GOAL RIGHT NOW: To get college volleyball coaches at the schools on your list, that are recruiting your position in your grad year, to watch you play live on President’s Day weekend, Feb 19th-21st, 2022. This is very simple…if you can do this, it will be perfect for your recruiting process!
This pertains to every class – 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 – you should be going strong in the recruiting process NOW!
Jump in and get going, here’s HOW!
3 Steps to Do This:
- Know where you are interested in playing college volleyball and what your level may be – have a target list of at least 20 schools.
- Email all of the coaches on staff AND at the end of the email ask if they need your position in your grad year – you need to find out based on what they know now (things can change).
- If the college coach responds, likes your highlight video, and thinks you are a possible fit, ask them to watch you play at your tournament on Feb. 19th-21st, 2022, with its name and location.
Why President’s Day weekend, Feb. 19th-21st? Because before then is a “quiet period” in college volleyball recruiting. Meaning, Division 1 college volleyball coaches cannot watch and evaluate players live in a place of competition from Dec 1st, 2021 thru Feb. 17th, 2022! Division 3 and sometimes Division 2 coaches can watch athletes during these Division 1 quiet periods. No matter what, it’s a HUGE weekend for college volleyball recruiting at national tournament locations on President’s Day weekend!
It will take you a while to email 20 schools and hear back from the coaches – for them to tell you their recruiting needs in your class – to evaluate you by watching your highlight video. Then maybe, not always, talk to you on the phone and learn more about you before they watch you play. Every one of your emails to a coach needs to have a point to it…an outcome…someone taking action…someone answering a question. In this case, you want to know their recruiting needs. It takes more than one email to get an answer. Don’t give up after one email! Send out at least 5 emails, every 2 weeks, before moving on. If they don’t need your position in your grad year, then move them off the list and ask them to let you know if things change.
In a perfect recruiting world, you will start this now, as soon as your high school volleyball season is over, if you haven’t already. Of the 20 schools, those that say no and those you add on to replace them, it would be GREAT to have 10 schools watching you play, that need your position in your grad year, are interested in you to help their program, and know you are interested in THEIR program. 10 schools watching you play Feb. 19th-21st, 2022 would be great for your recruiting process and, then, you can keep moving forward and building from there!
Note: 2024s and 2025s, keep emailing and asking them to let your club coach know (because of the June 15th rule). Still ask them to watch you play. Cast a wider net of 20-40 schools, if you can! Coaches are FOR SURE evaluating these younger classes on President’s Day weekend. Coaches will mark you down to watch you play/evaluate you, even though they can’t reply to you directly!
*Make sure you’re on University Athlete, so coaches can find you at the tournaments!!!
Learn more about these topics below to help you in the three steps in this article. You got this!!