Outside Hitter or Libero for College Volleyball Recruiting

Hi Coach!

How are you doing? I hope well!

I am a 2018 5'10" six-rotation outside hitter with a 26" vertical.  I enjoy hitting but my real passion and what I am best at is defense.  However, both my club and high school teams have established Liberos who have always played the position.  At our most recent club tournament, my coach switched another player and I for a few games so that she hit and I played DS.  I enjoyed only playing defense but I was only in for 3 rotations.  For the recruiting process, will I get more attention from coaches as a 6-rotation outside with a not-so-great vertical or a DS?

Thank you!

M

Well, I will tell you M....I am a little under the weather today; I think my travels have finally caught up with me.  That and spring time in the midwest is full of drastic temperature changes (79 to snow this morning), combined with enough pollen to germinate all the tulips in Holland! (that is where the tulips come from???).

But, enough about my minor ailments...

It is better to be on the court than off the court and if you are excellent at defense/passing, then coaches will notice that.  It comes down to how you market/promote yourself to the college coaches.

If you let college coaches know that your goal is to play LIbero at the next level, then they will put on their Libero Recruiting glasses when they come see you play.  The key is that you have to reach out to the college coaches to convince them to come see you play - There are a ton of good 5'10" OH's and even more good DS/Liberos.

Also, what level of college volleyball do you prefer?  For NCAA Division I, the odds of getting a scholarship as a Libero/DS are thin because of the sheer volume of talented players.  If you continue with your Outside Hitter play, and promote yourself to the DII/NAIA level, a 5'10" OH who passes nails and plays great defense will be very attractive. If you are able to bring good academics to the table, then you can package out a scholarship which will be substantial (and significantly more than what you would probably receive as a DI Libero/DS recruit).

Lastly, you are only a 2018; you probably still have another 2 to 4 inches of increase in your vertical jump coming just by getting older/stronger.  

Coach