College Volleyball Recruiting Advice and Thursday Webinar

VolleyFamilies:

I come digitally before you today to speak about Thursday's Webinar at 9 p.m. Central time, hosted by NCSA Athletic Recruiting, in which the topic I will be discussing is Club Volleyball Recruiting Preparation.

The link is:  http://connectpro96398706.adobeconnect.com/msonnichsen/

Please remember that if it does not click through, then please cut and paste.

At the log in page, just click Guest, and type your name, then hit Enter!  As easy as apple pie.

Again - Webinar is Thursday, 9 p.m. Central time.  

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During the course of the many Volleyball Recruiting Education Talks I present each year, I stress the need for patience by VolleyFamilies.  The collegiate volleyball recruiting world is not spinning as fast as many panicked VolleyFamilies believe it is.

The combination of professional club volleyball organizations and the technology driven accelerated recruiting cycle by collegiate coaches, has created the perception that any player worth their knee pads is committing in 3rd grade.

We all hear about some 8th grader who is already committed to Giant State U, or we see through our volleyball eyes average players securing scholarships to collegiate programs which seem beyond their abilities, but this is not the norm. 

Two things to remember - Lots of college volleyball programs, and lots of changes within these college volleyball programs.

During my world famous Recruiting Education Talks, I inform families that the Modern Recruiting Protocol (as opposed to the Post Modern, which is scheduled to happen sometime next month) is for NCAA Division I programs, and for good measure we will throw in elite DII programs, to actively recruit all 4 years of the high school age (with a few Giant State U programs targeting 8th graders, which should be illegal in all 50 States, Territories and Protectorates).

The panic mantra from VolleyFamilies is that they hear such and such school is done with their 2014 class, or is only looking at 2016's now.  This is only partly true.  Right now, at the moment you interacted with one of the coaches or the club coach interacted with one of the coaches, or Aunt Edna (what movie reference please????) overheard the second assistant from Giant State U chatting up the attractive second assistant from Little Private College, say they were done with the 2014 class, they may have well thought they were done.

But, things change every week in collegiate recruiting.  Coaches may say they are done, but what you do not know is what they have hidden away in the recesses of their mind - Who is struggling with grades?  Who put on 20 pounds during the summer and is not losing it?  Who did not come back from off season shoulder surgery?  What Freshman did I think was better than what she actually is, and now I am going to cut her? Who has become a poison pill because her playing time vanished because of a talented freshman?  Who just blew out her knee for the 2nd time? Is the coach going to apply for other jobs because the Athletic Director who hired them is not there anymore and the new Athletic Director does not give a flying foosball about Volleyball? 

It is because of this controlled chaos, that the Volleyball Recruiting cycle is now constant.  Coaches may honestly or almost honestly believe they are done with a recruiting class.  There were many times I thought, "Great, I am done with the 2010 class and it is a good one!".  Then, the next week something happened with a player (grades, boyfriend, family, injuries, bad hair day) and now I have a scholarship available!!!!!

Because the cycle is constant, so should your recruiting efforts.  You are not going to 'bother' a collegiate coach by reaching out to them a month or so after they said they were done?  The worst case is they take one half of a second and push the delete button on the computer when your email pops up.  It is not like you are driving by their house slowly and putting a note into their mail box!!!

Best case is they did happen to have a scholarship open up, and because you reached out to them, they want to know more about you or want to take another look at your skill sets!

Stay constant, stay patient and stay open in your recruiting efforts.