College Volleyball Recruiting and the High School Senior

Hi Coach,

We have enjoyed reading your blog and it has been extremely helpful.  We do have a specific question regarding the recruiting process.  My daughter is a rising senior.  She had several DI Colleges reach out to her spring 2016.  She even went on some visits.  She has received two emails from colleges stating that they had signed other players, and that recruiting for her Class, 2017, was closed.  Since we know that things change between now and next year, should she continue to reach out to those colleges?  Would that seem that a move of desperation?  If so does continue to reach out to them, specifically continuing to send video for them to view, what type of language should be included in this type of communication?

Thanks for reading/answering.

Still Optimistic

With the high school season and the college volleyball season running at the same time, now is a very slow segment in the recruiting process.  As you noted in your email, things can and will change with the recruiting needs of schools.  It happens quite often that programs which thought they were done recruiting for a certain class, will need to reengage in the recruiting process because of injuries, transfers or job changes.

Use this slower time in the recruiting process to re-examine your potential collegiate list of programs.  You indicated that you had some interaction with a few DI's, but there was no offer extended.  Generate a new outreach list to include DI programs which may be one tier down from those previous DI schools, along with contacting a few of the elite level DII teams.  Your daughter has the talent to play DI/elite DII or the programs you referenced would not have reached out to her last spring.

With regards to those programs which said they had signed other players, keep them in the communication loop but wait just a bit before sending an email and video.  Things may very well change for these program's recruiting needs, but these changes usually come to fruition towards the end of the season or over the Holidays.

The key item to focus on right now is increasing abilities; a player's opportunity will be determined by their ability.  Make sure her mind and her body are healthy.  A very important time segment in her recruiting processes will commence in November, and the gas tank needs to be full for this last run!

During the next month or so, focus on Volleyball skill improvement and the recruiting game plan.  When mid to late November rolls around, make sure you have current video to send out, along with an updated club volleyball schedule. 

For those schools which are new to your list, send them the standard introductory email and video link.  For those schools which said they had closed their recruiting efforts, a quick email sharing video and conveying your continued interest if an opportunity arises is good.  If they don't have an opening, then they will just delete your email.  If they have an opening or anticipate an opening, then you have positioned yourself well.  

All VolleyFamilies, especially Senior VolleyFamilies, must remember that recruiting is a business.  You are in the business of obtaining the best possible roster opportunity (academic standing of school, scholarship, location, etc) and the college coach is in the business of keeping their job by recruiting the best possible players.

Coach