What College Coaches Look for When Recruiting
Club season is in full swing and college coaches are on the prowl to fill their recruiting classes. Understanding what coaches look for when recruiting will boost your recruiting success by separating yourself from other recruits. Participating in club volleyball…
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Continue ReadingClub season is in full swing and college coaches are on the prowl to fill their recruiting classes. Understanding what coaches look for when recruiting will boost your recruiting success by separating yourself from other recruits.
Participating in club volleyball is a huge step in gaining exposure to college coaches as not much volleyball recruiting happens outside of club in today’s recruiting world due to convenience of the number of athletes at club tournaments and scheduling during college seasons.
Here is an interesting article of a reporter who interviewed college volleyball coaches who were recruiting at a large national qualifier tournament:
https://www.ncsasports.org/blog/2014/06/19/college-volleyball-coaches-recruits/
This article is a great read for anyone looking to play collegiately. What college coaches look for is what they will expect of you every day once you are a collegiate athlete.
Here are some of the highlights from the article:
Be a positive player
“College coaches evaluate more than your physicality, they are evaluating your mentality. Great ways to make a bad impression with a college coach – not paying attention in the huddle, giving a teammate a dirty look because of a play she did or did not make, reacting negatively to coaching instruction or chastisement, being disrespectful of your parents, and not playing hard.”
Be proactive in recruiting
“Kids are not proactive enough in recruiting. They continue to think they will get discovered at events. There are a lot of good players that need to be doing more than simply trusting the club process to lead to great offers. They do not reach out to college coaches like they should. Families too often think the recruiting process is supposed to come to them. These college coaches are looking for qualified kids that really want to play for them, and know how to reach out to them.”
Grades are important
“It is amazing the academic packages that can be put together for good, smart athletes outside of NCAA Division I.”
Communication is key
“Communication is key in recruiting, especially at a young age. Are they confident enough to call us? A quality kid, they never inconvenience us when they call. This is what we do (recruiting) for a living. I talk to recruits that call me on the phone every day. If they are not on our list or not good enough, we will tell them.”
Coaches like when you contact them personally
“Athletes can contact me. That means a lot, how they carry themselves on the phone. Some are good. Some are nervous. Some think they are bothering us. No one would ever bother us.”
Be a standout on the court with your competitiveness and attitude
“We have a list we built, that includes kids that emailed us. We look for good attitudes. I just saw a player that was a decent athlete. We would never look at her again because of the way she acted on the court. She looked like she doesn’t care if she messes up. She was too nonchalant. We look for the fighting spirit! We want consistency. We want kids that go after balls they really shouldn’t, that are out of play. Girls that make the most out of sets that aren’t that great.”
Show leadership on the court
“We watch to see if they are competitive but still a team player. Do they pout? In big matches, how do they react if they are losing?”
One thing that this article did not mention was the use of social media. Be careful to not post anything that is controversial or does not portray you in a positive way. Be aware that college coaches will probably view you on social media if they are seriously recruiting you.
It is important to understand that you will be evaluated both on and off the court at every tournament, but do not let this scare you! The recruiting process is a great journey where you will learn more about yourself as a person and a player as you push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Make sure you are making yourself stand-out above the other recruits by: 1) being proactive in recruiting, 2) be respectful to others on and off the court, and 3) have fun playing volleyball!