Injury and College Volleyball Recruiting

Hi,

My daughter is in her senior year and fractured her fibula during her senior night game. She will have surgery and will miss her final volleyball club tryout. 

She started late in her vball career and is starting to just get noticed in her final year. She was co-captain of the NorCal high performance team and co-captain at her varsity school team. She attended clinics and was approached by the club coaches if she's interested in playing in college. 

She thinks her chances are gone since she can't do try out for the club season to be seen. Does she have any other alternatives after club season is over since she's a senior? Are there women's volleyball club for post-highschool in California?

Please advise

Thank you, 

L.D.

So sorry to hear about your daughter's injury - Sometimes it is just nothing but bad luck...

I am not aware of the rehab time for such an injury/surgery, but I would think that late spring would be full return?

2 options would be available for your daughter, with the belief of an April return to play; unfortunately, club volleyball is not one of those options:

1) Participate in late season Combines and Showcases, while concurrently engaging in outreach to 4 year programs. College coaches know that injuries happen and if they can still evaluate you in person via combines, then you can mitigate the loss of club.  Even late in the recruiting cycle, 4 year roster/scholarship opportunities do occur.

2) Join a Junior College program for one season,  then transfer to a 4 year program for the 2nd year.  JC's are a great stepping stone for players that have had bad luck and need a year to build their skills up, in addition to those outside of CA providing substantial scholarships.

Because of NCAA rules, if an athlete plays any type of organized volleyball after graduation,  then it counts as one year of eligibility, so that eliminates post High School grad club teams.

Please focus on rehab and health post surgery, as this an important time segment which will translate into college volleyball success.  It may not feel like it, but there are still great opportunities in the future.  

Because of the nature of the injury,  I suggest maximizing the rehab effort and then transitioning to a JC for 1 year.  This year will allow her to regain her physical skills, and more importantly,  her post injury confidence. In addition,  it provides a larger window of recruiting outreach to 4 year programs!

Good luck in the recovery and please, please trust me that there is still a great volleyball future awaiting her!

Coach