Freshman College Bound Recruit Checklist

I created a checklist specifically for high school freshman volleyball players. I want to help college volleyball recruits in the US that are looking for answers on how to get started in the recruiting process as a freshman! Here is the checklist I created for you below.  

FRESHMAN RECRUIT CHECKLIST: 

• Watch past college matches online or find some that are currently taking place. Seeing the level of play that you are aspiring to will give you an idea of where you’re at as a player and where you need to be by your senior year.

• Get on a competitive club team where you will get playing time. It’s important to play for knowledgeable coaches on a good team that practices at least twice a week. It’s also important to play at national qualifiers and tournaments so college coaches can watch you.

• Make a recruiting video. But don’t pay a lot of money for someone to make it for you. Using video from your phone or iPad and editing in iMovie or a similar program works just fine. Here’s an article I wrote on how to make your own recruiting video.

• Create a target list of 15-30 schools. They should be schools you are interested in attending and schools where you would like to play volleyball. Look at all divisions and conferences around the country that you think are your level. (Ask your coach if you don’t know). Don’t count out any schools when you’re a freshman. It’s early in the process, so you should be open to many possibilities.

• Create your University Athlete (UA) profile at www.universityathlete.com. Every college coach/recruiter will use it to track and find the court you’re on at tournaments. Include your name, a picture, graduation year, contact info, your coach’s contact info, parents’ names and approach jump touch. It’s good to post a highlight video, too. This should all be on the free version.

• Email the college coaches on your target list. With the new recruiting rule, there is no back and forth communication between players and college coaches until June 15th after your sophomore year. But the beginning of your freshman year is NOT too early to introduce yourself and express your strong interest in attending their school and playing volleyball for their program. College coaches will definitely start watching you play, and if they know you’re interested in their school and they like your video, they will mark you down and watch you during your freshman season.

• Start to find out which schools on your target list will need your position in your grad year. Become a detective and study the roster of the schools, use the prepvolleyball.com “College Needs List,” ask your club coach or director to find out which positions the schools at the top of your list will need in your grad year. They are allowed to ask college coaches this without asking specifically about you. When you find out, either keep the school on the list or take it off and add more.

• Attend winter clinics, spring clinics and summer college volleyball camps at schools you’re interested in. Clinics are great for visibility and to get experience being coached by college coaches. The summer between your freshman and sophomore year is important to target specific schools on your list. If you’re a setter or a middle, make sure they need your position in your year before you go to the trouble of attending the camp. Colleges usually aren’t as certain about their needs at OH or L/DS for freshmen.

• Keep your grades up. No mystery to this one. The better you do in school, the more options you’ll have, especially with regard to merit-based/academic aid that many universities offer.

• Make yourself aware of NCAA core course requirements. Be sure your high school counselor is up to speed on what type of classes you need.

• Start some kind of weightlifting program. Strength and agility programs are great and it doesn’t need to be extensive.

• Give yourself a social media checkup. When college coaches mark you down on their watch list after receiving emails from you, you have begun the recruiting process with them and they will check your social media accounts. If they see things that shine a negative light – partying, inappropriate behavior, etc. – it can hurt your chances. Remember, coaches view posts with adult, grown-up eyes. They may stop recruiting you if they don’t like what they see. Just be careful.

• Participate in volleyball lessons with a good instructor. In practice, you don’t always get enough skill acquisition and technical coaching specific to your weaknesses. Lessons are a great way to improve your skill level outside of club practices. Invite a teammate (in a position that complements yours) so you can split the cost. Both of you will have an opportunity to get better!

• And finally, I know at the time of writing this we are in the midst of COVID-19. This has changed some things with the recruiting process, most notably, getting seen. HERE IS A GUIDE TO HELP YOU with recruiting during COVID-19.