The recruiting process can be overwhelming for athletes and parents. Clear, open and honest communication is key to a successful process that helps your athletes achieve their goal of playing in college. Here are some ways to establish and maintain communication early with your student-athletes who are working toward the opportunity to play at the collegiate level.

At the beginning of the season, host a group parent and athlete meeting for those interested in the opportunity to play at the next level. The meeting can be held in person or over Zoom. Choose the format that will generate the best attendance, and consider offering two options, including a live, in-person meeting and a virtual meeting. Either session can be recorded for those who are unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts. You will never have 100% attendance.

When planning the content for the meeting, the first priority is determining what you want to cover. There is a lot of information you can share, but consider focusing on three to four key topics during the first meeting to avoid overwhelming families or allowing the meeting to run too long. This is an opportunity to make a positive first impression for your club and motivate your athletes as they begin the recruiting process.

Some topics of importance:

  • Club Player/Parent Contract: your Handbook should include conduct related to recruiting.
  • Recruiting Coordinator – Describe the role and availability if your club has someone in this position.
  • Expectations – This includes the Club, the Player, the Parent and the Recruiting Coordinator.
  • The State of Recruiting – more specific calls and meetings can go into detail but you can provide an overview on the 5-5 Eligibility, June 15th, Transfer Portal. Click to view recruiting resources.
  • Social Media: club policy and recommendations. Athletes can provide their social media accounts to the Club.
  • Recruiting Platform: what your club uses to help guide athletes through the process.
  • NCAA Rules/Eligibility Center: click to view resources.

Host Consistent Zoom Calls

Consider hosting zoom calls during the Fall to educate your high school athletes and parents how to film a match, including tips for the best quality for college coaches. Include what a highlight video should look like, and how to build a college list while researching colleges. Educate your student athletes on the various levels of collegiate volleyball including DII, DIII, NAIA, and Junior College. Prior to your student athletes doing outreach to college coaches, make sure you provide guidance on how to write an email to a coach.

There may be more topics to add to the list, but it’s important to be mindful of the attention and time you are given from the parents and players. In order to keep the first meeting to a reasonable time of an hour to an hour and a half, prioritize the topics of importance. It will also keep the meeting impactful. The longer the meeting the less they will remember.

Future meetings can be directed toward specific graduation classes and/or individually. The next meeting can be more specific to process as it pertains to where the athlete is or should be in the process.

5-5 Eligibility Model

The NCAA’s 5-5 eligibility model is creating new challenges for athletes navigating the recruiting process, particularly as current college players consider using a fifth season. With athletes now having five years to play five seasons, four classes of college athletes may have access to an additional year of scholarship support, which could impact the number of scholarships available to incoming high school recruits.

As a result, 2027 and 2028 athletes and their families may need to be more strategic and proactive throughout the recruiting process. This includes reaching out to college Coaches to determine whether they are actively recruiting their position and class, removing schools from their list when there is no response and tracking which programs are recruiting specific positions in each class.

Some 2027 athletes who were previously told scholarship money would be available, or that they could potentially graduate early and skip their 18s season, are now being told funding may not be available or may not be available during their freshman year.

More than ever, Coaches and Club Directors can help by being honest and realistic with athletes about their playing opportunities while encouraging them to explore the wide range of college volleyball programs and levels beyond NCAA Division I.

Additional recruiting education for junior volleyball.

JVA partners with The PlayBook, a resource that supports the athlete’s journey from club volleyball through college.

Revised 9.10.2026