As a result of Title IX legislation passed in 1972 opportunities for female volleyball players to play at the next level and recieve a scholarship have greatly increased. Title IX aims at providing overall equity between genders for college scholarships. For volleyball this has had a very positive impact for women. Currently there are 7500 scholarships available to women opposed to the 180 available to men. This is a great oppotunity for female athletes. Take advantage of it!!!
Below I have listed some tips for helping you navigate the complex world of college volleyball recruiting. I will be sharing with you my perspective on recruiiting from my time spent as an assistant in charge of recruiting at a Division I Program.
1. VIDEO
Make a highlight video and send it to schools you are interested in. I recommend using a sharpee to write your name, description of who to look for on video, cell, email, club, club coach name and cell, grad year, GPA, height, touch, and position (write on the actual dvd not the case). Send this video to schools you are interested in. A link to every college program's volleyball page can be found on our Links page where you can find address info. For bigger programs send the video to one of the assistant coaches, they handle most of the recruiting. For smaller schools you can send the video to the head coach. Either way it will get there.
2. UNIVERSITY ATHLETE
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University Athlete is the premier communication tool connecting collegiate coaches and athletes in Girl's Volleyball. It is NOT a recruiting service; They don’t sell athletes to colleges; therefore, the coaches trust them and use their services. UA combines the convenience of an online database with the efficiency of Palm© software to assist coaches’ recruiting efforts at tournaments. At a tournament, recruiters can instantly find any player, identify new players, evaluate and take notes without losing valuable time needed to watch courts. More than 750 college coaches utilize University Athlete’s services and that number is growing. With the booming business of collegiate athletics upon us, UA has created a system that efficiently and effectively connects the coaches with the players in a timely and secure environment. Athletes now have the tools at hand to get the correct information into the hands of the recruiters at NO COST. |
Login to your free account. If you have forgotten your password you can restore it, or if you need a new account, begin the process here.
With your free account, you can even link your YouTube video clips to your profile so coaches have immediate access to your video while they are looking at your profile. For $40 You can upgrade your free account to search just about every volleyball program in the country and contact it's coaches. You do the work, we help you get connected.
3. NCAA RECRUITING RULES
Freshmen, Sophmores- Coaches are allowed to send you athletic or sports camp brochures, NCAA Educational Information and Questionnaires. A coach can also accept phone calls from you as long as they are at your expense but remember that if you leave a message on an answering service the coach is NOT ALLOWED TO CALL YOU BACK. Coaches are not allowed to call you on the phone. A coach cannot send you any written recruiting information. Players may visit schools on unofficial visits but the players must pay for their travel out of their own pockets.
Juniors- Schools may send prospects recruiting materials after September 1st following Junior year. Schools are allowed to initiate a telephone call once per week after July 1st of Junior year. Coaches may initiate off campus contact with a player after July 1st following Junior year. Players may visit schools on unofficial visits but the players must pay for their travel out of their own pockets.
Seniors- Seniors are allowed to take an official visit after the first day of high school classes in their senior year. Players may visit schools on unofficial visits before this time but the players must pay for their travel out of their own pockets.
4. SCHOLARSHIPS- 7500 volleyball scholarships are available for girls as opposed to 180 for men (22 D-I mens programs and 18 D-II programs all offering 4.5 scholarships)
311 Division I Programs - 12 Scholarships
269 Division II Programs - 8 Scholarships
449 Division III - 0 Scholarships (most D-III schools can find creative ways to give money through academic scholarships and grants)
300 NAIA Programs - 12 Scholarships
5. NCAA CLEARINGHOUSE
Register with NCAA CLEARINGHOUSE during junior year. Make sure you are on course to meet core-course requirements (verify you have the correct number of core courses and that the core courses are on your high school's 48-H with the eligibility center). After your junior year, have your high school guidance counselor send a copy of your transcript to the Clearinghouse. If you have attended any other high schools, make sure a transcript is sent to the eligibility center from each high school. When taking the ACT or SAT, request test scores to be sent to the eligibility center (the code is "9999"). Fill out amateurism questionnaire during junior year. During senior year students must log back in and finalize amatuerism questionaire (after april 1) and send in final transcripts/proof of graduation.
In summary I will say this;
VIDEO, VIDEO, VIDEO!!!! Get your video in the hands of college coaches before you do anything else.
BE PROACTIVE!
Call coaches during your freshmen, sophmore and junior years (they are not allowed to call you). Call coaches during your senior year (they are only allowed to call you once a week. If they try to call you and get no answer that is their one call for that week). Make sure you have already sent in your video. Coaches do not want to talk with someone they don't have any video on. Coaches would love to talk to you but most of the time they are not allowed to initiate a call. Call them!!!!
MAKE UNOFFICIAL VISITS! There is nothing like putting a face to a name. Call the coach and set up a time to have an unofficial visit (unofficial means you are paying for the travel, hotel, parking, lunch, etc..). Don't wait until your senior year to visit the coach/school on an official visit. Unofficail visits are a great way to set yourself apart.
CALL YOURSELF! Don't have mommy make the phone calls for you. This college coach is not recruiting your mom, they are recruiting you. College coaches want to know that they can have a meaninful conversation with this athlete (this will go a long way towards selling "Coachability"). Hopefully players have already learned how to communicate with their coaches at the juniors level. Parents if you are the middle man for your daughter at the junior level or during the college recruiting process you are crippling your daughter from being ready to play at the next level and for life.
BE OPEN! There are a lot of opportunities out there for those who are willing to cast their nets wide. Make contact with numerous schools at a variety of levels. Find a great school that has a winning program. Ask yourself if you would rather play for the DII champions or for a DI school that consistently loses?
-Matt
