Lets Talk Recruiting...

*My experiences going through the recruiting process and may biggest takeaways*

When I was in club volleyball, recruiting was a little different than it is now, and all happened a little earlier in my high school career. I got my first college scholarship when I was in 8th grade and I didn’t even know what that meant. Picture this: I’m sitting in a college coach's office where he offers me a full ride scholarship. My parents are jumping for joy and I’m pretty sure the first thing that came out of my mouth was “oh”. I had no idea the gravity of the situation. I knew that I wanted to play college volleyball but as an 8th grader that seems like a very distant dream. Now I’m not telling you I was recruited as an 8th grader to brag about myself, this was a very real thing for a lot of players in my recruiting class. I’m telling you this because I was being recruited to pick my university, where I would get my degree to set up the rest on my life, as an eighth grader. I didn’t have the first idea of what I wanted to do in life or

even what college meant to me. I was lost! As time went on schools came and went and I talked to many different schools. To this day it was the most exhausting thing I’ve ever gone through. Trust me I know, “I was lucky to be in that situation in the first place” and “what a great problem to have” and "you should be grateful that you even had interests from schools”. Yeah, you’re right, but choosing the first real step of your life at 15 years old tends to put some stress on the brain and the heart. Looking back on it I know I did it right. All the stress and all the traveling was worth it because I am at the school that is perfect for me. That is a feeling that I want all young athletes, in any sport, to feel. That they did it right, they did their homework, and they ended up at the right school. Not their “dream school”, the RIGHT school.

It's easy to get caught up in the glitz and the glam of recruiting and have a false perception of schools in your head. You’re young, you’re on the up and up, and you feel like you’re the best volleyball player to step on the court. News flash, those coaches are saying that to every other player in the convention center too. You have to focus on what is important: what you want out of your collegiate volleyball experience, what you want out of your college experience, and what is important to you as a person. For me, I knew I wanted to play at a top tier volleyball program and compete for a national championship. This meant I needed to surround myself with coaches and teammates who shared the same vision as I did. This can be hard to look for when you’re looking at schools. One thing I picked up on was that when I felt a team was a little more serious about this thing than I was, I knew they would push me to achieve the things I wanted. When you talk to coaches and players and think “whoa ok they mean business” that’s when you know they will push you to be your best. You have to know what you want out of your program. It's ok to want to enjoy your college experience at the same time. It is just important to get those priorities straight before you commit somewhere that doesn’t match that. Knowing what you want out of a college experience, specifically school-wise, is just as important as well. You’re not going to know what you want to do with your life when you’re a junior in high school, and if you think you do it’s probably going to change. So, it’s important to go somewhere that has a variety of options that you’re interested in. Again, this is something that you need to think about before you talk with schools so they can help you. Lastly it is so important that you know what is important to you as a person. This is probably something that you’ve

never specifically thought about but it’s important to put a label to some of the things that you value. For me, I valued going to a school that had a strong sense of team and history, as well as a coaching staff that valued me as a person rather than a volleyball player. Understanding what you value and not wavering for anyone is the reason I am so happy where I am at and a strong tool to use in the recruiting process to ground you. The recruiting prosses is such a fun and exciting time. Don’t forget to take a step back and to be grateful for where you’re at.

10 Things that are crucial during the recruiting process:

1. Understand what you want out of your VOLLEYBALL college experience (competitiveness, relationship with coaches, overall “feel of the program”, team culture, conference, etc.).

2. Understand. What you want out of your COLLEGE experience (lifestyle, distance from home, quality of education, availability to majors you are interested in).

3. Find a program that WANTS you, not just will take you. This is probably the MOST important advice I could offer. The school you go to should want you to be on their team and should make it very obvious that they do.

4. Form a relationship with the coaches, this will give you insight on what their program is like.

5. Ask the tough questions to the coaches and the players. This can be tough and awkward, but it benefits both parties. You need to ask the questions you really want to know during the recruiting process, rather than finding out when you’re in college.

6. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, college coaches and players are people too. They want to know the REAL you!!

7. Don’t get caught up in the glitz and glam of some schools. You have to look past the materialistic things and look at schools based on what they value and what their culture is. Cool gear and fun social media can only get you so far.

8. Go on as many visits as you can. This can be hard for some people financially, but I promise you it makes a world of difference. Go to their camps, go on unofficial and official visits till you are sure.

9. Get to know the current players! Even if you won’t play with them they are a reflection of what the team culture is.

10. Trust your gut. Do your homework on the school, but trust the feelings you get.