RECRUITING CORNER
A great way to get a jump on the
college recruiting process is to make a SKILLS VIDEO.
Recruiting Corner:
NCAA College Coach/Recruit Etiquette Video
Sky High 2012 Recruiting Handbook
Differences in Divisions
Important Links:
2011-2012 Division I Recruiting Calendar for women’s volleyball and beach volleyball
2011-2012 Division II Recruiting Calendar for women’s volleyball and beach volleyball
Division II NCAA Recruiting Guide
Online Recruiting Tool - VolleyballRecruits.net
FREE Recruiting Guide From volleyballrecruits.net The Official Recruiting tool of USAV
NCAA Freshman Eligibility Standards
NCAA Eligibility Center
NCAA Divisions I, II and III: www.ncaa.org
Rich Kern's Recruiting Registry: www.recruitingregistry.com
The NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse: www.ncaaclearinghouse.net
The Princeton Review: www.princetonreview.com
SAT Info: www.collegeboard.com
ACT Info: www.actstudent.org
National Letter of Intent: www.national-letter.org
American Volleyball Coaches Association: www.avca.org
NAIA Info for Student Athletes: www.naia.org
Contact with college coaches through phone, instant messenger, letter, email, fax, or visit can only be made by you. College coaches cannot call, email, write, fax, or visit you, with the exception of one underclassman letter from a college, which includes general information about the university and volleyball program. The letter can also include one questionnaire.
You are eligible to receive one camp brochure.
You are eligible to take an unofficial visit.
Junior
Can receive regular written correspondence from any university, which includes letters, email, and fax. There is no limit on the amount of written correspondence you can receive from one University at this time.
You are eligible to take an unofficial visit
July 1st after your junior year
Can receive one phone call or one instant message per week or one from each university.
Can receive up to 3in-person, off-campus contact with coaches, which includes a home visit.
Senior
1st day of classes, senior year you are now eligible to take an official visit to a University: You are only allowed up to five official visits.
Early signing date: Once you sign, you have no restrictions on phone calls, contacts, or evaluations.
April 15th- August 1st
Late signing date
What freshman should be doing?
Mentor an Upperclassman
Find an upperclassman on your high school or club team and follow their progress through the recruiting process.
If you aren’t familiar with a current athlete going through the recruiting process then maybe you can talk to an athlete that has just completed the process.
The recruiting process changes from year to year, so it is best to talk to someone who has had recent experience.
Also, it is also best to get different views on the process. The recruiting process will be very different for the league MVP than someone with less athletic ability; however, scholarships can be obtained by both players.
Attend Summer Camp
If you are already partial to one school, maybe your local in-state school or there is a university you have always dreamed of attending, it is not a bad idea to go to their summer camp.
This is NOT necessary and there is no guarantee this will help you get recruited by that school, but if this is a camp you can easily attend it can be helpful.
Advantages to attending summer camp are having the opportunity to meet the coach and players, see the campus, tour the athletic facilities, and get a feel for what it would be like to attend that specific university. By spending multiple days around the coach and team you will have the chance to get to know their personalities and investigate if this is a program you would be happy being a part of.
If you do decide to attend a summer camp in the hopes of future recruitment it is a good idea to contact the coach by phone to let him or her know you will be there. This will alert them to your interest and give them a chance to pay close attention to your development during camp. Also, they also might take some time out with you and give you details about the program and university.
Athletic and Academic Awards/Community Service
Begin preparing your list of athletic and academic awards received. Do not limit your athletic awards to the sport you want to play in college.
Begin making a list of all your community service and or volunteer projects you have been involved with. Keep this list saved on a computer so you can continue to add to it through the years.
What sophomores should be doing?
Minimize Your Search
Distance from home
(1) Do I want to stay close to home?
(2) Do I want to go far away?
(3) Distance does not matter to me?
(4) I don’t know just yet.
* You may not be able to answer this until after you have made a visit.
Academics/Degree Programs
(1) How important is the academic standing of the university to me?
(2) Do I know what I want to study? If not, it is important to look at schools with many degree programs. If you have an idea of what you want to be, then it is important to research schools that have your degree program.
Enrollment
(1) Do I want to go to a large university?
(2) Do I want to go to a small university?
(3) Do I want to attend a public university?
(4) Do I want to attend a private university?
* You may not be able to answer this until after you have made a visit.
Level of Play
(1) Do I want to join the best team, if that means forgoing playing time in my first year or two?
(2) Do I want to go to a program where I can start right away?
(3) Is it important for me to go division 1 only or am I happy being on a team at any division?
(4) How important is level of play in my happiness at a university?
Conference
(1) Is there a certain conference I want to play in?
(2) How many schools are in that specific conference?
(3) Do I have the grades to attend a school in that conference?
(4) Do I have the ability to attend a school in that conference?
Do Some Research
It is very important you find out information on the universities you are interested in before the recruiting process begins? If you have made up your mind that you don’t want to go to a big university or you are set on a certain degree program, then do your part in finding universities that fit your specific needs.
Internet. Every university has a website that you should be able to easily find on a search engine. A recommended sight for collegiate volleyball program websites is www.richkern.com.
By researching the University website you can find degree programs, enrollment, public or private status, location, virtual tours, national rankings, etc.
By researching the athletic website you can find conference, school record, the head coach’s record, schedule, and roster.
The roster can be very helpful in determining if there will be a scholarship for your position. To do this you need to look at the number of players graduating and their positions the same year you are graduating from high school. This will give you an indication of what they will need out of the incoming class. This is not always true because you never know if they will move another player into a different position, but if you are an outside hitter and they graduated 2 outsides and a setter, then there is a good chance they will be recruiting your position.
The website will also give you history on the head coach and program. This will be helpful when you make contact with the coach because you can prepare yourself by looking up important details about their record, a certain player’ s performance, the coach’s background, etc.
Call College Coaches
If you are interested in a school and want to know what they will be looking for in your recruiting class then the best thing you can do is pick up the phone and call.
This will allow you to establish a relationship with the coach, which will be very important in the recruiting process.
This will show the coach you are mature, aggressive, and have leadership ability.
* Remember, the coach can’t call you back, so if you don’t get a hold of him or her, you must continue to keep trying. A good idea is to call the secretary and find out when they have practice. This way you can strategically plan your call when they are in the office.
Take a Visit
If you aren’t sure where you want to go, then take a visit to a local university that is easy to get to.
This will give you the opportunity to see what an unofficial visit is like, so when the time comes for you to visit a university of strong interest you know what to expect, questions to ask, facilities to see, or meetings to request that are important to you.
Take Advantage of Local Resources
High school coaches in the area that have sent players to college. Call a local high school coach and talk to them about their experience in the recruiting process. Many time coaches that have been around a long time can provide you with important information on how the recruiting process has changed.
Club coaches in the area that have sent players to college.
Managing Underclassman Questionnaires Sent to You by a University
Send back questionnaires in a timely fashion.
Make a file for each University and track future correspondence.
If you are 100 percent sure you do not want to attend a certain school, send back a letter thanking them for the interest, but at this time you are not interested.
Make Contact
Create a personal questionnaire and send to schools you are interested in.
Information should include:
Personal Information: Name, Age, Birthday, graduation year (simply state class of 2007 etc.), Home Address, Home Phone, Father’s Name, Mother’s Name, father’s Work Phone, Mother’s Work Phone, Your Social Security Number, Your Email Address.
Physical Data: Position, Height, Weight, Handed, Standing reach, Approach Jump, Other Sports Played, Awards, Honors, Camps Attended
High School Information: High School, High School Address, Enrollment, Uniform #, High School Address, Coach, Coach Home Phone, Work Phone, Home Address, Email Address,
Club Information: USVBA/ AAU Team, Uniform #, Coach, Coach Home Phone, Coach Work phone, Home Address, Email Address,
Academic Information: GPA, Class Rank, SAT, ACT, Intended major, Counselor’s Name, Phone
Additional Email Address
It can be helpful to set up an additional email address used strictly for recruiting, which allows recruits to keep personal email separate from college correspondence. Be sure to do this in your sophomore year because colleges will look to contact you in your junior year with the information you gave them on the questionnaire you sent your sophomore year.
High School Schedule
Send colleges your high school play and practice schedule with an invitation for them to come and watch you play.
Compare your schedule with that of the college in question for dates when your playing schedule does not conflict. Invite them to watch you play on those specific dates.
Send an email update or place a phone call to a coach before a match or tournament reminding them you are playing. If you are competing in a tournament, let the coach know what time and court you will be playing on the first day.
Club Schedule
Send colleges your club play and practice schedule with an invitation for them to come and watch you play.
Send an email update or place a phone call to a coach before a tournament reminding them you will be there. Let the coach what time and court you will be playing on the first day.
Phone Calls
It is a good idea to call a coach to obtain information about their program and plans for recruitment in your year and to alert them of your interest.
Also, phone calls serve as great reminders about an upcoming match or tournament. Before you call, be sure to check out their website and incorporate some information about their program in your call, it will prove your interest to the coach. *Remember, a coach cannot call you back at this time.
Email
It is a good idea to email a coach with updates on your season.
Also, emails serve as great reminders about an upcoming match or tournament. Before you call, be sure to check out their website and incorporate some information about their program in your email it will prove your interest to the coach. It is a good idea to call the coach, secretary, or look online for the coach’s email. *Remember, a coach cannot email you back at this time.
Instant messenger is regarding as a phone call by the NCAA, which means a college coach cannot initiate an instant message, just like they cannot call you.
If you instigate the instant message by sending the first message after seeing the coach online, then a conversation is legal. It is a good idea to call the coach and obtain his or her instant messenger screen name.
Video
A skills or match tape is not necessary at this time. It is important to remember that a video of yourself should be helpful to you in the recruiting process.
There is a lot of valuable growing to do physically between your sophomore and junior year. If you feel you have physically matured and are jumping and moving as well as you can, then a video is a good idea. If you feel you have a lot of room to improve on strength, coordination, and overall skill, then you may want to wait until your junior year to make a video.