As a college volleyball recruiting expert, I see many families make big recruiting mistakes! Biggest recruiting mistake #1 is thinking you will be actively recruited.
Thinking you will be actively recruited is one of the most common errors in judgment families make. They assume college coaches will aggressively recruit their student athlete, and offer them a “full ride.” Many make the mistake that if their student athlete isn’t receiving any letters or emails from college coaches, than they must not be good enough to play at the next level. Let me make this crystal clear, I have literally helped athletes who are not strong enough to make their high school volleyball teams get a college scholarship to play!
So lets go over the facts. There are over 400,000 girls playing high school volleyball in the United States. That is a large number, right? There are 330 NCAA Division 1 college volleyball programs, however not all are fully funded and the Ivy League doesn’t offer athletic money. However in all, their are more than 1,500 college volleyball programs in the United States! If your daughter wants to play volleyball in college, there is absolutely a place for her to play!
You need to keep an open mind regardless of the talent level of your student athlete. There is a lot of opportunity and billions of dollars in scholarship money available! So you really need to evaluate what the priorities are for your family. Is it to play volleyball at the highest level possible, to have the majority of your education paid for, or to use volleyball as a leg up to get into an institution with a low acceptance rate? It could be any combination of these factors (or some additional), but keep this in mind, just because a student athlete is good enough to play in Division 1 doesn’t mean that it is the right decision!
Every athlete needs a strategy! Do not limit the opportunities to the programs who come after your athlete. You should be marketing your student athlete to multiple programs who offer an academic, athletic and social setting that is ideal for them. If you need assistance in creating a strategy, and understanding what your student athlete is looking for in their college experience, drop me an email at [email protected] to set up a free consultation. I’d be happy to provide support and guidance to your family. For more tips, subscribe to my blog below and like us on “Facebook.”
