Here are four guidelines, from a college coach's perspective, to help high school athletes and parents through the recruiting process. Even though the title says "volleyball", they apply to any athlete who wants to play a sport in college.
1) Will these people care about me?
This should be the most important question on your mind during the recruiting process, especially during the campus visit.
- Does this coach care about who I am as a person, or just what I can do as a player?
- Do the other athletes seem to want to get to know me, or just feel out if I'm a potential threat to their playing time?
- Are the other athletes enjoying their experience?
- Does the coach have good relationships with them?
Head coaches of athletic teams get a ton of e-mails every day, and you may need to send more than one to get an answer.
The best way to get your e-mail noticed is to send it directly to the coach (not through a recruiting service). Make it obvious to the coach that you've done your research and that you're genuinely interested in exploring the possibility of going to that school. Include a video clip directly in the e-mail so the coach can easily get a feel for who you are as a player.
But don't e-mail a coach at a school you're not genuinely interested in. Mass e-mailing is a waste of time for everyone involved.
3) Ignore the division (most of the time)
Sometimes an athlete is talented enough to get a full-ride scholarship to play college volleyball. I'd take it.
Some are good enough to get a partial scholarship to a lower level Division I or Division II school. These might be worth it depending on the needs of the family and what's being offered.
The best Division II and III athletic teams are filled with athletes who have mid-major Division I talent who've decided they like a particular DII or DIII school better.
If your college options are financially within the same ballpark, focus on #1 (Will these people care about me?) instead of what level you're playing at.
4) Look at the program's future, not the past.
Every successful volleyball program used to be a not-so-successful volleyball program. A lot of high school athletes look at a college team's past records to get a feel for how good the program is.
But this isn't always the full story, especially in a case where a new head coach has taken over.
If a coach from a school contacts you that hasn't had a successful past, approach it with curiosity. Find out what the coach's vision is for the program and see if it's something you can believe in (and remember to still ask the questions in #1).