College Volleyball Recruiting A Parent’s Point of View Bill Babilon

Agenda RCHS’s Past Players Hard Facts Regarding College Volleyball NCAA Rules It’s a Job Erin’s Timeline How to get started What I learned

RCHS Alumni who played in college 08 – Kia K. 09 – Nicole R. 10 – Ashley N., Meredith R., Kenzi M. 11 – Allison K., Megan T. 12 – Lauren H. 13 – Aima E. 14 – Erin B.

Hard Facts Regarding College Volleyball The average roster size 12/8/0 – number of full athletic vball scholarships available at Div 1/2/3 Not all schools can or are allowed to fully fund all the scholarships Most top Div 1 teams and big state schools do the following: Full scholarships for their starters (7-8 players) Many do NOT offer much athletic aid to freshman You can be replaced by a ‘better’ player (5’9” outside just became a DS) Nothing is guaranteed - 4 year, full ride is mostly a myth The NLI (National Letter of Intent) is the ‘contract’ between the player and the school Verbals are un-enforceable Many Div 2 schools offer combined packages of athletic and academic aid (especially private schools) They really like athletes with high GPA’s and/or ACT/SAT scores Div 3 schools can NOT offer athletic aid

It is a ‘job’ 20 hrs/week of ‘contact time’ in season (fall) 8 hrs/week of ‘contact time’ out of season (spring/summer) Contact time: Practice with coaches Meeting with coaches to review your individual skills/improvement areas/academic performance Basically, anything run by the coach Does Not include 5:00 am weight training/conditioning Playing time or time spent traveling to competitions Time spent reviewing tape or scouting reports (independent study) Team meals Supporting other teams/programs at the school (mostly out of season) Really, in the fall, you will be spending hours/wk. doing something related to volleyball

NCAA Rules IMPORTANT WEB SITES Eligibility center : NAIA: Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete (on the NCAA website) ( Academic eligibility rules (required courses and min GPA) Combination of GPA and SAT/ACT score Changes on Aug 1, 2016 for Div 1 (impacts Soph class and later) Key terms – evaluation and ‘contact’ (initiation and frequency varies by year) Note: Contact rules for college coaches change in your Jr year Fresh/Soph – coaches can talk with just about anyone but the player and/or parents HS coaches/Club coaches/’others’ are all okay

Getting Started Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center Research some of the schools you are interested in Recent record, length on tenure of coaching staff (new coach can imply scholarships/offers are cancelled) Look at their current roster (size of players, number of upper classman in your position, When do these players graduate? Where are the players from) Look at past rosters (How many ‘one and done’ players in the past?) Look at statisctcs (Who played? Which class? When did they start playing? Does the school offer your 1 st, 2 nd,3 rd choices in degrees? Would you go to this school if the did NOT offer you a scholarship? Do they offer a camp you can attend? Post videos Highlight reel (Think about what is important for your position) One unedited game Google ‘Erin Babilon volleyball’ for examples Yes, editing videos is WAY easier on a Mac Send a simple, introductory to the schools you are interested Register with the school to received camp/program information (prospective athletes link off of their volleyball page) Answer this question: Would you go to this school if the did NOT offer you a volleyball scholarship? Be able to hold a 30 minute phone conversation with the assistant coach. (Think of this as an interview) Why are you interested in XX university? Why do you like playing volleyball? What do you add to you team? What are your strengths/weaknesses? What are you looing to study? What do you see yourself doing after volleyball?

Timeline For Erin Junior year Sept/Oct – researched schools, collected game tape, created videos (Do this sooner!!!) Nov/Dec – Sent s to schools, tracked which schools where looking for liberos, toured schools (unofficial visits) Dec/Jan/Feb - was contacted by interested schools, passed along qualifier schedule, talked with assistant coaches Early March - sent reminder to schools with Cross Roads schedule March – met with interested schools at Cross Roads (this is where I learned that most ‘top’ schools had already filled their spots) Late March - invited by Queens to view a practice, meet team/coaches (unofficial visit) Late March – sent reminder to schools with Big South schedule Late March - talked with interested schools at Big South Qualifier Early-April, received verbal offer from Queens (just after Big South) July met with Queens coaching staff, received updated offer (verbal) Senior year Sept - Updated NCAA Eligibility center on academics, submitted application to Queens Nov – received written offer, signed NLI Dec-now – began weekly correspondence with Queens (uniform/show size, roommate./dorm selection, weekly conditioning schedule) June - send final HS transcripts to NCAA

What I learned Start sooner – get something out there during your Soph year The whole ‘pick a college’ process is accelerated by 6-12 months Don’t just depend on clubs directors/recruiting coordinators Consider a ‘recruiting coach’ for guidance Being a college athlete is like having a ‘job’ – 30+ hours a week in addition to course work. Treat your recruiting process like a job search. The athlete needs to be able to deal with all the other ‘stuff’ related to college athletics 5 am weight training, Sat morning breakfast Set curfew, team rules, coach is a serious authority figure Every other weekend travel for playing (it is like 3 months of qualifiers)