIA/JC's do not have recruiting calendars.


Terminology:

Contact Period - A coach may leave campus to evaluate players (watch matches/practices) and speak with players/families if they are Senior.

Evaluation Period - A coach may leave campus to evaluate players (watch matches/practices) but not make contact with a player/family.

Quiet Period - A coach may not leave campus, but can host players/families on campus.

Dead Period - No off campus watching players or contact and no on campus contact.


NCAA Guide for the College Bound Athlete (2017-2018) - http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/CBSA18.pdf

New SAT scoring and how to match to NCAA Sliding Scale - 
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2016EC_SAT_Score_Procedures_20170414.pdf


Once again, many thanks to NCSA for sharing this information with Volleyball families!

NCAA Volleyball - Recruiting Calendar Question

Coach,

I am confused in understanding the NCAA D1/2 recruiting rules and the calendar - the rules say no contact in June as it is evaluation period but the NCAA calendar shows June as a Contact period. 

What am I missing?

Thanks,
Confused Parent

Thank you for your question - The NCAA rules can often be confusing because every sport has its own rules and each sport within each division has its own rules.

Here is the link to the current NCAA Recruiting Calendar for DI:  http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/June2016_DIWomensVolleyball_20160613.pdf

Currently, we are in a Contact Period.  The term "Contact Period" can also be confusing; contact away from campus and telephone only with Seniors, contact via email and text with Juniors (and Seniors), coaches can receive calls from any high school age player and can talk with any high school age player on the university campus.

Division II Volleyball only has Dead Periods around the two National Letter of Intent Signing Dates - http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2016-17DII_Other-Sports_RecCal_20160524.pdf

From my reading of your email, you may have mis-read or receive information pertaining to another sport.  May 1 to 26 is a DI Quiet Period which means coaches can't leave campus to recruit, but you can come to campus.

Hopefully this helps clear things up a bit!

Coach

Collegiate Volleyball Start Up Program

Good Morning Coach,

First off - Thank you!!! Your words of wisdom are truly inspiring!

What are your thoughts on a college which is offering volleyball for the first time? There is a DII program just starting at a school that looks interesting to my daughter but we are torn whether or not to jump into the unknown.  She has been offered a MB position at 3 DIII schools (for Fall 2018) which all have long established programs.

While we are not focusing on athletic scholarship money (we are fortunate that she is an exceptional student and are concentrating on the academic aspect of that) it wouldn't hurt to possibly get some $$ for volleyball.


Thoughts?

K.S.

Thank you for the nice compliments about collegevolleyballcoach.com and glad to help!

With start up volleyball programs, which are rare these days, the most important factor to look at is how they are starting up.  Having interviewed with, and had coaching friends interview with, start up programs, there is a wide range of how athletic departments will support the new volleyball program.  Some will scholarship, staff and fund immediately, while others will present a timetable for implementation of support and other schools will say they are working on it.

With a new program, athletes have the chance to be in the unique position of establishing the culture of the program, of being the pioneers of the sport which will go into the athletic department's record books, of coming in with a clean slate and all positive possibilities in front of them.

Of course, the downside is they are the first team and may not have the history of success to draw upon as they develop the program, and depending upon funding, they may not have the resources to garner a winning season anytime soon.

Per NCAA Division II rules, schools are allowed to fund up to 8 athletic scholarships (provided the conference does not have limitations on volleyball scholarships, which some do), which can be packaged with non-athletic scholarships.

I immediately mention athletic scholarships, because that is the critical piece of building any successful DII volleyball program.  If you don't have the scholarship money, you are not going to secure the necessary talented recruits to succeed.  

After scholarship money, you should review how the department is staffing the program.  Are they just going with a head coach for a couple of years or are they allowing for an assistant coach to be hired (not graduate assistant but real assistant coach).  It is tough for a head coach to juggle all the balls necessary to run a successful program; head coaches need assistants!

Lastly, how does the operating budget compare to the other programs in the conference?  No matter year 1 or year 20, a team needs financial support for competition travel, recruiting, equipment, etc.

My advice is to go through the process of evaluating the start up Division II program because it could be a great opportunity.  Just having the opportunity of an athletic scholarship to compliment her academics is worth the effort! 

As with any VolleyFamily and with any potential program, constantly review what is important for your daughter/family (these details change; academics, geographic location, size of school, etc), and then evaluate potential schools in view of your priorities.  

Remember that it is always good to say no thank you to a number of schools before you say yes to that one school.

Coach