Volleyball - Club and College Recruiting Observations

As we have passed the halfway point of the 2016 club volleyball and the mirroring college recruiting season, a few too many observations to share..

• Manners - The parents have to be the adults in the club volleyball room. I understand that parents have paid a big chunk of change to attend an event, but that does not entitle special treatment in public or excusing pretentious selfish behavior.  Treating waitstaff poorly, being rude to others, making the hotel lobby a flashback frat party and turning a blind eye/ear to your children is not what our sport culture embodies.  I thought maybe it was just me being overly aware/critical this club season, but when my 26 year old staff members comment on the social behaviors of club parents, something is amiss.

• Injuries - Absolutely do not rush back from an injury.  Whatever the doctor or trainer tells you for a recovery time, especially after a surgery, it is a generality, not a goal or expectation.  From my years as a collegiate coach, and then having gone through Achilles surgery/recovery, it takes time to get back to 100% post surgery.  Rushing back puts too much mental and physical pressure upon an athlete.  It will not be the end of the club volleyball or collegiate recruiting world to extend the rehab/recovery by a week or a month.  Better to be fully recovered than constantly managing.

• Seniors - There are many, many college volleyball programs which are still recruiting the class of 2016.  I constantly get emails from coaching friends who are asking if I know of any 2016 players still available.  When college coaches are attending combines where I am speaking for NCSA Athletic Recruiting, many of them are asking about how many seniors are in the combine.  But, they can only know about you, if you reach out to let them know you are still still active in the recruiting process.

• Tournament Nutrition - Club volleyball tournaments are two to three days of competition, with 6 hours in the gym per day.  What a player eats immediately before and during a tournament matters.  With all the information available about nutrition and sports performance, it is stunning to see players eating chicken fingers and fries between matches, steak and loaded mashed potatoes the night before an early wave and enough sugar to float a caribbean economy....and the parent is footing the bill.  

• Recruiting - The majority of club volleyball families absolutely must remember that college volleyball recruiting is a competitive venture.  From education to promotion to management; it is a competition between your daughter and a thousand players you will never know.  Hoping that a college coach finds your daughter in a club tournament, with 100+ courts and 10000 players, is not a plan.  Understand that to provide the best collegiate choice for your daughter/family, it takes daily/weekly management. Even though my day job is with NCSA Athletic Recruiting, I am not selling recruiting services, because many families will achieve this competitive success on their own but they understand the situation.