No, You Won't Start Your Freshmen Year

Jason
Jun 19, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Nov 24, 2023

In a similar way that I tackled the notion of college coaches watching your film in a blog post a few weeks ago, I want to talk about this topic a little bit. Again, our mindset going into the recruiting process is really important and its also important when it comes to your expectations at the college level.

You can read that blog post here.

I would like to start off by saying as a former D1 head coach I did have several athletes each season that started as freshmen. There are a lot of variables here and so I don't want to say that is impossible. But mindset and mentality can add up. Also, my point is not to discourage athletes from WANTING to start as freshmen. In fact, if you are a competitive person, you should be driven to the notion that you are going to go in and compete everyday, improve and be in a position to help your team win matches, regardless if you are a starter or not.

The first thing I want to discuss is playing time as a whole. I have been saying the majority of this club season that you should go look at some college volleyball rosters and figure out how much each athlete is playing in a typical season. I have found that roughly 60% of the roster is playing in more than half of the sets over the course of the season. That means that 40% of the roster is playing in LESS THAN HALF of the sets each year. Obviously that 40% isn't going to be all freshmen and I haven't done more digging on specific classes or anything like that. But, 40% is a large number of athletes that aren't really playing over the course of the season. On a roster size of 16 athletes that means only 10 are playing in the majority of sets over the course of the season.

Why is this important?

Playing time is important. It's important to everyone. Athletes, parents and coaches. Some athletes are perfectly fine sitting the bench. They understand their role at that moment. Not everyone does though. I would argue that the #1 reason athletes end up transferring is playing time, or lack their of.

What does it look like to not play? What does it look like to not start? What does it look like to only play in half of the sets for an entire season?

Most athletes have not experienced this. We transfer schools. We change clubs. In some ways it makes sense because you have to be playing to get recruited; you just do. Because of that, the ability to sit and not play is a foreign one and certainly not something we train or coach. At least until we get to college. Look, if you're an athlete that isn't going to be comfortable sitting the bench your freshmen year, then we need to get together and take a really good look at your list of schools. It's not a bad thing. Graduates in the 2024 class have committed to schools and a coaching staff hasn't even seen their 2023 class. There could be athletes in that class the staff isn't planning on playing at all their freshmen year. That can all change a month into the season! There are always variables. The playing time / starting variable is a big one.

It's important to remember there is a gap. There is a gap between the club level and the college level. Some athletes can bridge this gap faster than others. Your ability to bridge that gap is just part of the equation that dictates whether or not you play, start and do any of that your freshmen year.

I'm certainly in the belief that plenty of incoming freshmen have the ability to start right away. It's a definite possibility. Maybe it shouldn't wrap our entire mindset around that plan. Especially if we don't have a "Plan B" to fall back on. Being content is a good thing. We aren't settling when we are content. We are recognizing where we are in that moment and doing everything we can to contribute in whatever way we are able. We need to be in a mindset of having a role over and above just being on the court. I think that would change a lot of things in a positive direction.

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