What Can You Do Different?

I have an entire seminar structured around a Post-June 15th situation where you don't get any phone calls from coaches or you don't hear from the ones that you wanted to hear from. As MLK tournament weekends are really the start to the club season and Qualifier season is right around the corner, for those of you that are uncommitted it's potentially a good time to start looking at what you can do differently in your recruiting process.

Many schools are done. COVID eligibility and the transfer portal have really had an impact on athletes on this side of recruiting. It has created fewer chances, scholarships and roster spots top to bottom. BUT, there are still opportunities out there! Realistically, they might not be the schools that you were really hoping for. If you still want to play in college, there are still opportunities out there. Not every situation is going to be a perfect fit and I totally understand the athletes that are deciding to just focus on their academics at the college level. There are plenty of coaches retiring right now. Deciding, because of COVID and other reasons to leave the sport and coaching all together. To say that the last two years have had an impact on ALL of us is probably the biggest understatement of the decade.

If you're still in the hunt for a college volleyball home, here are a few things that might help with your process right now.

Send specific emails -

Mass emails are great if you're communicating when and where you're playing. But at this point you will want to follow that up with an email that communicates specifically why you are interested in that school.

Expand your list -

I've had several conversations in the last couple of weeks with families that were stuck. We chatted about a few other conferences and schools that they could reach out to. They fired off a few emails and got responses and set up phone calls with those coaches. Sometimes a school we have never heard of ends up being a great fit.

Look at your film -

Coaches are always looking at your film first. What changes can you make with your film? What aspects of your game could you highlight more of?

Get a response -

Can you change the way your email is set up to try and get a response from a coach, good or bad? Can you ask a question? Try and set up a phone call? Are you sending out emails consistently enough to where a coach would want to respond?

Small changes in what you're doing can often make a difference in your recruiting process. Try and remember that coaches don't just show up at your court. Something will have to bring them to your court. Are they there to watch you specifically? Accidental recruiting can always happen. I just don't encourage that you wait and hope for that to happen. See if there is something on your end you can do differently.

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