Continuing Your Volleyball Career into College

Every year parents ask me about the possibility of their daughter receiving a college scholarship to play volleyball. I always respond to that question with a question of my own. "Do you hope that your daughter receives a scholarship in order to pay for college or have you set up a college fund?" If your college fund plan is the goal of getting your daughter a college scholarship you would be better served taking all the money you spend on Junior Olympic Volleyball and putting it in an investment vehicle.

As much fun as "club ball" can be (lately I'm questioning just how much fun this really is... but that's for another blog entry) if you main goal is to get your child a college scholarship there are lots of factors to consider. Some of those considerations should be, where would you daughter like to attend college? What are her interests, do they have a degree in that particular field? Is playing volleyball the only way she'll be going to college? I do believe it is possible to receive a scholarship but be certain of your motives and goals for you child.

To help those of you looking for college scholarship opportunities, according to Kathy DeBoer, executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, there is now $200 million available annually for young women who are "smart enough and skilled enough" to play the sport in college. The answer to the original question is "Yes, college scholarship opportunities are out there".

Here are some tips from an article in the recent Volleyball Magazine publication:
1) Keep in mind that you do not have to play division I volleyball to have a great experience, there are a lot of great schools, DII, DII, NAIA, and Junior Colleges, that can offer a great experience and a wonderful education.

2) When you send out information to colleges, choose a few that really appeal to you and make those connections personal.

3) You can market yourself, in this day and age of internet communication it's not necessary to hire a recruiting serve. (**On a personal note, Southwind Rising Volleyball has made a decision to market all of our high school athletes on a recruiting site, provide skills and game footage for their web page, test on a regular basis their vertical and speed, and contact colleges and universities for our athletes.)


4) Play Junior Olympic Volleyball for a club where you will be on the court and not on the bench. According to Chris Catanach, Head Coach Tampa (DII) "Find a club where you can play. Don't pick a club that is top-notch, but you sit on the bench and hit only during warm ups". Be sure you find a team that will carry only 8 or 9 players to ensure you'll be on the court, teams with 10 or more, athletes may find themselves on the bench more than the court.

5) An effective video helps.

6) Skill matters more than size. Mary Wise, Florida (DI) "If you can play, you can play". While size and leaping ability are certainly assets, coaches look at the total package.

There is more to this particular article but I wanted to share a few things that I believe parents need to educate themselves on as we enter into a new club season.

Best of luck!