Questions I've Never Been Asked, Part 2

"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 something that concerns college coaches. One of the few questions that college coaches use to evaluate athletes is, "Can she help us win?" That is what they are concerned with. We will have the conversation with the coach and will mention that she has only been playing a couple of years. Usually they raise their eyebrows and get excited about the fact that this player is just going to continue to get better! I've never seen it taken as a negative.

Coaches are less concerned about how long you have been playing and more concerned about whether or not you will help them win.

It's great that some volleyball players are able to play for club volleyball for 8 years and be on their varsity high school program for 4 years. These are variables and in the grand scheme of recruiting, don't necessarily come into play. Context is important. Give coaches the context of "I've been passionate about playing this sport most of my life." There is nothing wrong with that either. What I'm trying to say is that it's typically not a factor in whether or not a school is interested in you or not.

I talk to families all the time that feel like they started playing club volleyball late and so they feel behind in the sport and they feel behind in recruiting. It's completely understandable. Sometimes clubs and coaches are drawn to players they know and are familiar with. That is really a variable that is out of your control in many way. But you aren't really starting the recruiting process late. Even when I get on the phone with juniors now in January of their junior, we still aren't late. Are there fewer options? Sure. But even if those options were still available it doesn't necessarily mean they would be a legit option for the athlete. Again, that's okay.

What I'm trying to say is please don't bank on the fact that you've been playing club volleyball since you were 10 years old to help get you recruited. At the same time, please don't feel like because you started playing when you were 15 or 16 that you are somehow at a disadvantage in the recruiting process. It's not a question I typically get asked about in the recruiting process.

Remember, college coaches are asking the question, "Can she help us win?" and they are asking me, "Is she interested?" Those are two of the biggest factors that college coaches are considering.