College Volleyball Transfer and Club Selection questions

Hi Coach,

I am a big fan of your blog and Inside College Volleyball, and very much appreciate all the great information you share to help volleyFamilies navigate the world of volleyball and college recruiting!

My question is one I think I've seen you address on your blog before but my attempts to find it were unsuccessful. If you would rather just direct me to previous inquiries for the answer, that is fine.

My DD (class of 2016) faced a tough decision this club season, and will probably face the same decision next year. She had the opportunity to play on her club's top team, probably as the #2 right side hitter. This is a very strong team but it is likely she would have gotten little playing time.  Her other option was to be the starting OH playing all around on the club's #2 team. This team has some good talent on it and they could do quite well this season but it will not be as strong as the #1 team. She thought quite carefully about her decision and finally chose the #2 team. Her reasoning was that it wouldn't help her get recruited if she didn't get to play, and that while she won't get seen "by accident" on this team (they won't play in Open), she can reach out to whatever programs she is interested in and if those coaches have any interest in her, they can find her at qualifiers if she is on their "to see" list. She really prefers to play left side, loves playing back row (which she would not have gotten to do on the other team), and would like to be recruited as a left side in college. The coach is excellent and she enjoys his coaching style so she has the opportunity to get high quality training and continue to improve as well.

She is already communicating with 20-25 D1 programs; some of those contacted her after seeing her at tournaments, and some she has reached out to herself. While I believe that her reasoning is sound, I'm just a parent and my concern is whether college coaches will let the fact that she is on the #2 team affect their interest in her. The die is cast for this season but I am curious what you think of her choice as well as what you might recommend if she has the same options next year.

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!

just a volley mom


She made an excellent choice and the one which I would have recommended.  College coaches recruiting talent not teams.  Better for her to be playing the position she wants and getting playing time, rather than be on a 'higher rated' team and not have the same positives.

If she is faced with the same variables for next year, she should make the same choice - Trust her talent and play the position she wants to play!

I am a freshman D1 player and a former club teammate approached me and said that her coach wanted to know if I wanted to transfer to her D1 school and that I needed to contact that coach. Would this be legal? I though I needed a letter or something? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you! Anonymous 

Not really - The DI coach broke a major rule in the recruiting process; it is illegal to initiate contact with a current NCAA DI athlete, no matter if it was done through an intermediary.

For you to interact with any DI/DII coach, you would need to request and receive a Permission to Contact Letter from the Compliance Director in your Athletic Department.  The Athletic Department has the choice to issue you a PCL or deny your request; which happens quite often.  If you are denied a PCL, you have the right to appeal this denial with a non-athletics department committee (which I have never seen a SA win the appeal).

I would think LONG and HARD before moving forward with seeking a PCL and following up on this information from your former club team mate!