Indianapolis is always one of my favorite places to go. Plenty of restaurants downtown and usually some good food trucks outside as well (although that didn't happen this year). If needed, there is always Steak & Shake to bail you out in a pinch; Mint-chocolate chip. Anyone else?

This past weekend in Orlando was a good trip. It felt like a quick trip because of my late flight in on Friday night and my early flight back Monday morning. It was still a good trip though. I got to spend a bunch of time at various courts throughout the weekend. One benefit of traveling more than I have in past years is that I get to see my teams play more!

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 anything. With TC being opening weekend for D1 coaches and because it combines most of the talent from across the country, it really is a top notch event. It's a crazy three days for me but I enjoy going each year.

It's a good thing and a bad thing all at the same time. Limiting your college options is both helpful and discouraging.

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.

Communication is paramount throughout your recruiting process. It is true that you could have a school or coach completely do your recruiting for you: they always reach out to you first; they tell you that they want you to come on a visit; it doesn't matter how long they go without hearing back from you; you always stay #1 on their list regardless of what else goes on. I've seen it! It's possible. But in the grand scheme of recruiting it is rare to see college coaches nud

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

I talk to almost every team at every club I work with about scholarships. It's kind of a lot of information. I also spend a chunk of time talking about scholarships on my online program "So, You'd Like To Get Recruited?" Scholarships are a foundational piece of knowledge that is necessary to understand the recruiting process. I talk about this a lot because not every athlete is going to get a full-ride scholarship. Surprised by that? I hope not.

There are academic standards in place for all levels of volleyball. This usually isn't an issue for most volleyball athletes, but it does come into play sometimes. Based on your GPA and test scores you might miss the mark when it comes to your NCAA eligibility.

Not every athlete starts their recruiting process at the same time. That's completely fine. I talk to families that always feel like they are "late" to the process. In many ways that's not really true. Are there athletes that are already done by the time you start? Sure! But it doesn't mean that you are late. When it comes to "late bloomers" we are in a little bit of a different realm I think. We aren't talking about athletes that have played since they were 11. We a

At the beginning of almost every journey there are foreseeable roadblocks and/or bumps in the road. This is true for every athlete involved in the recruiting process. Some things are preventable or apply less in their situation. We we are proactive about these roadblocks we can limit their negative impact on our recruiting process. Limited Exposure This can certainly be a hindrance for athletes while they go through the recruiting process. In order to get recruited, you

I've been talking the last several nights with athletes that haven't really started their recruiting process yet. This is totally fine. Not everyone starts sending emails when they are a freshman in high school. There are always places to play volleyball. Several schools have reached out to me in the last week alone that need a setter for the next season. Regardless of WHEN you start, in my opinion it is important to make sure that you start. I have been talking to them

Want to stand out in the recruiting process? Try asking these questions and HELP your recruiting process!

With State Champions being crowned last week and in the upcoming week across the country, club season is ramping up and with that comes the need to send emails to college coaches. In those email, you should be including some NEW film from your high school season. Show college coaches the progress you have made this high school season by sending them some new film. Remember, for most of you the last time a college coach watched you was in July. That was 4 months ago. You'

*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 watching your film. The idea is that you might be reaching out to them, they might be getting your email, but they aren't clicking that video link in your email. I want to push back on this premise a little bit and try to answer the question,

*Originally posted September 26th, 2022 I have said in many of my seminars that the libero position is one of the toughest positions to get recruited in volleyball. It's probably a toss-up between the libero and the 6-2 setter as to which is actually the toughest. Either way you want to look at it, it's really hard to get recruited as a libero. I think this is true regardless of the level.

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"

*Originally posted, April 18th, 2022. I am reposting this to start the college season because I think that when you have as many upsets as happened on opening day in a college sport that is followed by millions across the country and you get 0 coverage from the main sports media, it's fair to say we need to be discussing this more. This video link was shared with me multiple times on social media and emailed/texted to me by several other people. I think it's really good.

One issue that I run into with athletes and families is they want to REALLY focus on just these schools. Maybe it's the 5 schools she had phone calls with on June 15th. Or maybe it's the 10 schools she got a camp invite from. Or maybe it's even 1 a school that realistically stands out as the best option. Regardless of your current recruiting situation, you need to keep an open mind going forward. Understanding the worst case scenario can be annoying and hard sometimes, b

In short and in my opinion, no, they shouldn't. If you haven't read "You Only Need One Offer" then go read that blog post as well.