College Volleyball Recruiting Communication

Hello Coach,

First I would like to thank you for your blog, I have gotten so many answers from it!
 
My daughter is a senior this year, she is a 6'1" middle blocker.  She has received email answers with what looks like interest from several coaches of D1- D3. We know there is some that definitely want her and we have met with them.

There are schools that have responded to emails and have seen her play and we have even met some coaches on tour visits at schools but don't know how interested they are. If she has not been asked to come out to meet with them or return for an official  at this point does that mean they aren't interested?

She isn't sure she has found the right school yet.

There are still a few schools we wanted to look at and were going to ask to meet with coaches while there, is this the right track?  Would coaches meet with a player if they are not interested?

Thank You - T.K.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing and I would not stress now.  During the summer, college coaches can be a bit cagey...we are doing camps, we are trying to get the details arranged for the start of our season which is rapidly approaching, we may still have some eligibility issues with incoming athletes, etc.  As I have written in other posts and Inside College Volleyball, the post JO's/AAU championships is the slow time of recruiting.

Taking the visits are important because they give your PSA a variety of "looks" to compare each school and program. Right or wrong, most college coaches will meet with VolleyFamilies, even if not currently interested or not having an opportunity within that certain class, because of the positive extraneous benefits; maybe a scholarship opens up later, maybe the PSA is from a top club and it is politics, maybe a good visit/experience at the school will be relayed to future prospects.

Now, if you are trying to decide where to visit, and you have to make a choice, go to the school which has been interacting with you versus a school which has not.  While this is the slowest time in the recruiting cycle because of the close of the Club Volleyball season, camps and the opening of the College Volleyball season, I would just keep an open, educated mind when you view the recruiting world during this specific time frame.  

Some coaches get so wrapped up in their season that recruiting takes a definite back seat (I tend to lean in this direction), while other programs are recruiting 24/7!  The key is to keep the line of communication open, to keep reaching out to current and potential schools, while building Volleyball abilities.

In closing, don't be in a hurry to pick a school and commit; there will be a large number of opportunities which will come available after the collegiate season....if you read my Las Vegas post (use the Search Box), you will see my comments on the amazing number of programs actively recruiting for the fall's class.  Since you relay she has not found the right school yet, then wait, play the high school season, start into club and be very active about reaching out to college programs.