Volleyball Recruiting: How to Maximize Your Opportunities

I'm always kind of amazed at the advice I see given online in specific Facebook groups when it comes to volleyball recruiting opportunities. It is always made out to be a really simple process. In some ways they aren't wrong. Simple? Yes. Easy? No.

The parts and pieces that are always missing in this "advice" are the specifics THAT(individual) athlete needs to be doing. Everyone's process is different. The two-week process that worked for one athlete and family, might not necessarily work for another athlete on that high school or club team. The "Just do this..." advice isn't always as helpful as some people make it out to be. For one thing, this is a process and not just a "one and done" event. It takes more than a day. There are plenty of steps along the way that need a little support. Here are three things that I encourage athletes to take advantage of as they go through their process.

Make more highlights - college coaches like film

I'm on record to say, "you don't need new film in order to send an email" and some may think that means making highlights or clips of your play is somehow unnecessary. Actually, I say that because I want families to know and understand that reaching out to college coaches should be more of a constant. It's okay if you haven't played a qualifier in 3 weeks. You need to reach out and stay on coaches radars. When it comes to film, though, college coaches want to watch you play. Make more highlights of your high school matches. Make Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 highlights instead of making 1 highlight for the entire tournament. Be creative. Think outside the box. Create a "serve receive" only highlight to show your steady and consistent passing.

This especially applies to athletes that are trying to get recruited from smaller schools outside of their region. Those coaches are going to have a harder time watching you play live. Sometimes it's about playing time! Maybe you have a ton of club film and not much high school film (or the other way around). If coaches are relying on one highlight or if you're relying on them watching you live, you might be missing out on opportunities. You have time now to potentially create a TON of film for college coaches to watch. Make your own highlights. No one knows your best moments better than you. Don't let your parents do it. Don't rely on the auto-generated highlights HUDL creates.

Respond to all the emails you receive and all the interest you get

Checking your email regularly is important. Responding to every email you get is important. This is something younger athletes miss out on, particularly freshmen and sophomores, but not just those age groups. Coaches will reach out to give them general information about their school and the athlete never responds. Not once. Email after emails comes and the coach never hears from the athlete. Do you know what happens next? That coach will move on to someone else and stop emailing that athlete entirely. Potentially the athlete will still receive emails, but they are moved further down the list on the recruiting board. Trust me, you don't want that. Respond to all the emails and correspondence you get. Say "Thank you!" Even something as simple as that goes a long way. College coaches will do the same thing that parents and athletes do. They will track the email - they know if you opened or clicked on any of the links. Coaches will move on and assume you aren't interested because you didn't respond. Athletes do the same thing with schools; "I emailed them but they didn't respond so they must not be interested." Take advantage of the communication that you are getting and be sure to respond to them. It's a little thing that can go a long way. "She emails us all the time!" is a conversation starter I should be having a lot more college coaches once club season kicks off, or before.

Until you have offers in hand, pursue all those who are interested

I see this mistake all the time. I'll say from the onset that it's great to have goals, aspirations and to want something specific. I like that actually and in some ways it makes the process easier because we have things we are striving for. At the same time, interest creates interest. The more you learn about a school, campus, staff and academic program, the more material you have to ask and engage with other schools. I have worked for several different colleges. I can honestly say I knew very little to nothing about the college until I showed up on campus and started working. There is a lot to learn. You can learn SOME from info online, but you can't learn everything.

Many athletes will dismiss interest from schools based on a number of factors; pick one. But, I always encourage athletes and families to try and connect with schools, learn about the coaches, programs and everything else you can. Find out info so you can ask OTHER schools similar questions. Maybe go on a visit, see campus and watch a match so you have something to compare it all to. I have had athletes go on a visit to a school they were only remotely interested in, only to later fall in love with the campus, team and staff. Their response after the visit is usually something to the effect of, "They really through out all the stops for us!" I usually say, that's great and that is how EVERY visit should be. You want that. But, you don't know if you'll get that until you try. It's okay to NOT like a school, just don't rush yourself into NOT liking a school.