College Volleyball Recruiting Tape and Communication

When should a recruiting tape be made/sent out to colleges?  Soph year? Junior year?

I have heard of girls getting scholarships from D1 schools before entering Junior year.  Is this only for setters? (My daughter will likely remain a front row player - currently 5'10" at 13 with lots of growing still to do.)

Thanks!  P.B.




You don't need to worry about that until the sophomore year at the earliest.  I strongly suggest you read the Recruiting Plan Labels on the collegevolleyballcoach.com site or purchase the hottest College Volleyball book in the country, Inside College Volleyball, where I try to list when to consider video tapes.


Some PSA's are committing to DI scholarship offers as sophomores (and freshman; scary, scary, scary), while others will commit/sign late in the spring of their senior year.  It does not matter the position, but rather the talent and the needs of the college program.  By and large, only the elite athletes are committing early in their sophomore year and these are usually to the power conference programs.


The bulk of the verbal commitments occur during the Junior year spring, while another large number accept scholarship offers during the senior year.


Right now, I strongly suggest you enjoy the now, enjoy your daughter just playing Volleyball without us crazy college coaches lurking around the periphery! 

Dear Coach,

Good morning. I stumbled upon this website in my search for answers to my daughter’s present dilemma. She will be a senior this fall and was recently approached by the head coach of a div 1 program at his camp. He offered her a walk on position for 2012 and asked if she would be interested in visiting /touring the campus. The coach said he had no more scholarship money for 2012 but could give her for the following year. He seemed very interested and even spent some time watching her play at the recent Junior Nationals.  My daughter has been emailing him to set up a visit to tour the school but the coach has not responded. It has been 3 weeks and still no response. Should she just consider he changed his mind and move forward with other offers or should she continue to pursue this? Do coaches usually just ignore emails? I appreciate your help in this matter.

Thank you,

Concerned mother

I am a bit confused about one part of your Q - "at his camp", but then making arrangements to tour the school?  Does this mean the camp was conducted by this DI coach, but was not held at the DI school?

 

Strange that the coach would offer a roster spot in 2012 and scholarship in 2013, but is not responding to emails to secure a visit.   But, the crazy season of camps and getting all the details inline for the 2011 season start has just finished, so I can see an email or two possibly slipping past the coach, but too not respond to an athletic who has been offered a spot and a scholarship as a sophomore is not normal.

 

I would drive the car down both sides of the road.  Don't stop communication with the coach/program and maybe send out one more email.  But, also move forward with other offers and communication with other schools. 

 

As I have written about in previous posts, it is still early to consider walk-on opportunities for 2012, unless it is just a PERFECT fit (and by perfect, I mean perfect in everything outside of Volleyball, in addition to Volleyball).  There will be plenty of opportunities in the 2012 recruiting class in all categories of college Volleyball.

 

I encourage you to read the posts labeled as WALK-ON on the collegevolleyballcoach.com site or if you purchase Inside College Volleyball, as this should provide some more information.

 

 

Dear Coach,

Thank you so much for responding to my question so quickly. It just so happens that the coach emailed her a few hours after reading your email and is still very interested. I guess you are not only a good advice giver but also a good luck giver. 

Thanks again. CM