*Originally Posted 4/15/2024 One of the hardest things to do is take schools OFF your list. We typically make two mistakes in this category when when it comes to your list of schools as an athlete: We don't have the right schools on our list in the beginning. We take schools off our list when we shouldn't. We don't have the right schools on our list in the beginning This is normal. I see this all the time. Even when I suggest where athletes should be focusing their time a

Fall volleyball recruiting can be really difficult for many athletes when it comes to connecting with college coaches. Not only are athletes in the middle of their very competitive high school season, but they have to deal with academics, standardized testing, homecoming, relationships and everything else. On top of all that, athletes need to be sending emails to schools to try and get in front of college coaches; learn if their position is getting recruited; build relation

Over the summer, the NCAA made a decision that has gone mostly unnoticed on this side. I won't talk too much about the "why" behind the decision because that will more than likely take me down a giant rabbit hole that is not really beneficial at this point. The NCAA decided to change the rules surrounding the volleyball recruiting questionnaire. It went unnoticed because we had just moved to the other side of June 15th for 2026 class, so the impact for that class was nonexis

Following up is one of the most overlooked keys to success in volleyball recruiting. If sending one more email or text could land you the offer you want, would you take that step? Too many athletes give up after a single attempt, assuming silence from a college coach means “no.” But in reality, consistent and proactive communication is what keeps you on a coach’s radar and can set you apart from the thousands of other athletes hoping for that same opportunity. Recruiting take

Should you reach out to college coaches first at this stage in the recruiting process?

*Originally Posted December 8th, 2023 I'm not great at remembering peoples names. Athletes I can almost always remember. Several times I would be texting my assistant during a visit, asking her the names of the parents that were on the visit with the athlete. Conversations really help. Interactions really help. Connecting the parents to the athlete always helped me: Jim and Pam = Suzie I could work backwards sometimes. Regardless, it was something I really had to focus

Triple Crown is such a great tournament. I know that there is a qualifier prior to this weekend now, but I don't think that changes...

I'm a big fan of honesty. I think it's important. You have to be able to trust people. If you can't trust someone then they can't really help you. That trust goes both ways for athletes and college coaches. One of the conversations that I have had a lot in the last several months with athletes and families is this very topic. I think our natural inclination is to hold back. We don't always want to tell the whole story. We are naturally afraid to put ourselves out ther

I forget regularly that not every club has someone like me working for them. Many clubs have "recruiting coordinators" that help with recruiting, but usually these people have full-time jobs somewhere else; they have administrative duties at the club; or they also coach 2 teams for the club. Not that any of that is wrong, but it's different when I can spend 12 hours in the gym talking to college coaches, parents and athletes vs. other recruiting coordinators that aren't tra

"Why didn't Nora play volleyball at 12s and 13s?" I have never been asked this question. I have had several athletes that starting playing competitive volleyball when they were 16 and 17. Good athletes. Just never had the itch to do club volleyball until after they hit high school. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that! None of them lead their emails with, "I just started playing last year..." or "I haven't been playing volleyball very long..." because that isn't s

*Originally posted 3/1/2022 I wish it was that simple. I wish different variables didn't constantly come up during the recruiting process. If you're expecting one article, blog post, phone call or meeting to be sufficient in helping you get through your recruiting process till the end, you're probably going to miss out or be lost at some point. The "P" in PRI stands for "Parallel". The idea is that I am coming alongside families and athletes throughout their entire proces

*Originally posted 11/10/2022 Here is the podcast episode on this same topic - give it a listen! Be sure to "Follow" the PRI Talk podcast as well! I often talk about understanding and knowing recruiting rules for various levels or divisions. I think it's important to at least know and understand what is going on around you as you go through this process. I talked about this a lot during the pandemic as I would regularly hear from parents and athletes that they "couldn't ta

Want to stand out in the recruiting process? Try asking these questions and HELP your recruiting process! Are you interested in a...

*Originally posted 7/13/2020 I personally hate the little red dots that appear in the corner of each app. I basically do whatever I need...

*Originally posted 10/14/2021 To start, it definitely depends on WHEN you are in the recruiting process. If you are sending out emails...

*Originally posted 5/15/2023 I think one of the false-premises we start with in our recruiting journey, is that college coaches aren't...

I hear this all the time - "It seems that recruiting has gotten really quiet lately" "Recruiting has gotten quiet" "Coaches seem to have gone quiet" The explanation for things getting quiet from athletes and families is that the fall college volleyball season has started and college coaches are busy. To be totally fair, there is and can be some truth to this. The fall season is busy. College coaches do like to focus on training, film, opponent prep, travel and other logist

I have this conversation multiple times a year with families and athletes. They are going through the recruiting process, have a couple...

High school volleyball season brings a bunch of extra things onto your plate when it comes to recruiting. One of the more frequent...

One thing that makes June 15th a smoother process for everyone is having the correct contact information available for college coaches. I...