Back and forth communication is JUST BEGINNING! The time for rising juniors to be communicating with D1 and D2 college volleyball coaches is upon us. What is the big deal about June 15? This is an NCAA rule in which college coaches can’t talk recruiting with high school age volleyball players until June 15th after their sophomore year/summer before their junior year. The NCAA wants to get athletes closer to the timeline of a regular student concerning making important decisions about where to go to college.
This means on June 15th, rising juniors can start to set up phone calls with college coaches and coaches can reach out to you to arrange phone calls also. Now you can find out (via email and phone calls) if they are recruiting your position in your grad class. Also, if they have interest in you for their team based on your highlight video. Maybe coaches have watched you play live your freshman and sophomore club seasons.
I prepared an updated PDF for you to print out: Questions FOR & FROM College VB Coaches
Have this ready for when you’re on the phone with a college coach! BUT…don’t forget to ask the college coach at the beginning of the call, ”How are you?” 🙂
My daughter and many players I’ve worked with like these questions and several college coaches have commented they are good and different questions that they like. I also added questions that coaches have asked my daughter and other players, along with general questions college coaches typically ask recruits on the phone or on visits.
The recruiting process can be a numbers game and the more schools you reach out to, the better chance you will have to find a perfect fit. You need to “CAST A WIDE NET”, meaning have a lot of schools on your list as you start out! If you haven’t started the recruiting process yet, start now. Incoming freshman should start emailing coaches during the fall of their freshman year after their 14s club season. Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors start NOW!
Here is my guide to creating your target list. Go for 30-40 schools on your list and have at least 20 to start.
After June 15th, KEEP GOING! YOU initiate scheduling calls. YOU go after the schools on your target list!
HOW do you set up a phone call with a college coach?
- Email college coaches saying you would love to schedule a phone call with them next week and you are available “every day in the afternoon between 2-5:00PM Pacific Time”, as an example.
- Always include the time zone you are referring to!
- Be prepared to talk in the early morning when you are on the west coast and they are on the east coast or later in the evening, if you are on the east coast and they are in the west!
You can also say, “I would love to schedule a phone call with you to learn more about [name of school] and your volleyball program! Here are the times I’m available:” And provide them a bullet pointed list like this example below, and you can say, “When is a good time for you?”
- “Monday, June 21st 9AM-12 PT”
- “Tuesday, June 22nd 4:30pm-6:30PM PT”
Be PROACTIVE with your preparation before phone calls and follow through. Practice with your parents, siblings, a friend, or by yourself! Practice your answers to college coaches questions they might ask you and practice asking the questions you have ready for them.
Here are 3 important things to do BEFORE you talk to coaches on the phone:
- Make sure you have a University Athlete (UA) profile (free version is fine) and update it with your current and correct information. Why? This is super important!! It’s how coaches find you at tournaments. It’s how coaches can look you up. It is the college coaches main search and tracking app they use. If they walk by your court and happen to see you playing, they can look up more about you on UA….This is the NON-proactive way. The proactive way that I encourage players to do is email coaches prior to tournaments and they will mark you down to watch (if they need your position in your grad year) and they will find your court and time you play through UA.
- Email the coaching staff of the schools on your target list! WITH your 2-3 minutes highlight video. If you have already sent one email, then email them again and tell them where you are playing next (send more video if you have it) and you hope they can watch you and your teammates play! End your email with…”I would love to talk with you [times you’re available] to learn more about your program!”
- HERE are questions for you to ask college volleyball coaches AND questions they might ask you! The first question for college coaches is my favorite and make sure you don’t end the call without knowing the last thing I advise!
What to do when you’re scheduling calls with coaches:
- Prep for the phone call and have your questions ready. Read the coach’s bio on the website that you’re about to talk to, review the team record, location on a map, the school website, and confirm they have your area of study, if you know it. If you don’t, it’s OK!
- Make sure your cell phone ringer is on. Usually the coach is calling your cell, but clarify that in the emails as you’re setting up the call.
- Answer the phone and say, “Hello this is [your first name]” and smile (even though you are on the phone,) so your voice sounds cheerful and happy to receive the call.
- If your parent(s) is with you on speaker, make sure you introduce them to the coach. Parents can listen in on the first call, but don’t really talk! Maybe ask one or two questions at the most 🙂 and let your athlete shine. This doesn’t turn college coaches off, unless the parent is on all of the calls, then it’s too much. College coaches want to meet the parent(s), but their goal is to get to know the player to figure out, over time, if it could be a good fit. If parents are overbearing, it can hurt your player’s recruiting process.
- Also, make sure you receive email notifications on your phone, so you know right away when a coach responds to your emails to schedule a call and/or lets you know where they stand with recruiting your position in your class.
- ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS send a THANK YOU email to the coach you spoke with right after the call or within 24 hours. Thank the coach for their time. Highlight what you learned on the call that you loved hearing. End with the next step and thank them again. Carbon copy (CC) the other coaches on staff, so they keep seeing your name and that you are gracious and a good communicator!
I always say when you’re emailing college coaches, you’re trying to find out if they need your position in your grad year. If they do and they are interested in you for their program, YOU can proactively work to set up a phone call. DO NOT wait for them to ask you for a phone call. You can definitely start that process!
I also want to share an article from the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) website that I like written by the Associate Head Coach at ELON in North Carolina, Tina Readling. She surveyed fellow coaches and also from her own experience talks about how coaches are human too and provides some really good insight concerning questions and talking to college coaches.
Stay patient in your process, be in a positive “marathon” mindset, and enjoy the exciting moments along the way.
Keep emailing, keep going, keep working….you got this! You are awesome!