For college coaches, the regular season has ended (except if the program made the NCAA tournament) and the crazy season has started. Crazy season? This is the time of year when college coaches conduct end of the season player meetings and the Athletic Directors conduct end of the season coaches meetings.

Both of these meetings will result in roster openings; some spots will become available immediately, while other spots won’t open up until after the New Year.

In both cases, players must reach out, and continue to reach out, to volleyball programs because college coaches recruit in the moment.

To this end, be sure to follow these 4 tips in your outreach:

1) Reach out first by email, not by a telephone call. College coaches don’t like ‘cold calls from recruits. Only call a volleyball program if the coach has requested that you give them a call.

2) Always include current video (either your NCSA recruiting profile or hosted by YouTube/Vimeo. By current, I mean within the last 30 days; either cut up your last couple of high school matches into a high light tape or film an early club practice or two.

3) Contact programs which are realistic to play at – If you don’t have the physical talent to play in the Big 10 conference, then you should not email those schools. Accept feedback from your club coaches, review what level programs have responded to you earlier as to determine what level of college volleyball is best suited for your abilities.

4) Expand your horizons. A great thing about collegiate volleyball is there are all types of programs, all across the USA. The further you are willing to travel from home to attend college, the better your opportunity to secure that roster spot (and scholarship).

As you employ these suggestions in your outreach to volleyball programs, remember that college coaches recruit Talent – If you have the ability to make their team better, then they will recruit you!

For related reading on the volleyball recruiting process click here. For more recruiting education click here.

About the Author

Matt Sonnichsen is the Director of Volleyball and National Speaker for NCSA Athletic Recruiting, the Official Recruiting Services provider of the JVA. Matt has over 20 years of experience coaching volleyball at the collegiate level.