Double Quick of Volleyball Questions!

Hey Coach!

I love your site.  What a font of knowledge.

My daughter is 14 and playing up a year at club.  Her coach pulled her and the other outside hitter aside last week and told them they will be six-rotation players.  He then said his setters "weren't talking" and he need my daughter & the other girl to talk more on the court, to basically be the court captains.

Being a year younger, she's a little nervous and unsure of what to say.  I think she's in her head too much instead of stepping into the action on the court and letting that guide her.  She's very smart about the game for her age.

Any advice for me in pointing her in the right direction?

Thanks,

M.T.

Glad you enjoy collegevolleyballcoach.com and thank you for the compliments - I have written about leadership aspects with Inside College Volleyball, and the book may provide some more suggestions.

I am happy to hear that your daughter is a 6 rotation OH - Nice to see when club teams are not front to backing every single position on the court and the players actually play more than 3 rotations!

My suggestion for her stepping into a verbal or court captain role is to simply Talk about what is going on before/during the match/play.  Talk about who has the seam in passing, who has the middle on defense, call out the hitters on the block, call the ball, call for the set, go slap hands with the team mate that made a good play, call yours, go slap hands when you make a good play, say "my bad" when you do something not good, say "nice pass" when a team mate makes a nice pass, etc.

Coaches sometimes are not specific enough when it comes to the communication they want or expect from their players - They say "talk" or "communicate more" - This is so nebulous.  The players think they have to take charge and be demanding like a general, or they turn into yappy cheerleaders just making noise (instant headache for me!).  Better to view "talking more" as communicating about what is about to happen, what is happening and what just happened.

Good luck!

Dear Coach,

I'm so confused!  My daughter is a freshman and helped her varsity team to a conference championship.  She has also played club for the past 4 years.  Here's where the confusion lies.  Can she write college coaches and submit her film?  Should I write college coaches and submit her film?  How does she get on the huge radar (DI/DII or DIII)? There is a major tournament in a couple of weeks in DC and I wanted to get her name out there prior to such a huge event.

Any help would be appreciated.

Volley Mom

First of all, I want you to go to the collegevolleyballcoach.com website and click the Label "Recruiting Plan" - I have also updated and expanded the Recruiting Plan in my book, Inside College Volleyball!  This plan is parent/athlete driven, so you would be doing everything.

If you are not comfortable with technology and the computer/internet (which many people are not because of their busy lives), then I strongly suggest you take a look at using NCSA Athletic Recruiting - They are an outstanding recruiting service, which makes the process so much more manageable for families to achieve their collegiate goals.

The last thing I will say, is that your daughter is just a freshman - She has a long time in the recruiting process and I strongly suggest you keep things mellow this year.  Just let her play and have fun - You take the time to get educated about the protocols, rules, etc. but don't stress out.  One of the biggest mistakes I see families make, is go too hard, too early in the recruiting process - Understand that there will be a world of changes which will occur in collegiate athletics, in club volleyball and the natural maturation of your daughter, that to go gonzo as a freshman will just drive you crazy!

Read the Recruiting Plan, get Inside College Volleyball, contact NCSA Athletic Recruiting by clicking link - Educate and slow down.

Coach