The Toyota Camry of the College Volleyball World

Dear Coach,

First, congratulations on your new venture.

Second, I really appreciate the valuable information you are willing to share with those of us that have been caught off guard and under-prepared to deal with the wonderful challenges created by the unexpected athletic talents of our children. This is all new to us.

Now, for my question. My daughter is only a high school freshman but is very passionate about the game and is committed to being the best player she can. I've read your book so I know it is too early to think about recruiting, but I'm trying to get a realistic view of generally where she would fall in the recruiting pyramid since she is already starting to think about college. She is a 5'10 outside hitter with very good all around skills. (She plays for a top club team and high school in So Cal with excellent coaching on each and plays some beach in the summer.) She is also an excellent honor student (and smart enough to realize that at her height Stanford is sadly out of the question.)

Thanks for any insight you can provide,  M.B.

Thanks for the compliments and glad you enjoy the site.  I am very excited about my new position with NCSA Athletic Recruiting, as I believe it is a critical time for VolleyFamilies to receive straight forward information and assistance to navigate the often confusing waters of College Volleyball Recruiting.

Your daughter, like all 5'10" OH's with good all around skills, is like the Toyota Camry of Collegiate Volleyball and recruiting; steady, dependable, not flashy or attention grabbing but you know they will not let you down.  But, there are a lot of Toyota Camrys on the road, and there are a lot of 5'10" OH's in the gym (at a National Qualifier at least).

I am proud of you for acknowledging that the recruiting process is still a ways off, which it is, and by gathering information and educating yourself now, you will be in a better position to assist your VolleyPSA later.  It reads as if she is on the right path with a top club team, in a volleyball region and getting some good touches on the beach.  The best thing to do is to keep things smooth and steady with her skill development and her mental comfort.  Recruiting life will get a bit busier next year, then by the Junior year, things start to spin fast.

A couple of suggestions, in consideration of your location; 


1) You will need to be very active in the marketing of your daughter through outreach emails, skill tapes, season updates, etc.  Some folks can do this all on their own because they are comfortable doing such outreach efforts with video, the computer and interacting with coaches, while other VolleyFamilies are using recruiting services more and more to help them get that little extra support in this craziness.  I joined NCSA because I believe they are the best and are focused on the family first and foremost.


2)  The more open she is to playing away from home (and Nevada/Arizona don't really count) the better her chances of securing a collegiate volleyball future. The criticism of SoCal players by non-California/West Coast colleges, is these VolleyPSA's don't want to travel east and they would rather play at a lower athletic division in state than "play up" out of state. 

Hope that helps a bit, and remember, even though I have for-casted into your VolleyFuture, please keep things slow and steady for the next couple of years and maintain good balance!  

Focus on Recruiting Education now, to make Recruiting success manageable later.

Coach