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!!!

NCAA Division I Volleyball Recruiting and the Small MB

Hello. I've heard people say that college coaches don't care if a team is losing because they are recruiting the player not the team. I've also been told my daughter plays at a Div I level. She is a sophomore and only 5'9" but her approach jump is 9'11.5". 

She's signed up with a recruiting service but is not being matched with DI schools (I assume because of her height). 

How do I get DI coaches to notice her at tournaments if she's not on a top ranked national team? By the way, she is a Middle Blocker.

Thank you.

DS

You are correct that college coaches focus on the player, not the team - Most of the time, we don't even know how a recruit's team did in a club tournament!

Two answers to your question about getting your daughter seen by DI programs:

1)  5'9" should not hinder any recruiting service from matching your daughter with a number of DI programs, especially if she touches 9'11.5".  There are over 300 DI programs; maybe the Top 50 schools may not match with her, but that leaves a bunch that would.  

You need to connect with your service to find out what is going on - Why are they not matching her with DI schools?  Today's recruiting services have many definitions; are they full service with active outreach to college coaches?  Are they partial service where they evaluate and provide some recommendations?  Or is a took kit service, where you get 'tools' but do all the outreach work? 

Also, be mindful of her position and specific skills.  5'9" Middle Blockers could be a tough sell to a DI, even with the impressive jump.  

2) Video is your best outreach mechanism if your daughter does not play on nationally ranked club super duper!  Coaches will always watch video and most of them will watch video before they even read about the recruit.  Your video needs to show all of her skill sets, specific to the position, as to offset her not being 6'+.

Because of her height, and with the goal of DI, she may wish to consider transitioning to Right Side or Outside hitter.  All things being equal, a 5'9" OH with a 10 foot approach jump will garner more attention than a 5'9' MB.

Good luck!

Coach

Way too early recruiting question #488

Hi Coach, 

My PSA daughter is a 12-year old, seventh grade, 5'7" outside hitter and setter for her club's 13-1's team. She is still growing and hopes to be about 5'9" when done growing (any taller than that isn't very realistic as her mom is only 5'2").  She has been playing club for three years and volleyball for six.  Her club is a pretty well known national club that competes in the Arizona Region and sends several teams to nationals each year.  She is also an avid beach player.  Volleyball is her passion -- if she could, she would be playing 24/7 all year long.  Indeed, as it is she drives us crazy by walking around the house setting and hitting balls off the wall at all times of day or night.  She loves to hit, but also loves to set and knows setting may be a better longer term option for her given her likely eventual height.  

I read your column regularly and have read your book and am familiar with your timelines, including the concepts expressed in it to take it very slow with recruiting until sophomore year.  That said, even as a 12 year old, my daughter is very interested in playing volleyball in college (particularly ASU, which I know has had some tough volleyball times of late), and asks me frequently about the college coaches at her various national qualifier tournaments and the process of recruiting in general.  

My question relates to the timeline of college recruiting -- my daughter is only 12 (so she is in the class of 2022, which is hard to believe -- so many good volleyball times ahead of her!), but I just read an article posted by the NCSA website you are affiliated with that states:  "The Division I recruiting timeline is the most accelerated of all divisions. DI programs are normally creating lists of athletes they are interested in during their middle school athletic career, and then heavily recruiting them by their freshman and sophomore year, with offers coming shortly after." 

This timeline seems more accelerated than that discussed in your book or columns?  Should my daughter hope to start hearing of interest from D1 programs as early as next year (her second/last year of middle school)?  If she doesn't get that interest in 8th grade is it unlikely that she will be able to compete at the D1 level (unless she grows significantly more in high school) for scholarships?  

Finally, given the NCSA post, when is the right time to post video highlights from her games or skills video to her NCSA profile?  I have been reluctant to do that for her given that she is only 12, but maybe it's not too early....

Thanks for any guidance you can provide. 

Proud AZ Dad 

Thank you for your email and questions.

NCSA Next College Student Athlete, which is my full time position, does a great job of providing valuable recruiting education articles for their Free and Premium members.  NCSA focuses on the trends in recruiting, in addition to the governing body rules, when they share information.  The early recruiting of NCAA Division I athletes has moved beyond a trend, and now is established protocol, but there is such variety in Division I Volleyball programs.  

As the article references, the DI category has the earliest recruiting timelines but there still are differences within DI program's timing.  The top Power Conference programs are evaluating 7th and 8th graders and offering scholarships to 8th grades.  But, the players which are being recruited so young have exceptional height, athletic prowess and advanced skill set; it is obvious to all observers that these are stud players.

The NCSA post also talks about freshman and sophomore scholarship offers - When we move away from those top DI programs, we see the timing of DI recruiting slow down a bit.  The rest of the power conference programs will be offering freshman, the mid major programs will be offering sophomores, the lower DI programs will be offering Juniors, etc.  There are over 300 NCAA Division I volleyball programs, and as you move from #1 to #300, the recruiting occurs later. 

Back to your question, and my answer - Freshman Free and Sophomore slow.  Read that again; no mention of 7th grade.  There is, and should be a, difference in what the college timeline is and what the family timeline is.  I have written quite often about Freshman Free and Sophomore slow because that mantra should apply to the vast majority of club players.  Even if a player is an absolute phenom, it is a stretch to believe that an 8th grader knows exactly what she wants to study in college and where she wants to live while in college.  Sure, there are a few that are Sooner Born and Sooner Bred and when I die, I will be Sooner Dead, but this is the exception, not the rule.

Early commitments by families because of some type of pressure (college coach, club director, peer, etc), has lead to a large number of transfer situations.  Again, how many with graders or even freshman, have the maturity to know what they want in college.

The NCSA article contradicts collegevolleyballcoach.com and Inside College Volleyball (by the way, thanks for purchasing a copy!) only for those outstanding young players, who obviously are going to play for a Top 1o program.  For everyone else, the recruiting efforts of colleges will be focused during their high school years.

Freshman Free is just for the player; let her focus on having fun and improving skill sets.  Mom and Dad, you need to be focusing on recruiting education; academic eligibility, contact and communication rules, the variety of collegiate programs available, the support and reputation of various conferences, etc.  If a school sends an outreach email, then that is great but that is not the goal of a player's freshman year.

Sophomore Slow is as it reads; slowly start to engage in the recruiting outreach with video to colleges based upon the player's goals and family comfort zone.

Because your daughter is only 5'7" (and expected to top out at 5'9") and 12 years old, it is my belief that she will fall into the sophomore to junior recruiting time frame, if she has the skill sets to be a Division I player.  And, there is absolutely nothing negative about that; waiting a big longer in the recruiting process allows your child to mature and clarify her collegiate desires, along with having less time for something bad to occur between commitment and arriving to campus her freshman year.

Enjoy the now, because tomorrow will be here too quickly.

Coach

Club Tournament Follow-Up with College Coaches

Hi Coach,

My daughter currently plays for a 16u club team (sophomore).  She just finished playing at the NEQ Tournament in Philadelphia this past weekend.

She reached out to about 7 schools prior to the tournament through her NCSA site and had responses from most of the coaches.

We saw them stop by and watch her play but she hasn't heard back from any of them.  Is it okay for her to reach out to them again and ask them their thoughts on her performance?  Or would that make her seem pushy?

Thanks, 

K.S.

I would send a follow-up email to the college coaches, especially if you have fresh video from NEQ's, but I would not ask for their thoughts on her performance.  The 16's year of club is still a primary evaluation year for many of the college coaches; they are just taking notes, seeing progress, trying to determine which athlete rates out at what level, what parents are nuts, the player's attitude, etc.

For the elite players and college volleyball programs, the 8th grade and Freshman year are the primary in the recruiting evaluation and selection process, but these are the outliers.

The majority of club players need to do exactly what you are doing - Reaching out to college coaches before big events, inviting them to attend, and then following up post event.  As you are using NCSA Athletic Recruiting and all of their great built in technology, I suggest that you should have really reached out to 100 schools before the NEQ's in Philly.  

At the 16's age, there are so many variables for players and for college coaches, that is best to make the outreach large, not small and 7 schools is tiny.  The more schools that your daughter can engage with now, is better to provide her viable options as she moves forward in club.

Good luck and keep managing the recruiting process.

Coach

Recruiting Education and Support Opportunity for Club Volleyball Programs

VolleyFamilies:

As many of you know, my full time job is with NCSA Athletic Recruiting as their Director of Volleyball.  It is a great opportunity for me because I am able to stay active in the volleyball community, traveling to tournaments/combines to connect with volleyball families, along with seeing many coaching friends!

In an effort to provide support to club teams and players, we developed the Volleyball Club Account Program or V-CAP.  A few highlights:

• No contract or agreements or strings attached for club volleyball teams or players.
• NCSA will fly me to the club to present my Recruiting Education Talk - The same talk I give at National Qualifiers and huge combines.
• Each player will have their Verified ID photo taken and Free Recruiting Profile created at the meeting and emailed to the individual players.  The VID photo is a jpeg with the players name, position, height and graduation year superimposed on the photo, so families can email this photo and profile to college coaches.
• The club can hyperlink each players name, back to their VID photo and free profile, which contains all the information college coaches need to connect with players.
• The club coaches will receive access to NCSA's recruiting education information which is constantly updated per NCAA/NAIA/JC rule changes, academic eligibility information, etc.

NCSA is focused on becoming a resource for club volleyball programs and players; as a reminder, NCSA has a fantastic free site which provides amazing information and for those families which need more support, the premium site of NCSA is the best in the business.

Please do share this post with your club volleyball director and/coaches! If the V-CAP is something which would be helpful, please have them contact me at msonnichsen@ncsasports.org.  I am currently scheduling club program meetings, and would love to help my readers of collegevolleyballcoach.com!

College Volleyball Recruiting for the rising Senior!!

Hello Coach,

I’ll start by saying you and your book have been a great resource for us through the years. 

My rising Senior (2016) has been playing club for 7 years.   She is an undersized OH, athletic kid with quick reflexes and hops.  She has been emailed a few times by a couple of  D1s who have seen her in person and on video.   This was earlier in her junior year.  Now that we are closing in on the end of the season, no one is reaching out or responding to her emails or calls…guess they found that taller kid.  So in our mind they are no longer interested in her.  Sorry to say we have not reached out to as many colleges as we should have and now we are afraid she has missed out on local opportunities cause we live in one of those perpetually sunny states.  We are going to one major year-end tournament and we will send out video and emails.  We are focusing mainly on D2 and NAIAs.   Unfortunately, many of the D2/NAIA programs in our state that she would be a fit for, will not be travelling to this tournament. 

You have written often that shorter OHs, DS and Liberos tend to get recruited late, and sometimes into the senior year.   But do the schools who are considering these girls actually reach out to the potential recruit, with a “hi, saw your video and think you might be a fit”, or “let’s keep in touch?”  Since many times even the coach doesn’t know if he/she will need someone until they end their season, and since it takes work to keep a gaggle of girls on hold, maybe they won’t.   With divisions other than D1, the roster is so large that it’s hard to know who got recruited and who just showed up at a tryout, so is she just suppose to cold call them and ask if they are recruiting her position/class?

We are just in a quandary on who to reach out to, and what to expect/hope for.  She will be focusing on her academics her last year, taking on AP classes that require a great deal more time.  She will be applying and has a good likelihood of admission to her dream school, that happens to be a high level D1 program.    Just trying to figure out if she should drop club volleyball all together and focus on having fun (all those senior outings that compete for time against the tournament schedule) and finishing strong her senior year, or pay and play one more year of club with the hope of getting some athletic monies. 

P.S. we just signed up with NCSA a month ago, because what we were doing beforehand just ate up too much of our time with few results.  NCSA is a great tool and families should seriously consider them as far back as sophomore year.  I think if we had done so, she would have had much more interest by now cause of course we would have sent out hundreds of emails and it would have been easier to assess the fit of the school had we used NCSA. 

Signed,

Mom of a great kid and athlete

I am glad to hear that the website and book has been a resource, and that you are happy with the support that NCSA Athletic Recruiting has been able to provide.  

Before I answer your question and provide my world class volleyball recruiting advice, your daughter needs to answer this question - Does she want to play college volleyball?  If the answer is NO, then drop club, focus on academics and test preparation, and enjoy the wonderful experience of being a senior in high school.  If the answer is YES, then stay the course and manage the process.

For a rising senior, the next 4 months are the toughest 4 months of the recruiting process:

- The college volleyball coaching carousel of job changes has been completed, so there will be no roster openings as a result.

- The club volleyball season has come to a close (excepting the championship events), which means that the active evaluation of players is finished for the year.  Even at the championship events, college coaches are just babysitting….

-  Any roster openings on teams as a result of academics, injury, boyfriends, Powerball winning numbers, getting cut because of the wrong style hair bow will have occurred in the late spring.

-  College coaches will slow down the process and go quiet with recruits because they want to wait to see what happens in the fall.

- It is not until after the college volleyball season gets going that coaches know who arrived out of shape, who did not recover from an injury, who did not pass a necessary summer school class, who was not as good as they thought she would be, who is going to get fired, etc.

Because of this combination of the club season ending, college coaches going quiet and the many months until active recruiting ramps back up in the later fall, senior families can become discouraged with the process, or take an opportunity which is not really the best fit for the family.

What the families are not able to see, is all the opportunities which will come next club season.  From elite DI to JC, there will be a significant number of scholarship and roster openings.  Today's collegiate volleyball environment is fluid; roster openings, job openings, players quitting, players getting cut, etc., etc. etc.  

Each winter and spring, I get many emails from coaching friends of mine asking about available seniors; again, from elite DI to JC's.

The senior families which have the best success in late recruiting (after the fall of their senior year) are the ones who stay consistent with their outreach and communication, keep evaluating their recruiting comfort zone, and most of all, stay patient in managing the process.  

Often times, I will get emails from senior volleyball families who had committed in the summer because they were nervous about finding anything the next club season, only to discover there were many opportunities which were better than what they committed too!

Especially since you have a NCSA Athletic Recruiting Premium membership, maximize that amazing resource to evaluate potential schools/programs, load up current video and stay consistent in your outreach efforts.

Simple advice; if she wants to play college volleyball, stay the course and patiently manage the process because I speak (write) the truth of recruiting.

College Volleyball and Recruiting Services

Hi Coach,

I am on my second go around with a VB student athlete. Oldest plays at DIII Franklin & Marshall where she is a sophomore. My youngest is a sophomore in high school. I know you have a relationship with NCSA but I was wondering with the proliferation of recruiting services over the last few years, is there something coaches are looking for in the way they are contacted and presented an athlete? Are do it yourself videos and direct contacts still effective? Are there recruitment services that are better than others because they charge more/specific to vb/ endorsed by USAV?

Thanks in advance, your answers have always been helpful in the past.

P.E.

Anything a recruiting service does, a family can do.  It is just a question of whether or not the family has the time and technological ability to manage today's recruiting processes.  The proliferation of recruiting services is due to technology becoming manageable/accessible and the quick capture/distribution of video.  So, yes, a family can still manage the process by using youtube or vimeo for posting videos and directly contacting college volleyball coaches.

College coaches are constantly looking for talent - That is the bottom line; talent.  If the representation of these talents is delivered quickly and easily 'digestible' to the college coach then this is a better vehicle in the evaluation of a recruit. Professional or home made, the talent is what matters.

As you noted, I have a relationship with NCSA - they were the recruiting service I used when I was a NCAA DI coach.  I found them to be the best in delivering to me recruits which best fit the parameters of my recruiting needs and presenting these recruits in a manner which was easy for me to evaluate.  In my opinion, the NCSA premium service is still the best in the business because of how much effort they put into college coach relations and working with recruits/families to find that best collegiate fit!

Congratulations on your oldest's career at Franklin and Marshall and good luck with the youngest one's recruiting process!

Coach

Understanding and Managing the Recruiting Process

Coach,

My daughter will be 16 October 16^th and she plays high school volleyball and basketball but volleyball is her passion.  She is 5’11” and 155 pounds and very good shape.  She is an outside hitter but a good back row and defensive player also.  She started playing when she was 9 for a club.  She started in 8^th grade as a RS and definitely contributed to the team winning the state championship but was not the star of the team.  This past year as a 9^th grader she was the leader of the team as Outside Hitter.  She had 450 Kills with a .33 or so kill percentage but also had a good numbers for digs and she is a very good server with something like 163 aces this past year.  

We live in Southeast Alabama and it is not a hot bed of volleyball talent.  Our club until last year had never taken a team to a national tournament except a 12s team by our current High School Coach. My daughter is driven and not by me and I understand that as my dad played thru me for football and I did not really enjoy it. 

She is doing strength training and will start doing agility and speed training along with some other private lesson stuff this summer prior to school season all coordinated by me.  I fortunately can in various ways support her but continue to ask her is she doing this for her and there is no doubt as she as her high school coach says has something special. 

I own and run a business with 50 employees give or take but the most stress in my life comes from wondering am I doing the right things to help her.  No one that I know can tell me anything as no one from this area has ever had an opportunity to play at a higher level especially D1.  I am trying to give her that opportunity if she has the ability.  We have had coaches call about her a little as a 14 and a 15 either because they saw her profile or saw her play.  Generally small colleges except one D1 that I sent her profile to that I sort of have a connection to the assistant coach.

I would appreciate any advice you might have on anything but especially the following subjects:

1. How do you know whether they really want you to come to camp or if you just are on the mailing list for them to make money?

2. Should we play for the better club that will require we drive 1.5 hours each way for practice.  I think she should as if she does not play at that level she will not continue to get better and we also will not get to go to larger tournaments to be seen as time goes on.

3. Should I or she be sending out her profile to coaches.  Should she be calling coaches.  Is it too early.  Her video we are doing should be ready in the next few weeks.

4. Should she concentrate on getting better this summer in lieu of going to camps.  Have someone who was a good hitter from FSU that can work with her this summer.  She is already doing strength and agility training and will continue.

5.  Are we both crazy?  LOL!!!!  I can see myself possibly giving her the opportunity to burn herself but she continues to show no signs of it.  She has a drive in volleyball (and other sports as well as academics) that I have in business.  I see her  being involved in it one way or another the rest of her life.  On the court is one of the places she is truly happy.

Please let me know what you think and any suggestions.

Thank you.

G.H.

Before I say anything else, I will say this - RELAX...........The mere fact that you have written to me to ask intelligent questions about the recruiting process while your daughter is just a freshman, means you are miles ahead of the average parent of a Prospective Student Athlete.  In Inside College Volleyball, I write about the need for parents to have balance with the recruiting process.

I will respond to your questions, based upon the following information you provided:

- Current Freshman in High School.

- 5'11' OH, touching 9'9" as a 15 year old.

- Weaker volleyball state (both club and high school reputations).

And now to your questions/answers:

1.  At this time segment, camps are just a revenue generation for collegiate programs.  I would think they would love to have her on campus to recruit her, and they would really love for you to pay a camp fee to have her on campus so they can recruit her.  If you have read my site, you know that I am extremely hesitant to use collegiate camps for recruiting - That is an awful lot of money for exposure to one school.  

2.  When picking a club, two areas should be examined (beyond cost/distance) - How good is the training in practice, and what is the playing schedule.  Volleyball is a sport where players get better in practice, not competition.  If the practice training is not good, then they will be limited in their improvement (too many 'big' clubs fool parents into thinking the training is great, when in fact, it is the competitive level which makes the player better (but not nearly as good as a good practice environment).  With travel tournaments, you want to have a balance; playing in 4 National Qualifiers is expensive, time consuming and hard on the players with little additional exposure.  Playing in zero National Qualifiers (or very large non NQ events) is a negative for recruiting because the largest numbers of collegiate coaches attend the NQ's (or very large non NQ events).  Assuming that you can afford the time and money to attend a different club, make your club selection based upon the above points.

3.  Again, if you have read my site, you will know one of my tenets is Freshman Free, Sophomore Slow.  Right now, they only thing you should be doing (other than educating yourself, which you are doing by reading this), is just enjoying the fact your daughter plays volleyball and likes it.  Do not send out videos, do not send out emails, do not call coaches, do not use the club as an intermediary. Freshman Free!  After the HS season has ended next fall, then start to reach out to collegiate coaches with current video (reach out is based upon your family's comfort zones) in preparation for the upcoming club season.  Then, go Sophomore Slow - slowly review all the potential schools/coaches because things have changed drastically in collegiate athletics within the last 10 years.

4.  I would skip camps, unless it is a camp well known to develop skill sets or teach new techniques (which is hard over just a couple of days).  As she is an OH, better for her to play sand/beach/grass/open gym, so she can get plenty of touches in a positive environment.  If there is someone she can get good touches, then that is great - But private lessons are only as good as the person giving them.  I would rather have her play weekend beach/sand doubles tournaments or go to open gym a couple of times a week to play pick up VB, then do 10 camps and 10 weeks of private lessons.

5.  You are not crazy; you are just going too hard, too fast right now - Now is the time to slow everything down and understand that you have plenty of time, and it is better to slow down now because it may not be possible to slow down later.

I see two main 'mistakes' that parents make with the recruiting process - They either wait too long to get involved, which results in panic and feeling that they missed an opportunity. Or, they start way too early in the active outreach/intensity of the recruiting process, which leads to a high level of stress that cannot be sustained for 4 years.  

Educated yourself about the NCAA rules, get comfortable using technology (or maximize your recruiting service, which should have been NCSA Athletic Recruiting), enjoy the process without getting too caught up in everything.  Because of technology, you can gain plenty of recruiting promotion/exposure for your PSA, and if your family works its way through the process, then she will find the best fit for her collegiate future.  

With her height and athleticism, she will have opportunities...they may not be DI top 10, but they will allow her to make the collegiate choice which best fits her (and the family) comfort zone!

Good luck and slow down for the rest of this year...please.

Coach Sonnichsen

Double Quick of Volleyball Questions!

Hey Coach!

I love your site.  What a font of knowledge.

My daughter is 14 and playing up a year at club.  Her coach pulled her and the other outside hitter aside last week and told them they will be six-rotation players.  He then said his setters "weren't talking" and he need my daughter & the other girl to talk more on the court, to basically be the court captains.

Being a year younger, she's a little nervous and unsure of what to say.  I think she's in her head too much instead of stepping into the action on the court and letting that guide her.  She's very smart about the game for her age.

Any advice for me in pointing her in the right direction?

Thanks,

M.T.

Glad you enjoy collegevolleyballcoach.com and thank you for the compliments - I have written about leadership aspects with Inside College Volleyball, and the book may provide some more suggestions.

I am happy to hear that your daughter is a 6 rotation OH - Nice to see when club teams are not front to backing every single position on the court and the players actually play more than 3 rotations!

My suggestion for her stepping into a verbal or court captain role is to simply Talk about what is going on before/during the match/play.  Talk about who has the seam in passing, who has the middle on defense, call out the hitters on the block, call the ball, call for the set, go slap hands with the team mate that made a good play, call yours, go slap hands when you make a good play, say "my bad" when you do something not good, say "nice pass" when a team mate makes a nice pass, etc.

Coaches sometimes are not specific enough when it comes to the communication they want or expect from their players - They say "talk" or "communicate more" - This is so nebulous.  The players think they have to take charge and be demanding like a general, or they turn into yappy cheerleaders just making noise (instant headache for me!).  Better to view "talking more" as communicating about what is about to happen, what is happening and what just happened.

Good luck!

Dear Coach,

I'm so confused!  My daughter is a freshman and helped her varsity team to a conference championship.  She has also played club for the past 4 years.  Here's where the confusion lies.  Can she write college coaches and submit her film?  Should I write college coaches and submit her film?  How does she get on the huge radar (DI/DII or DIII)? There is a major tournament in a couple of weeks in DC and I wanted to get her name out there prior to such a huge event.

Any help would be appreciated.

Volley Mom

First of all, I want you to go to the collegevolleyballcoach.com website and click the Label "Recruiting Plan" - I have also updated and expanded the Recruiting Plan in my book, Inside College Volleyball!  This plan is parent/athlete driven, so you would be doing everything.

If you are not comfortable with technology and the computer/internet (which many people are not because of their busy lives), then I strongly suggest you take a look at using NCSA Athletic Recruiting - They are an outstanding recruiting service, which makes the process so much more manageable for families to achieve their collegiate goals.

The last thing I will say, is that your daughter is just a freshman - She has a long time in the recruiting process and I strongly suggest you keep things mellow this year.  Just let her play and have fun - You take the time to get educated about the protocols, rules, etc. but don't stress out.  One of the biggest mistakes I see families make, is go too hard, too early in the recruiting process - Understand that there will be a world of changes which will occur in collegiate athletics, in club volleyball and the natural maturation of your daughter, that to go gonzo as a freshman will just drive you crazy!

Read the Recruiting Plan, get Inside College Volleyball, contact NCSA Athletic Recruiting by clicking link - Educate and slow down.

Coach

College Volleyball Recruiting Outreach

Hi coach,

I'm concerned that if I send coaches a letter to show interest in their school and tell then about myself, they will simply over look me because I haven't done anything great in my career yet. 

I'm a junior in high school and this was my first year of varsity, and I was a starting outside hitter. Last year I was MVP on my JV team and I played for a 16 twos team at a mediocre club.  Thus year however, I made an 18 nationals team at a great club, so I am hoping to grow a lot this year as a player to get me ready for college level play. For the past few years, I have done both defense and hitting, mainly outside, and I am 5' 7". 

Should I even bother sending coaches a letter until this club season has progressed some, so I can have some good stuff to tell them about my season? I feel like if I send my accomplishments as of now, coaches will ignore me because I have nothing extraordinary going for me. In your experience, coming from where I do, is it even likely I could become good enough play for a division 2 school? 

Even though I haven't been very good previously, the past 2 years I've done training year round and clinics to get me to the level I need to be. I'm willing to continue to work hard to make playing in college a reality. 

Thanks so much for your blog! Its been a great resource for me!

A.H.

Glad you enjoy the site and I hope you have had a chance to read Inside College Volleyball.

College volleyball coaches are focused on your future, not your past. What you did yesterday does not help a college coach tomorrow.  College coaches recruit players based upon what that player can do for the program, when they arrive on campus.  

Ask yourself one question:  Do you believe you have the talent to play college volleyball?  If the answer is yes, then move forward with making this goal a reality.  If you hesitate or say no, then finish out your high school volleyball experience and focus on something else for college.

College coaches don't want to read a book, we want to watch TV.  Don't worry about your letter, worry about getting video in front of a coach's eyes.  You can tell me how great you are and all these amazing things you may have accomplished, but I still want to see video.  Video will tell me everything I need to know, while a letter really does not tell me too much.

I have a couple of suggestions for you:

1.  Take a look at NCSA for recruiting assistance; they have a Free site which is amazing and their Premium site is the best in the country.  Just go to my site, click on the upper right NCSA logo and fill out the landing page information.  It is here that you can research schools, build a free profile, start to search out schools which best fit your athletic, academic and social/geographic comfort zones.

2.  Get some video together and this is easier than you think.  After you have practiced a couple of weeks with your club and your skills are sharp, have your mom/dad/brother/uncle/friend/barista come film you in practice.  Shoot pepper, passing drills, defense drills, hitting lines, etc, then cut up the video into the good stuff and send out to college coaches.  Remember, I want to see you before I read about you.

3.  This is a process and it is something in which there is no perfect path.  You have to just jump in and start swimming.  By working through the process, you will figure out what is best for you, what schools are looking for and find that comfort zone in which you secure your goal.

As a Junior, you still have time for recruiting but you don't have time to wait any longer.  Division II is a great level and as a smaller OH, you can find the right school provided you have an open mind and work the process.

Good luck!