Women's Pro Beach Volleyball - Kerri Walsh Jennings

An interesting read about the women's professional beach volleyball tour, the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP - I actually played on this tour back in the day when the prize money was big and we had over 20 events across the USA!) and the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics!

http://www.espn.com/espnw/feature/19869772/kerri-walsh-jennings-draws-line-sand

I would encourage VolleyFolks to bookmark the espnw site, as this seems to be the one constant national media outlet providing any coverage of women's volleyball (college or the beach).

For instance, there is a big international women's indoor tournament being played right now, with teams playing at sites across the world and I can't find coverage on any of the media outlets.  My only information is coming from the FIVB (plus USA Volleyball and Puerto Rico Volleyball) site, which is actually streaming matches and showing some great highlights (like Japan beating Brazil 17-15 in the 5th with some crazy defense!).

College Volleyball Summer Recruiting

College volleyball recruiting is a year round endeavor for coaches but there are slow times in the recruiting calendar and we are entering one of these 'slow' times.

Currently, college volleyball coaches are coming back from vacations (I know this because I used vacation time in late May and early June, and I see all the Facebook posts from my coaching friends in such exotic locations as Pensacola, Florida), going to USA Volleyball Nationals or the AAU Championships if the budget allows, along with preparing for the 863 camps they will run in July and finally making those last minute preparations for the fall season (which is time consuming because of all the details which must be checked, double checked, signed, copied, approved and submitted).  

The National Championships (USA Volleyball and AAU's) are more see and be seen, rather than the active recruiting of the winter spring club season with the National Qualifiers and Super Regionals.  The Championships are where college coaches check in with their committed/signed athletes, take a 2nd or 3rd look at players in their databases, and generally walk around like human sign boards so their school can be recognized by that needle in a haystack great kid from Twin Falls, Idaho.

This quadrangle of vacation, championships, camps and season preparation, conspire to drive VolleyFamilies to distraction because the recruiting tempo and communication have changed.  Parents and players, especially rising Juniors and Seniors, get panicked because they are coming off a very active recruiting period (the winter/spring club volleyball season) and now........recruiting has gone into slow motion.

Online and in person (yes, I have old school face to face conversations with families while I am at events for NCSA Next College Student Athlete), I encourage families to stay focused and patient, rather than PANIC (at the Disco).  During the spring, many VolleyFamilies were engaged in active communication (either email/text/voice) with college coaches and then, these conversations slowly died.  All too often, the parents/players feel that they will not get recruited next season and must take whatever offer they can at this moment.

As I have written in the past and spoke of with VolleyFamilies, college coaches are playing possum right now - We have purposely slowed down the recruiting because we need to focus on other areas, and we don't want to get busy with recruiting until later in the fall.  

Once we have got through the camp season, through the arrival of our team, and into our collegiate season, then we will once again engage in active recruiting.  We go 'quiet' in recruiting because we want time to determine exactly what we need in recruits for the next two seasons - We won't know what we need until the end of the current collegiate season.

College coaches, in all divisions/classifications, have learned that today's collegiate volleyball life is fluid.  Gone are the days where a coach can bank on having a job for 8 years and needing 3 athletes per year. Because of this, we employ a two part recruiting mentality - 1) the for sure needs; 2) the post season needs.  #1 is fairly easy; we are graduating 3 Middle Blocker's in 2020, so we will for sure need a MB or two in 2020.

#2 is a learned response - Stuff happens after the collegiate season which affects our immediate recruiting needs:

- We get fired.

- We get a new job; new coaches bring in new recruits because the days of the Athletic Director saying graduate all the current players and slowly build up your team are gone; everyone wants to win now and the victims are often the current players.

- We get threatened with termination; Athletic Director says we need to win next year or we are gone which results in coaches doing everything they can to bring in day one impact players (international, transfers, etc).

- Player quits; this is more and more common because players are committing in kindergarten and when they actually arrive to campus, they don't like the coaches, players, dorms, food, team mates, academics or campus.

- Coach cuts player(s); developing talent has given way to recruiting talent.  It is easier to cut and recruit, than train and develop.

- Player suffers career injury; this happens less than in the past because of the big strides in sports medicine. But it does happen, so college coaches suddenly need a passing Outside Hitter that they didn't need a week ago.

VolleyFamilies cannot control the recruiting process but they can manage the process.  Effective management is understanding the protocols and timing of today's recruiting process.

My suggestions:

1)  Accept that this is a slow time, and focus more on volleyball and vacation and camps and recovery and rehabilitation, instead of recruiting.

2)  After Nationals, or if you are not at Nationals, allow your body and mind to recover and recharge.  Small injuries should be rehabilitated and you should enjoy a solid block of non volleyball time.

3)  Focus on skill development; your ability will determine your opportunity.  Either in camps or clinics or private lessons, if you have listened to your coaches, you should know exactly which skill sets you should be improving.

4) Keep in contact with those programs you are currently engaging with (even if they have gone quiet) but understand that this is a slow time for all.

5)  Review your recruiting efforts to this point - Have you been writing Top 25 schools and none have replied?  Then you are shooting to high.  Have you written the bottom 25 schools and all have offered you a scholarship?  Then you should consider reaching out to a higher ranking of schools.  Have your academic goals changed?  Are you more or less open to various regions of the country? Etc, etc, etc...

6)  Enjoy your high school season.  This is something which I think gets lost in the club volleyball and college recruiting culture.  I understand that some high school teams are great while others can be a near waste of 2 hours.  Beyond golden (like Greenwood) or garbage, you are still representing something which is larger than yourself and will reside in the record books.  

7)  As late October rolls around, reengage actively with your current schools and reach out to as many schools which fit your recruiting comfort zone.  Remember that the collegiate seasons' start to wind down in late October and finish in mid-November - this is when the collegiate recruiting craziness starts up full tilt and you want to be front side of this madness.

In closing; stay recruiting patient now and focus inside to set the table for a successful winter recruiting.

Coach

Club Volleyball National Championship Recruiting

Good afternoon Coach!

Thanks for all the effort you put into the blog, we are religious readers!

My question is a general question about the GJNC's held each year.  Our team is going again, and we're always excited to earn a bid to participate.  Indianapolis, here we come!

I was speaking to a coach not so long ago about the dovetail between this event and the recruiting process.  Her firm opinion is that college coaches only look at players in the Open or National divisions.  While I am sure that is a great place to start for a coach, I told her she was bananas.  We agreed to disagree, but I though you'd be able to shed some light on the matter.

Secondly, it is clear from my experience that there are so many college coaches at GJNC's it is impossible to really sort them all out.  Frankly, at some courts last year there were more coaches than family members watching matches.

What would you recommend to a player just getting started in the recruiting game in terms of reaching out to coaches at GJNC?  Are they looking at kids for the first time?  Checking on their current short list?  Other than the standard email/video/resume attachment, what would be an effective way to get a look?  What age should a potential college player begin sending out these emails for an event like GJNC?

And lastly, if a team is competing in both AAU's and GJNC, any thoughts about what type of coaches attend one vs. the other?  Both? 

Many thanks for your time,

VolleyMom

Thank you for the compliments and reading collegevolleyballcoach.com.

The club season whizzed by as usual; guess the next big tourneys are the national championship events (AAU and USAV).

The college coach you chatted with, about the Open/National divisions being the only divisions college coaches attended for players, would have better to define her opinion a bit more; she may have been meaning to say that NCAA Division I college coaches dominantly look at the Open/National divisions for recruiting.  

As I have written before in Inside College Volleyball and spoke about often, college coaches recruit talented players.  By the classifications of club volleyball and the way that club programs structure their age group teams, the majority of talented players would be playing within the Open/National level; especially for Division I and elite Division II.  When you step outside of the DI/DII elite category, you will see college coaches searching for talent within in all classifications because they know they just can't walk up to that court with 20 DI college coaches standing around and effectively recruit.

The championship time frame (those weeks capturing the AAU and USAV) are a mixed bag of recruiting for all divisions of college volleyball.  In general, the NAIA/JC/DIII and mid level DII programs are only going to a championship if that event is drivable; it is just too expensive to attend AAU's if you are a DII coach in Oregon.  

For those programs which attend the championships, these DI/DII programs will be multi tasking - Babysitting their signed players, babysitting their verbally committed players, court sitting for players who they have offered, making final evaluations on recruits, doing initial in person evaluations on recruits who have sent video, keeping an eye out for players they may have missed, etc.  Each program will have their specific tasks at the championships and those tasks easily change year to year.

The recruiting mindset of VolleyFamilies must be the same as with any other National Qualifier - Email updates to college programs you are in conversation with (what court, what time, etc), reach out to new programs with video, re-reach out to programs who may have not responded or told you 'no' (just because things can change in recruiting weekly), etc.

As for those college programs attending both USAV Junior Nationals and AAU National Championships, they will be the DI programs which enjoy very good funding.  The two mid-level DI programs at which I was the head  coach, we did not have the budget to attend both championships.

Good luck in Indianapolis and USA Junior Nationals - I won't be there, but I will be at AAU's in Orlando at the NCSA Athletic Recruiting booth!

Coach Sonnichsen

Post Club Volleyball Season College Recruiting

May, the month of the club volleyball season which seems years away when all the annual club craziness started last November.  

As a club volleyball family, May is either the end of the season or a small breather before ramping up for the national championship tournaments.   Below, you will read the greatest advice ever for the next steps in the recruiting process during the month of May.

Club Season is Done:

Wow, that was a quick season!  The good news is that you have no more monthly payments, no additional travel costs and having to show your wristband to walk in the door and watch your baby girl play volleyball.  You can actually have a weekend free, take a family trip to WallyWorld and go visit those grandparents you have been ignoring for the last three months (and no, they really don't like sitting in a convention center with all the chaos and random volleyball flying around).

For the collegiate recruiting process, you are no longer in a situation where a college coach can see you play in person.  That is the biggest downside of not continuing the club volleyball season into the national championship events.  But, this downside is not really as steep as you might think.

• If you have been reaching out to college programs with video during the club season, then interested college coaches would have already seen you in person.
• Believing that you did reach out to the correct programs and reached out often (please follow my often written advice on collegevolleyballcoach.com and Inside College Volleyball), then the national championship events, from a recruiting perspective, are no different than a late season national qualifier.
• The college volleyball coaching changes have occurred in the early spring, and the corresponding or independent roster changes have also occurred in the early spring.  The table is set for the next recruiting cycle.

Your focus needs to be upon three areas:

1. Rest/Recover/Rehabilitation - Your club season has run from November to May.  That equates to thousands of impacts on hard surfaces and a ton of swings.  Knees, ankles, back, shoulders, hair ties, have all been pounding for months. This is a large amount of wear and tear upon the body and the body must heal.  If it is sore, rest will help but if it hurts, you need to see a doctor/trainer and start rehabilitation.  Resting does not fix pain, resting just masks it.
2. Skill improvement - After you are back physically (whether that takes 1 week or 3 months), then target those areas which need to improve.  If you paid attention to your club coach(es), then it should be obvious about the skills you should focus upon.  If you did not use your ears, then remember what you saw - Who was the best player in your position that you saw this club season?  Mimic what she did; you can't control your height but everything else can me improved.
3. Recruiting management - Just because your club volleyball season has ended does not mean your recruiting season has ended.  Recruiting is now a 12 month a year effort and those families which are consistent and focused in their management of the process, are the ones which enjoy the luxury of choice.  You should still be making videos (open gym, private trainings, camps), still be reaching out to college coaches, still engaged in communication with college programs and still determining which programs would be a good fit for the future.
4. Enjoy being a kid - What? What is this crazy advice?  Be a kid?  Yes, for the love of Tachikara, be a kid!  As quickly as the teens want to grow up these days, they are still just kids and that whole adulthood thing will be here too soon.  Hang out with your friends, go to the beach, stay up all night on a sleepover, set up a lemonade stand and donate all the profits to a charity, etc.

National Championship Events (We are going to Disneyworld!....or Indianapolis....):

While the national championship represents the end of the season and competition against the nation's best in hope of garnering the number one ranking, from a recruiting perspective, the championships are no different than a late season national qualifier.

You still want to keep communicating with college volleyball coaches, you still want to reach out to new programs or re-reach out to a program which may have said no (if you know that the program would be a good fit for you) earlier in the year - While the tempo of college volleyball program changes (coaches/players) may have drastically slowed down from earlier in the spring, stuff happens.

When you are at the championship, don't get too caught up in the recruiting process as it relates to how your team is doing.  College coaches don't put any additional value on the championship versus  watching you play in a February practice.  Just play to the best of your ability and forget those logo wearing crazy college coaches walking around.  I had a recruit who's team did not win a set at Nationals; not one set, much less a match.  Her team winning or losing at the championship did not mean a thing to me.  She was a quality player and person who was an immediate positive to my collegiate team.

Focus instead on the recruiting management before you ever step foot in the the Sunshine or Hoosier State - Reach out to college programs, send video taken recently, re-reach out because the worse case scenario is the coach hits the delete button, and don't get stressed about this being the championship with regards to recruiting; for college coaches this is another tournament to recruit at.

As the championships don't start until mid to later June, you have a small window of time to rest and heal your body.  As per the examples above, you have been physically stressing your body for months and now is the time to recover.  Find time to rest anything that is sore, go see a specialist if something hurts and if all is good, then keep your conditioning steady, so there is no drop off in your physicality pre nationals.  

Lastly, use this segment to generate some new video; either cut up footage of your last national qualifier or film a trainings session or two.  Remember that college coaches don't need fancy video  they just need recent video.

Have a great summer if you are free and Good luck at the Championships if you are playing!

Succesful College Volleyball Recruiting

Hi Coach-

       

        Let me begin by saying that we live in Connecticut. (Already at a significant disadvantage in the volleyball world we know.)   That being said we also live in a small town therefore a small high school with few girls that have a passion for the sport as my daughter does. This has been quite frustrating for her.  We were lucky enough to have a great high school varsity coach my daughters freshman year who sadly left after this season to take on a job as college recruiter which leaves us a bit lost in the college recruiting process going into her sophomore year. (with the exception of course being my handy copy of "Inside College Volleyball") This coach has been very encouraging in my daughters future and has even made reference to recruiting her himself to his DII program.  

We are following your advice on the steps to take but I guess my main concern for my 14 year old 5'8" setter is how to help her improve.  She has played on 16's and 17's club teams  for the past 3 years and she has tried out for the region HP and USAV programs and is waiting to hear the results.  We have looked at new college recruits personal bios and have never even heard of some of the awards they have won let alone be in the running.  It doesn't help that she would like to go to school down south  -leaning toward North Carolina (we are realists,  we know being a Tar Heel is not in her future ;)

- How do we know which schools are low DI vs. high DII etc. 

ok a few more questions

- If she were to make the HP regional team and although NERVA team will get their butts handed to them for the most part...should my daughter  contact college coaches that she will be in Fort Lauderdale this summer for the HP Championships.  Our club does not do many Qualifiers or go down to Orlando for AAU so this may be her only chance to be see

- Is there an advantage to prep school??

- All honesty...do college coaches give less attention to athletes from our region...I guess I wouldn't blame them.

Thanks so much  

Any other advice would be welcome.

J.K.

Thank you for your email and for purchasing a copy of Inside College Volleyball!

You find yourself in the same situation as many VolleyFamilies - Living in a part the country that is not known for college volleyball recruiting.  Ultimately, because the USA is so large and our sport is played everywhere, there are more parts of the country NOT known for Volleyball recruiting.

This used to be more of a detriment in year's past, but now because of technology and because the sport is found everywhere, players can overcome their geography.

Volleyball recruits must understand that college coaches recruit talent; if you have the talent to make their team better, then the coach will recruit you.  If you are from Texas, but don't have a bunch of talent, you won't be recruited, even though you are from a prime college volleyball recruiting region.

While the volleyball recruiting areas may have more club choices, access to additional events, etc., recruits can overcome not having these luxuries by being focused.  It is just a matter of putting in the time; getting into a gym and having a buddy (or sister/dad/mom/brother/uncle) serve you balls, toss you balls to hit, etc.  Go to a well regarded camp, go to find a sand volleyball summer league, go find grass tournaments, start a fitness program, do yoga, etc.  

And now, your questions:

- The ranking of NCAA Volleyball programs (DI/DII/DIII) can be found at www.ncaa.com - This is the competitive site of NCAA athletics which will list the RPI, Regional rankings, tournament results, etc.  A low DI, are schools ranked below 200 in the RPI and a high DII, would be those in the Top 25 or top 3 of their Regional Rankings.

-   The High Performance program should not be viewed as a recruiting vehicle.  The USA HP program is the vehicle in which volleyball players can represent the USA in international competitions, and it can be a good skill training opportunity.  It is best not to think of HP as a recruiting opportunity.  Because of how busy college coaches are with their own camps, preparing for the August start of their collegiate season and trying to take a day or two off, they usually don't go out recruiting after Junior Nationals and AAUs are done.  There is no harm in inviting schools to watch her in Fort Lauderdale, but I would not expect too much response.

-  I am not as familiar with Prep School, as this type of opportunity does not seem to be used by volleyball recruits.  I think that players which may be a bit inexperienced or need to garner a higher level of training, will instead go to a Junior College for a year or two.  The JC route is a great opportunity, which more and more players are smart to choose.

-  College coaches are limited by their budget and staffing.  Even the power conference DI programs will have some limitations on where they can afford to recruit; it is not like football and basketball where they have a blank check for recruiting.  When a program is outside of the DI power conferences, and especially outside of DI, the coaches have severe limitations on how they can effectively recruit.  Because of this, they will want to spend their budget and staff wisely, which means staying within region and/or attending the very large club tournaments here they 'see' thousands of players.  So, yes, college coaches will not pay much attention to regions which are outside of their comfort travel zone or don't have a huge national event.

For those families which fall into this category, using technology is very important.  If a coach can't come see you, then you need to be sending that coach updated videos.  If you are attending a larger regional tournament or national tournament in your region, then you have to reach out to any and all potential programs to strongly encourage them to come see you play.  

Again, if you have talent which will make a collage program better, then they will recruit you.  But, you have to be the one helping them 'find you'.

Coach

USA Volleyball High Performance Team question….another one….

Hi coach -

My daughter recently was invited to the USAV HP select A2 camp this summer as a setter.  She is on the young side of the select age group as she is an eight grader and the select age group includes both 9th graders and 8th graders.  More specifically, kids born in 2000 and 2001.

I've heard conflicting reports from parents regarding the value in attending the A2 camp as it is not the elite A1 group and thus the A2 kids don't get to compete in the HP Championships attended by many college recruiters (allegedly).  Can you tell me if in fact college recruiters attend the HP Championships en masse as implied by the USAV literature and secondly is there value in attending the A2 camp from a skill improvement as well as exposure to collegiate recruiters?

Any guidance you can give would be extremely helpful in understanding the USAV HP program from a skill improvement perspective as well as a stage with which to be seen by collegiate recruiters at both the A1 and A2 groupings within the select age group.

Best,

TD

USA Volleyball High Performance Teams and college volleyball recruiting are two separate entities.  The HP teams are specific to USA Volleyball's efforts in selecting which athletes will represent the USA in international competitions.  I believe the philosophy of the HP program is good because, in theory, it creates the avenue for non biased opportunity to join the national team (don't have to play for a certain college or university to wear the USA uniform).  But, what concerns me, are the many variations of the HP program (A2, Region HP, HP camps, etc.) which seem to be nothing more than a money grab by USA volleyball in some form.

I cannot comment on the number of college volleyball coaches who attend the HP championships or the various training teams for recruiting, because I have never attended one (even when I coached).  I feel that this number cannot be too large simply because the USA Volleyball Junior Championships and AAU Championships were just a couple of weeks before, where the coaches can see a majority of the players, in addition to thousands more.  My instinct its hat because of budgets, summer camps and recruiting energy, the college programs which are attending the HP championships are upper level DI programs who are 'baby-sitting' their top recruits.  

One would hope that attending the A2 training camp would be a positive, but it is not like Coach Karch or his staff is running this camp.  USA Volleyball, out of staffing necessity, 'borrows' many college coaches to run the various camps; these coaches range from very talented to not very talented.  In theory, each high level touch will make a player better.  

BUT, if a player just finished a 7 month club season, including USA/AAU championships, then maybe, just maybe it is a good thing to let the player rest and recover.  There is a very real concern college coaches have (outside of upper DI) and this called burn out.  Player's coming into college with stress related injuries is more common because the club season has gotten longer and the number of 'USA Volleyball' opportunities in the summer time have expanded.  With the club season championships ending in early July and the high school season starting in early August, this leaves just one month of down time for today's high school volleyball player.

As I have written on many occasions, a player's college volleyball opportunities will be determined by their ability and their outreach.  If the A2 experience can safely increase the abilities of a player, and the player is consistent in their outreach efforts, then that is great.  But, there are many "buts" in this situation…..

Coach

USA Volleyball High Performance Team question….

Hi,
 
My daughter attended a USAV High Performance try-out at one of the recent National Qualifying Tournaments.  She tried out as an O/S hitter (even though she is only 5'8") and received back notification that she was an alternate for the Women's Jr. National A1 Training Team.  Last night we received official invitation that a spot had opened up for her, making  her one of 33 girls (born in 96-97)  attending  this camp and championship tournament.   How likely is it that a player with this type of talent/recognition winds up with a college scholarship?   She has terrific overall skills and is great defensively, but we have always assumed her too short to be a player that could wind up with a scholarship.  What are your thoughts?  Are there any statistics that show USAV HP Pipeline players scholarships?  
 
Thank you for any insight you might have.  My daughter is honored (and slightly astonished!) to have been offered this camp.  With an 11/97 birthday, she was competing with some girls almost two full years older than her.   
 
Thank you for any help you can give this proud Mom of a short girl with "mad hops".
 
Warmly,

E.M.


Congratulations on your daughter's selection to the USA Volleyball's A1 Training Team.  

It is important to distinguish the national development teams from college volleyball and recruiting.  The various USA Volleyball programs are specific to determining the 12 athletes which will ultimately represent the USA in the world competitions, with the Olympic being the most recognized.

College volleyball recruiting is a different environment - Of course, a majority of the A1 training team will receive a college volleyball scholarship but this is not the result of being named to the team.  The A1 athletes have an elite level of ability and the training team will empower them to develop their skill sets to an even high level during the course of the program.

A college scholarship is not determined or directly influenced by the A1 team.  A number of athletes may very well have committed to their future college even before being named to this team.  Those that are still evaluating their options will likely have any number of colleges/universities evaluating them before their selection.

I strongly caution you against making the leap from A1 to automatic scholarship simply because an athlete's ability to receive a scholarship is determined by talent and outreach.  If a player has college volleyball potential and they market/promote themselves to the appropriate level, then they will have the opportunity to play and receive some level of scholarship.  The key to a successful recruiting effort is matching the outreach efforts to the appropriate colleges/universities based upon the particulars of the athlete.

Use the A1 training experience to supplement your outreach effort.  That is great your daughter was selected but the reality is there are 1000's of players just as good who did not try out and/or passed on the invite.  Remember that college volleyball recruiting is a completive situation because the number of quality players vastly exceeds the number of roster and scholarship openings.

Separate USA Volleyball from college volleyball and recruiting; these are two different animals.

Coach

Setter and the College Volleyball Recruiting Process

Hey Coach,

I met you in San Jose at the AVCA College Prep Combine last month, have read your e-book and learned a lot from all of the things that you do so thank you for all of that.

My daughter is a sophomore who has played club volleyball since she was 8.  She is a 5'-10" setter and we are working hard to get her into the best school possible.  Our club season will end in New Orleans at the end of June and her high school will start practicing in mid July.  Obviously not a lot of time for relaxing and in that time she typically goes to college camps.  Oregon last year, Stanford and UCLA this year.  

My question is about the USA HP tryouts or even SCVA HP tryouts.  It seems like making one of these teams is a great accomplishment and I hope that the girls who do get a chance to work with great coaches and learn a lot, but I don't really know if it is something to strive for.  The recruiting coach for my daughter's club just said that it was solely a way for them to make money and that no one should waste their time.  He said the girls were better off going to college camps.  

So I wanted to get your opinion on the subject and ask what is the best thing my daughter can do to help her get recruited by a competitive program?  How should she train and use her time to improve?

Thanks again,

T.B.

Thanks for attending my NCSA Athletic Recruiting Education Talk at the AVCA College Prep Combine

1.  Only use camps for training purposes, not recruiting.  Paying big money to be seen by one college program is not the best choice for resources.

2.  If the HP camp is a good training opportunity, then it is worth it.  The HP camp is a money maker for the Regions and USA Volleyball because the odds of making the national team are 12 in however many post high school age female players are playing volleyball in a 4 year cycle…..Try to connect with families in the region that have participated in a camp/training session with the HP protocols to see if it was good training.

3.  Your daughter's talent will determine her opportunities.

4.  Because you are in Los Angeles, you should definitely take advantage of beach volleyball - She should be playing doubles as often as possible.  As a setter, this will increase her physicality, her explosiveness, her understanding of competitiveness, along with giving her a different training segment than just setting all day long.

5.  As a SoCal player, you must be open enough to consider programs outside of the west coast. Too many Cali VB families keep their collegiate opportunities narrowed to the west coast and won't consider anything east of Las Vegas.  Unfortunately, too many non-west coast college volleyball programs won't actively recruit California kids because they have learned it is a waste of their recruiting time/money.  As a setter (remember that setters only get scholarship recruited every 2 to 3 years, as opposed to every year like a hitter), the best way to provide opportunities with competitive programs is to be active in your outreach to programs outside of California, and specifically say that your daughter wants to go to school outside of California.  If college programs knows you want to leave California, then they will be active in their recruiting efforts!

6.  Patience - Setters tend to be committed later in the recruiting process than hitters, and unless your daughter is a monster or setting freak, she won't secure her opportunity until spring of her Junior year and most likely, not until winter of her Senior Year.

Good luck and keep reaching out in the recruiting process.  Take advantage of your volleyball geography!

Coach

The 14 year old college volleyball recruit….

Hi - Just came across your website, my daughter is 6'2 14 years old, just started playing volleyball last year on a national clubteam, is very good , plays middle.Also plays for a high school that has awesome volleyball program and coaches. She triedout for the USA HP and made the A2 team and went to Colorado this summer and trained and learned so much...

My question is (well 2): I'm finding all of these recruiting websites some free some not, which website do you recommend? Also, what do you think of the HP programs? Verses summer college camps?
I'm also hearing that this year playing 15u Nationals first team is gonna be a big year for her!! Feeling very excited!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

There are any number of recruiting services and with full disclosure, I work for NCSA Athletic Recruiting, which I believe is the best service out there.  I think that their Free site is amazing and a wealth of information (and it is really free); their Premium (paid site) is the best in the business and offers outstanding support.  

Basically, everything a recruiting service does, a family can do - The challenge is, does the family have the time and technological prowess to educate themselves about all the rules/eligibility issues, research schools/programs, make videos, reach out to schools, prepare for visits, etc?  Some families can and some get really overwhelmed.

When looking at the HP program or Summer College Camps, the key is to not view them through the spectrum of recruiting.  The HP program is the avenue to represent the USA in international competition (with the apex being the Olympic team).  College Camps can be a great volleyball vacation or training opportunity (the ONLY time I recommend a college camp for recruiting is if the player has it narrowed down to just a couple of schools and can't really decide; then the camp may help).  

I believe the best way to view the HP program or College Camps is for improving skill sets.  Each avenue has its benefits and challenges; how good are the actual coaches working with your child?  I am rather sure that the DI head coach is not punching balls at camp and Coach Karch is not working with the HP team on blocking footwork.  But, maybe they are????

The Freshman year for tall, talented athletes can be important….but it can also be overwhelming for parents. The excitement of having their daughter getting attention from 50 college programs quickly wears off when the parents realize how aggressive college coaches can be, and the pressure they exert upon families to make a very, way too early decision about their daughter's collegiate future.

In closing, I strongly suggest that you been aware of keeping the tempo of the recruiting process slow and steady; don't get too high, don't get too low.

Coach Sonnichsen

USA Women's Volleyball Team in Omaha!!!!!

Just a quick reminder for all my mid-west VolleyFamilies - Go to Omaha and watch the USA Women's Volleyball team!!!!

Nine team international field set for visit Omaha International Volleyball Championships

September 16-21 tournament at Ralston Arena includes United States, cuba, Dominican republic, Canada and Mexico

Omaha, Neb. – The nine-team international field for the Visit Omaha NORCECA Women’s International Championship volleyball event is set. Along with the world’s top ranked U.S. team, the tournament will feature three-time Olympic Games champion Cuba, 2012 Olympic Games fifth-place team Dominican Republic, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia and Trinidad Tobago.

The competition at the Ralston Arena will run Sept. 16 to 21.

 Members of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team, currently ranked No. 1 in the world and 10-1 during the 2013 season, have had the September dates circled on their calendars for months.

“We think it is phenomenal that we get to host a tournament on U.S. soil, since that doesn’t happen often,” said U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly. “The last tournament we hosted of any importance was the 2009 Pan American Cup.”

 “People in the Omaha area will get to see all the other strong teams in our zone, and that is probably headed by Dominican Republic, who had a really strong finish in the London Olympics,” Kiraly said. “Dominican Republic is always a very dangerous opponent, as is Cuba, who has a great, great tradition of volleyball success including winning three Olympic gold medals in a row in the 1990s and 2000.

The first three competition days, beginning Sept. 16, will involve pool play with three teams in three pools. Quarterfinal round matches are on Sept. 19, followed by semifinals and classification round matches on Sept. 20. The tournament ends Sept. 21 with the medal round and final classification games. Matches each day will be at 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the Ralston Arena box office, online at www.homepridetix.com or via phone at 800-440-3741. Ticket options include an all-tournament pass (Tuesday-Saturday), championship weekend package (Friday-Saturday), or daily session tickets. Daily session tickets start at just $20, weekend ticket start at $50 and all session tickets begin at $110.

Kiraly said the winner of the Visit Omaha NORCECA tournament earns a spot in the season-ending FIVB Grand Champions Cup, adding Team USA perceives the international tournament as an important event in the team’s development and future success.

“The Visit Omaha NORCECA championship is an important tournament and we care about it a lot,” Kiraly said. “Ultimately when you try to qualify for the Olympics, you have to go through and face the teams in your zone and this is one of those opportunities.”

Earlier this summer the U.S. hosted No. 3 Japan in the USA Volleyball Cup and won all three matches in the series held in Southern California. Kiraly said that experience in front of large home crowds will benefit Team USA when it comes to hosting the Visit Omaha NORCECA championship in September.  

USA Women's Volleyball Team in Omaha

If you are within driving distance to Omaha in mid September, you should go to this event - How often can you say you saw the USA Women's National Team when they are #1 in the world?  Watch them play Cuba - Puerto Rico - Dominican Republic - Canada.  

As readers of this website, you have the love of the sport that I do and I would think, you want Volleyball to have the same status as other sports in the USA.  One way to help in this status attainment is to support the top of the pyramid of Volleyball in the USA!

Nine team international field set for visit Omaha International Volleyball Championships

September 16-21 tournament at Ralston Arena includes United States, cuba, Dominican republic, Canada and Mexico

Omaha, Neb. – The nine-team international field for the Visit Omaha NORCECA Women’s International Championship volleyball event is set. Along with the world’s top ranked U.S. team, the tournament will feature three-time Olympic Games champion Cuba, 2012 Olympic Games fifth-place team Dominican Republic, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia and Trinidad Tobago.

The competition at the Ralston Arena will run Sept. 16 to 21.

 Members of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team, currently ranked No. 1 in the world and 10-1 during the 2013 season, have had the September dates circled on their calendars for months.

“We think it is phenomenal that we get to host a tournament on U.S. soil, since that doesn’t happen often,” said U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly. “The last tournament we hosted of any importance was the 2009 Pan American Cup.”

 “People in the Omaha area will get to see all the other strong teams in our zone, and that is probably headed by Dominican Republic, who had a really strong finish in the London Olympics,” Kiraly said. “Dominican Republic is always a very dangerous opponent, as is Cuba, who has a great, great tradition of volleyball success including winning three Olympic gold medals in a row in the 1990s and 2000.

The first three competition days, beginning Sept. 16, will involve pool play with three teams in three pools. Quarterfinal round matches are on Sept. 19, followed by semifinals and classification round matches on Sept. 20. The tournament ends Sept. 21 with the medal round and final classification games. Matches each day will be at 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the Ralston Arena box office, online at www.homepridetix.com or via phone at 800-440-3741. Ticket options include an all-tournament pass (Tuesday-Saturday), championship weekend package (Friday-Saturday), or daily session tickets. Daily session tickets start at just $20, weekend ticket start at $50 and all session tickets begin at $110.

Kiraly said the winner of the Visit Omaha NORCECA tournament earns a spot in the season-ending FIVB Grand Champions Cup, adding Team USA perceives the international tournament as an important event in the team’s development and future success.

“The Visit Omaha NORCECA championship is an important tournament and we care about it a lot,” Kiraly said. “Ultimately when you try to qualify for the Olympics, you have to go through and face the teams in your zone and this is one of those opportunities.”

Earlier this summer the U.S. hosted No. 3 Japan in the USA Volleyball Cup and won all three matches in the series held in Southern California. Kiraly said that experience in front of large home crowds will benefit Team USA when it comes to hosting the Visit Omaha NORCECA championship in September.