"I wanna be a Libero" - College Volleyball Recruiting

Hi! 

My names N, and I play volleyball. I'm a outside hitter who is only 5'8. I know that I'm too short to play for college volleyball and I know that coaches may not look at me, but I want them too. I want to change my position because I also play all around and would want to be a libero, but my coach needs me as the outside hitter and won't let me change, what do I do? I mean, I have club volleyball too, but if I want to be on my A game and be one the best team, I'd have to be a hitter because I always have been. Help?

    Thank you!

N.L


Thank you for your question - Don't sell yourself short.  

You are probably too short for NCAA Division I volleyball as an Outside Hitter, but there are 1400 other college volleyball programs outside of DI that have 5'8" OH's!

The key to any successful recruiting effort (no matter the position, height, academics, hair color, paper or plastic) is reaching out to the 'correct' schools.  A 5'10 MB is going to have a tough time finding a DI school, but could have an all american career in NCAA Division III.  Too many players get caught up in the Division I media, and think that this is the only level to play at.  

There are so many great opportunities for volleyball players at NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and Junior Colleges.  It is just a matter of matching your abilities (athletic and academic) with the category of school which best fits.

Too many shorter OH's think, "if I switch to Libero, then everything will be OK" - Nothing could be further from the truth:

1.  There are 2,505,653 Liberos of high school age in the USA right now, so what are your odds?

2.  Every shorter OH and Setter thinks that they can just switch to Libero, so join the crowd.

3.  And, there are how many shorter players who have been born and bred to be liberos, thus grinding from age 3 to pass and defend.

4.  Liberos are usually last in line for scholarships because there are 2,505,652 of them willing to walk on to a college volleyball program.

Play the position in High School the coach needs you to play - Team comes first in high school.  Plus, you can still pass and defend while playing the OH position.  You need to keep developing your all around skill sets because playing college volleyball as an OH is possible at 5'8".  Remember that college coaches are focused on club volleyball in the recruiting process and high school recruiting is a distant after thought.

Your main focus on skill development needs to be during club volleyball because this affords you thousands more touches and is where college volleyball coaches recruit.  I suggest that you stay at the OH position because you can still demonstrate your passing and defense to college volleyball coaches, but you can also market yourself towards those programs that would be a good fit for your OH skills.

Instead of worrying about what a coach will or won't let you do, focus on developing your volleyball abilities and physical conditioning to the highest possible level.

Coach