I grew up in Brooklyn, Michigan and this is my volleyball T-shirt from Columbia Central High School! I received it when I went back to coach a clinic there several years ago, while I was playing professionally on the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. High school volleyball can be a fun experience that players cherish the rest of their lives. Sometimes it’s not perfect, but it can still be great in many different ways.
Even though the college volleyball season is starting and college coaches are training and coaching their current teams, they are still thinking about and communicating with recruits! DON’T STOP because you’re not in club season…high school volleyball season is the perfect time to ignite your recruiting process, keep activity going, and move forward!
If you do nothing and start contacting coaches again in January or February, it’s not good. First of all, they will wonder…what happened to you? Did you commit somewhere else? Are you no longer interested in their school and their volleyball program? Are you injured? And secondly, it could show a lack of drive and commitment, in their eyes, to play volleyball in college.
The recruiting process is ongoing all year and keeping touch with your target list consistently is HUGE! Continuing to contact coaches and communicate with them CAN make or break you becoming verbally committed to play volleyball in college. I’ve talked with multiple college coaches who have told me, the players that keep in touch with them (even if their skill level isn’t quite equal) are the players that rise to the top of their list of recruits or stay at the top of their list, if they were already there.
Here’s how taking action during the fall, during your high school season, can really help your college volleyball recruiting process:
I encourage you to be proactive and do these 3 things to have your recruiting process in order AND the college coaches ready to watch you play when club season STARTS! Note: 9th and 10th graders – do these 3 steps below also to get on college coachs’ radar. Ask them to watch you play. Give them someone to respond to because D1 and D2 can’t respond to you directly yet.
- STEP #1: Take video of your high school matches. Make highlight video (3 minutes max) of your skills against the BEST teams that you play. In general, the level of high school volleyball tends to be lower, as a whole, vs. club volleyball BUT, you can shine by leading the team. If you don’t play back row or front row during club season, but you play all the way around in high school, that’s interesting for college coaches to see! Even if you play a different position in high school than club, it’s OK and shows your versatility as a volleyball player and also willingness to do what the team needs.
- STEP #2: Send “HS Update” emails to your entire target list about every 2-3 weeks.
- Express your strong interest in their school and volleyball program.
- Send them your high school schedule in your first update email.
- Share something exciting about your season so far. Did you beat a rival? Almost win against the #1 ranked team? Lead in the stats?
- Tell the coaches how your classes are going. Your favorite classes? Interesting assignments? Community service or clubs you’ve joined?
- Include your high school highlight video that shows improvement from last club season. Coaches may ask for highlight video or unedited game video from high school season. Tip: only send unedited game video if they specifically ask for it. And make sure it’s a game that is one of your best!
- CLOSE THE EMAIL WITH SOMEONE TAKING ACTION! Ask if they need your position in your grad year? (if you don’t know yet or are just starting to email) So, you’re asking for a response. If you’re further along in the process, say that you would love to visit the campus during a home game weekend, and is that a good next step? You plan to watch them play vs. XYZ on (DATE). Ask for a phone call. Tell them you will be in touch soon with video, if you don’t have it ready yet…end every email with you or them doing something!
- It’s OK and nothing personal/bad if college coaches don’t respond right away or at all. Remember, they are in their season in the fall and very busy. They still get your emails and take notes/evals in University Athlete and you will be on their radar, if they think they need your position in your class and like your skill set from watching the video.
- STEP #3: Watch them play! (You might need to get ESPN+ for the fall) Read through the schedules of the schools on your list. Try to watch your target list of schools online as much as possible. Go to their volleyball website and click on “SCHEDULE”, then click on “WATCH” and you will most likely be taken to ESPN+ or their conference broadcasting hub. Pay attention to the coaching staff on the sideline, their body language, and the team’s body language…is it good, positive, and relaxed? Or is the coach screaming, angrily at the players from the sideline and in timeouts? Also, watch college matches, in person, when they are close to your hometown. Email the coaches to let them know you will be there because it’s good for them to realize you’re taking initiative and it shows your true interest. They can’t really talk to you, but you could introduce yourself after the match and say hello, if you would like. You can’t talk about anything recruiting with the coaches in the gym, no matter what your age. I think it’s nice, just a few minutes, expressing it was fun to see them play and that you’ll talk with them soon! Then, email all of the coaches how fun it was etc.!
These 3 action steps during your high school volleyball season can really make a positive difference in your recruiting process. You will find out more “no’s” AND more “yes’s”, which will make your recruiting process after January that much smoother. College coaches will know about you and mark you down to watch when they hit the road to recruit. You must be diligent and proactive in your recruiting process, even if it’s hard, and you are overwhelmed during high school volleyball! WHY? Because it will pay off for you in your recruiting process as you seek out the perfect fit! You are amazing and you got this!