Multi Sport Athlete and College Volleyball Recruiting

My daughter is 17 years old and about to be a senior.  She's a state swimmer/state runner and volleyball player.  Last season in October she tore her ACL and meniscus and immediately underwent surgery.  About 6 months later, she returned to track to help her H.S team win a gold medal in 4x400m.  

She's now back in volleyball at about 90% ability.  Her team typically makes it to final 8 in state.  This year she is starting middle/blocker.  She's about 6ft 2 and has a 4.82 gpa.  She would love to continue volleyball but could easily run or swim at a division 2 school if she showed interest.  

Do you think its too late for her to apply to schools for volleyball?  She doesn't play club and would really like to finish senior year as a multi sport athlete and then continue on in college playing volleyball.

A.K.

My apologies for the very late reply to your question!

First of all, my congratulations to your daughter's surgeon, her rehabilitation efforts and good genes, because going from ACL/meniscus surgery to competing at a state level track meet in 6 months is amazing!

I have written many times about Senior year recruiting on this blog and with Inside College Volleyball.  Quick recap; right now, college coaches are slow recruiting.  They are focused on their season and all the ups and downs this entails.  When December rolls around, the tempo of college volleyball recruiting will drastically increase and coaches will be working hard to fill last minute roster openings due to injuries, academics, homesickness, etc.

It is not too late for Volleyball recruiting, but since your daughter does not play club, it places you in a bit of a disadvantage.  The college season is the same time as the high school season; the vast majority of college volleyball recruiting and evaluations occur during the club season.  It is during the winter and spring, that college coaches attend tournaments and practices to watch players.

If your daughter really wants to play college volleyball, then playing club volleyball is important for two reasons:

1) Club will provide the opportunity for college coaches to come see her play.  If she is not playing in the winter/spring, then the coaches have nothing but months old high school video (in which she is at 90% recovery) to try and make a decision.

2) Club will provide the extra touches and training for her to successfully transition into college volleyball.  Today's collegiate players, at all levels, have garnered thousands of extra touches and thousands of hours of additional training (outside of the high school season) to maximize their abilities before they ever stepped foot on campus.

If club is not a possibility because of finances or your daughter's desire to continue as a multi sport athlete, then you need to start making and sending videos to college coaches right now and continue with this focused outreach effort through the New Year.  

As she does not play club, and may not play club, then she does not have that traditional vehicle for recruiting exposure.  You can offset this situation by reaching out to hundreds of college coaches, via email, with current video to promote her abilities.

Coach