Why “How to Get Recruited” is the Wrong Question

I’ve been a part of a few youth sports parent groups for years, and I would be willing to bet that topic of how to get recruited is the most common question that’s come up without a close second place.

But it’s the wrong question – and this piece will both address why that’s the case as well as the best advice I can give as a former collegiate player, athlete, and admissions worker.

From my experience, many young athletes think they want to play in college. but their actions do not reflect that / I do not think they are aware of exactly what it takes.

I have worked with many athletes that have gone on to play in college. Most did not make it. They should not feel bad about that – roughly 5.9% of high school volleyball players (that make the team!) will go on to play in college, and only 1.2% will go on to play Division I.

So what separated the players that made it to the next level vs. ones that didn’t?

If you read articles, you’d think it’s all about travel tournaments, recruiting showcases, and online profiles. While those can supplement one’s college search, none of that matters if the player has not gone above and beyond when it comes to their development as a player.

My college athletes have embraced the work it takes to improve their skills. Simply put, they embraced the process of getting better vs. getting caught up in playing time, wins and losses, and other things that are not important to college coaches that are recruiting them.

Some questions to ask yourself when you think you or your athlete wants to play in college:

1) Does my athlete embrace the necessary sacrifices that it will take to get to the next level? One of the biggest differences I saw between the players that said they wanted to play in college and the ones that did it was their actions outside of practice. The players that I never saw outside of our standard practices typically did not make it. You could also see the ones that were putting time into the weight room outside of practices vs. the ones that did not.

I want to make something clear: I do not think playing collegiate volleyball always allows for a healthy balance for well-rounded individuals. Some of my most impressive athletes did not play in college because they were good at other sports, played music/performed in the arts, or simply enjoyed focusing on things other than volleyball 24/7. But it is important for athletes to be honest with themselves: Are they going to be happy sacrificing all the other things they enjoy focusing on volleyball? Would they potentially be happier playing volleyball in a manner that also allowed them to thrive in other areas of their life? College or not, this self-awareness is crucial to helping an athlete choose a path that prioritizes their happiness/well-being.

2) Does the athlete love the work? We currently have over ten athletes competing in collegiate volleyball, and we have seen almost all of them this winter as they prepare for their next season. They are constantly looking for opportunities to train, and most come in knowing exactly what they want to focus on in their sessions. I have known Penn State player Ava Falduto since she was in sixth grade – days after winning the national championship, she was back in the gym training preparing for next season.

This is how the great ones are wired as competitors. Do you or your child embrace that same grind?

I think many athletes love the sport and enjoy playing, but it is honestly unusual when we coach athletes that genuinely love the work. I think many of our athletes tolerate it: they show up because they read the articles that say they must play club to play at the next level. But that is not enough: Athletes that want to play in college need to be putting work in outside of standard practices. Unless they’re a genetic outlier (which most aren’t), they need to be lifting properly, rest and rehabbing accordingly, taking care of their nutrition, and sleeping a proper amount to recover from the toll the grind takes on their body.

3) Are the athletes themselves proactive? When I really think about the athletes that were on the cusp but did not end up making it, this is one of the most important ones. And it’s a broad question – here are the things I noticed regarding the ones that said they wanted to play in college but didn’t make it vs. the ones that saw it through:

* Were the parents leading the charge for their practices/recruiting process, or was the athlete themselves engaged?

* Were the parents coming to me wanting me to set up their extra practice schedule, or did the players themselves give me their schedule/training needs?

* Were the athletes focused on their self-improvement/reaching out to college coaches themselves, or did they want me or other people to do that legwork for them?

4) Are you in an environment that nurtures individual growth? If not, consider the fact that many programs nationwide are putting an emphasis on this.

In my region, I watch a lot of middle-to-lower tier clubs promoting victories in local power leagues/tournaments that will not translate to success at the next level. So many parents and players in these programs have no ability to understand how far off their athletes are from the top of their respective age groups. And unfortunately, many of these kids are not given proper training opportunities at their practices. Too many coaches are coming into club with minimal education/guidance on how to teach the fundamentals or work with a struggling athlete.

If you are athlete is not constantly getting individual guidance on their spacing, timing, mechanics, and strategy, then they are not being properly trained for the next level.

I understand this is very against the grain from most articles you read. I think there are three ‘credible’ organizations that have shared articles that give parents and players the impression that if you are playing club, competing at travel events, and participating in recruiting showcases/creating profiles, that equation will lead to playing in college. Respectfully, those organizations benefit from the model that has a large quantity of athletes participate in that type of programming. But that does not change the reality that the demand for opportunities to play in college far exceeds the supply – it takes a lot more than participation to get to the next level.

I have watched many athletes play year-round for travel ball programs, and their individual skills do not improve enough for any of that to translate to recruiting opportunities. Meanwhile, our program has athletes starting for colleges who did not play juniors tournaments. Their game footage was primarily from high-level scrimmages that occurred from the same facility they trained at. But that footage showed an athlete that could play at the next level. We taught our athletes how to search for schools that were a good fit outside of volleyball, and how to introduce themselves to college coaches via email/phone.

To conclude, I hope you all can switch “How do we get our athlete recruited” to “Does my athlete truly want to do what it takes to get to the next level.” There are plenty of ways for athletes to stay involved in the sport (club, intramurals, adult leagues in the area) even if they do not play for their school. Being self-aware of how much you want volleyball to be a part of your life will ultimately be factor in looking back on one’s career fondly or with regret.
I wish you all luck with your own journey, and hope this article helped you when assessing the best path forward!

Coach Bryan runs Progression Beach Volleyball in the Chicagoland area. He has 22 years of coaching experience, including NCAA Division I, Division III, NJCAA Division III, and juniors club/beach. If you are interested in learning more about his recruiting services or had a topic you would like to see covered, you can contact him at Bryan@progressionvolleyball.com

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