*Originally posted 3/11/2024 When I talk to families or meet them for the first time about volleyball recruiting, I often find that there is a struggle on several fronts to avoid several consistent mistakes. There is still this overwhelming notion that, "If I'm good enough college coaches will find me, contact me and give me an offer." It's not always said in that exact way, but the expectations that are communicated follow this same pattern. We often have a passive minds

If you spend any time on one of the many Volleyball FB groups, it's inevitable that someone will ask about a recruiting service, NCSA, or...

It's a good thing and a bad thing all at the same time. Limiting your college options is both helpful and discouraging. In one sense we have a focused group of schools or locations that help us really narrow down where we are looking and who we should be reaching out to. Contrast that with someone that is mostly wide open and willing to go anywhere. "I only want to play D1 and stay close to home" Great! There are a number of D1 schools in and around Texas. But what facto

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. Not every family has t

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. When this does come up I almost always feel like it's an issue we are dealing with later than we should. I think the same way about both of these extremes. Athletes that are going to struggle academically and athl

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