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IMPACT OF THE CORONA VIRUS ON COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL RECRUITING
The NCAA recruiting rules are now different for each division level. NCAA D1 has suspended all in-person recruiting through April 15, 2021. As of September 1, 2020, NCAA D2 and D3 have resumed the regular recruiting rules. Stay on top of the latest news involving the extra year of eligibility for college athletes and how it impacts recruiting. See our full coronavirus resources section. |
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SOME OF THE PROCESS
1. NCAA Division 1 and Division 2 volleyball coaches cannot contact athletes until June 15 after an athlete’s sophomore year of high school
The NCAA is responsible for enforcing its volleyball recruiting rules, which mandate when and how coaches can proactively contact athletes. At the Division 1 and Division 2 levels, most communication is permissible starting June 15 after an athlete’s sophomore year in high school. On the other hand, college coaches at the Division 3 and NAIA levels do not have limits on phone calls and electronic communications.
2. Look at the average height, club experience, approach jump and position-specific skills of college volleyball players to help determine which division levels athletes qualify for
3. Nearly 1,365 colleges could offer athletic scholarships to talented volleyball recruits
For most families, one of the biggest draws to competing on a college volleyball team is the allure of getting a volleyball scholarship. And over 1,300 schools at the Division 1, Division 2, NAIA and junior college levels could offer volleyball scholarships, depending on how well-funded their program is. Though Division 3 schools don’t provide athletic scholarships, they do help connect athletes with other forms of financial aid that can pay for a portion—or all—of the cost of tuition.
4. Get the attention of college coaches by competing on a club team and attending prominent club tournaments
There’s increasing pressure for volleyball recruits to start the volleyball recruiting process earlier and earlier. According to our survey of college coaches, D1 coaches begin searching for talent the earliest of the division levels, with the majority starting when prospects are in 9th grade. For coaches in power conferences (think: the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC), coaches scout out talented 8th graders, as well as freshmen in high school. D2 and D3 coaches reported that they begin evaluating recruits in 10th grade, and the majority of junior college coaches kick off their evaluations in 11th grade.
Because of this trend toward early recruiting, there’s a lot of pressure on volleyball recruits to become experts in the volleyball recruiting process at a young age. This means young athletes and their families need to understand how to:
5. College coaches know if they're interested in an athlete after the first 25 seconds of her volleyball recruiting video
A volleyball recruiting video is a compilation of an athlete’s best plays to showcase her volleyball skillset. While only 3–5 minutes in length, volleyball recruiting videos have to pack a punch, as college coaches use recruiting videos to determine if they will reach out to a volleyball recruit—or move on to the next athlete. In fact, most coaches say that they can tell within the first 25 seconds of a recruiting video if they are interested in that athlete or not.
Creating a volleyball recruiting video is both an art and a science. Based on the athlete’s position and strengths, there’s a certain set of skills that she must include in her video. How those skills are put together and what games the volleyball recruit decides to showcase are really up to families and club and high school coaches. We provide a list of skills coaches look for at each position, and key tips for how to capture the footage your family needs to create your athlete’s best recruiting video.
6. The most common ways for college coaches to evaluate talent is at National Qualifier tournaments and multi-day club tournaments early in the year
There are a few major club tournaments that volleyball recruits must attend if they want to get recruited by volleyball coaches. National Qualifier tournaments take place almost every weekend in March and April. These tournaments decide which teams get a bid for the Junior National Championships, and they attract the most talented club teams. College coaches know that when they attend these events, there will be hundreds of elite volleyball recruits to evaluate, all in one place.
Volleyball recruits should also try to participate in multi-day tournaments at the beginning of the year. The biggest tournaments usually take place over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and President’s Day weekend. At this point in the year, the college volleyball season has concluded, and college coaches are really ramping up their recruiting efforts. They typically haven’t spent much of their recruiting budgets at this point, and they are very interested in scouting out new talent.
1. NCAA Division 1 and Division 2 volleyball coaches cannot contact athletes until June 15 after an athlete’s sophomore year of high school
The NCAA is responsible for enforcing its volleyball recruiting rules, which mandate when and how coaches can proactively contact athletes. At the Division 1 and Division 2 levels, most communication is permissible starting June 15 after an athlete’s sophomore year in high school. On the other hand, college coaches at the Division 3 and NAIA levels do not have limits on phone calls and electronic communications.
2. Look at the average height, club experience, approach jump and position-specific skills of college volleyball players to help determine which division levels athletes qualify for
3. Nearly 1,365 colleges could offer athletic scholarships to talented volleyball recruits
For most families, one of the biggest draws to competing on a college volleyball team is the allure of getting a volleyball scholarship. And over 1,300 schools at the Division 1, Division 2, NAIA and junior college levels could offer volleyball scholarships, depending on how well-funded their program is. Though Division 3 schools don’t provide athletic scholarships, they do help connect athletes with other forms of financial aid that can pay for a portion—or all—of the cost of tuition.
4. Get the attention of college coaches by competing on a club team and attending prominent club tournaments
There’s increasing pressure for volleyball recruits to start the volleyball recruiting process earlier and earlier. According to our survey of college coaches, D1 coaches begin searching for talent the earliest of the division levels, with the majority starting when prospects are in 9th grade. For coaches in power conferences (think: the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC), coaches scout out talented 8th graders, as well as freshmen in high school. D2 and D3 coaches reported that they begin evaluating recruits in 10th grade, and the majority of junior college coaches kick off their evaluations in 11th grade.
Because of this trend toward early recruiting, there’s a lot of pressure on volleyball recruits to become experts in the volleyball recruiting process at a young age. This means young athletes and their families need to understand how to:
- Communicate with coaches
- Prove their NCAA and/or NAIA academic eligibility
- Create an attention-grabbing recruiting video
- Find and attend the volleyball tournaments where college coaches will be
- Get the club experience coaches expect of volleyball recruits
5. College coaches know if they're interested in an athlete after the first 25 seconds of her volleyball recruiting video
A volleyball recruiting video is a compilation of an athlete’s best plays to showcase her volleyball skillset. While only 3–5 minutes in length, volleyball recruiting videos have to pack a punch, as college coaches use recruiting videos to determine if they will reach out to a volleyball recruit—or move on to the next athlete. In fact, most coaches say that they can tell within the first 25 seconds of a recruiting video if they are interested in that athlete or not.
Creating a volleyball recruiting video is both an art and a science. Based on the athlete’s position and strengths, there’s a certain set of skills that she must include in her video. How those skills are put together and what games the volleyball recruit decides to showcase are really up to families and club and high school coaches. We provide a list of skills coaches look for at each position, and key tips for how to capture the footage your family needs to create your athlete’s best recruiting video.
6. The most common ways for college coaches to evaluate talent is at National Qualifier tournaments and multi-day club tournaments early in the year
There are a few major club tournaments that volleyball recruits must attend if they want to get recruited by volleyball coaches. National Qualifier tournaments take place almost every weekend in March and April. These tournaments decide which teams get a bid for the Junior National Championships, and they attract the most talented club teams. College coaches know that when they attend these events, there will be hundreds of elite volleyball recruits to evaluate, all in one place.
Volleyball recruits should also try to participate in multi-day tournaments at the beginning of the year. The biggest tournaments usually take place over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and President’s Day weekend. At this point in the year, the college volleyball season has concluded, and college coaches are really ramping up their recruiting efforts. They typically haven’t spent much of their recruiting budgets at this point, and they are very interested in scouting out new talent.