Committed Athlete transition to Collegiate Volleyball advice....

 Hi Coach! Back in September 2017, you answered a question that I had about the value of sending my then 14 year old daughter to combines and showcases. I also got your book and followed some of your recruiting tips. Well since I posed that question to you, I want to let you know that she‘s committed to play next Fall at DI -  It was a long hard journey, but without your tips and advice I’m not sure where we would be or how we would’ve made it up to this point.

Now that she has committed, what should she be focusing on as a HS senior between now and the day she reports next summer to campus for her team practices?Any specific things she should be working on as L/DS to prepare for D-1 volleyball?  Thanks again and I wish you continued success.

P.T.

Thanks for the update and congrats on the DI commitment; glad I could help contribute to this great news.

Three main areas that all incoming athletes need to stay focused upon as they transition from HS/Club to Collegiate Volleyball:

1. Steady improvement of skills - College coaches recruited the current talent levels of their incoming athletes, but they also expect their recruits to continue to get better.  All players should keep their strengths strong and their weaknesses less weak.  Keep touching a ball, keep focusing on fine tuning skill sets and for Liberos, make your serve receive as good as it possibly can be.  Collegiate coaches need passers more than they need defenders.

2. Enhanced Fitness - Collegiate athletics is physically more demanding than HS/Club.  The incoming freshman will be competing with/against athletes that are 2 to 5 years older and have been deeply involved in a collegiate level strength and fitness program.  While it can be a challenge for a HS/Club player to mimic these collegiate workouts, all incoming players can do cardio, pushups, situps, stairs, lunges, sprints, body weight strengthening, etc.  More often than not, the difference between a successful freshman year and a freshman year spent shagging balls is how fit does the athlete arrive?

3. No lingering Injuries - Incoming athletes should not arrive to pre-season practice with a big or small injury.  This means not showing up with knee tendonitis, or a sore shoulder, or a twingy back, or pulled muscles, or the flu or mono, etc.  Again, collegiate athletics is physically challenging and if you are not injury/pain/discomfort free, then you will not be on the court long into preseason.  Take time during your Senior spring to make sure you are physically good to go - If something is sore, rest and strengthen to make it better.  If something hurts, go see a doctor to find out exactly what is wrong and address it.

If you are able to focus on those three things, then you can set yourself up for an enjoyable first season of being a collegiate volleyball player!