Recruiting Timeline
There are a lot of factors that go into a coach’s decision to offer a recruit a scholarship. They can include, but are by no means limited to:
- What position(s) does the coach need filled?
- What athletic qualities (height, jump, footspeed, competitiveness, etc.) does a player need in order to fit into the system of play being used at the university?
- Does a coach need someone who can play right now (but may not show huge improvement over four years), or a project who may be a few seasons away from playing, but has huge potential to dominate?
- What are the academic admissions requirements of the school?
- How many other recruits (besides you) does the coach need to see before making a final decision?
Sometimes, a coach can answer all of these questions very quickly and can make a scholarship decision very quickly (schools have been known to offer scholarships in the 9th and 10th grade year). Other times, these decisions cannot be made until the Grade 12 year.
Before A School Offers
If you haven’t received concrete offers from universities then there are several things you should be doing:
- Maintain correspondence with any current schools who are interested.
- Reply to emails quickly (you should be checking your email account every day—make it a habit).
- Have a video skills tape ready to send out.
- Research schools that you may be interested in (even if they haven’t contacted you) and contact the coach.
During this time period you are essentially in a holding pattern and simply trying to make yourself as attractive to schools and programs as possible. Remember that a lot of the “recruiting process” is actually about you recruiting the school, not the school recruiting you!
Once a School Offers
Now the clock is on! Once a school offers you a scholarship they are telling you loud and clear that you are their number one choice. They want you! However, this offer is a two-sided coin. On one side you now know that you have a firm scholarship offer. This is an awesome feeling and one to enjoy—it is recognition of all the time and effort you’ve put into your game, and of the potential a coach sees for your future. The other side of the coin is that once a coach has made you an offer (s)he can now no longer offer that scholarship to another person. You therefore have a responsibility to make a decision (more on how to do that later). Every day that the coach keeps the offer open to you is another day that they are not offering the number two player on their list….and therefore another day in which that number two player might decide to commit to another school.
If the offer happens during your Grade 12 year (or the summer before that) then it will usually be coupled with an invitation to make an Official Visit. This will give you an opportunity to see the school, meet the coach and players in person, visit with academic faculty, and generally get a feel for the school and program.
However, if the offer happens during your Grade 11 year (or earlier) schools are not allowed to invite you for an official visit, so if you want to see the school prior to making a decision you must do this on your own expense. Timelines can vary widely, but a basic guideline is that once a coach makes you and offer you will generally have between 4-8 weeks to make a decision. This is the price you pay for being a great player!
Canadian Schools
Remember that there are very few guidelines or rules when it comes to being recruited by a Canadian School. The timelines are significantly different and it is pretty much an open market. Specific rules regarding timelines usually always refer to American schools. (see Parents Tips for more details on recruiting differences)
Here is a quick checklist for what to do when a coach offers you a scholarship:
- Thank them! They’ve just said that they are willing to commit between $10,000 and $200,000 towards your education!
- Research the school a bit to see if you are seriously interested. If not, then let the coach know. Every single college coach will be grateful for your honesty.
- If you are interested then make plans to visit the school as soon as you possibly can. If this falls during your Grade 12 year then you can make an official visit. (You will need a SAT score if it is a US school) If it is earlier, then you need to look at making an unofficial visit. If you’ve been offered early in your Grade 11 year then do not count on being able to wait until your grade 12 year to make a visit! In most situations a coach simply can’t keep the offer open that long.
- On your visit, ask the coach how long the offer can stay open.
- Check out if the school, community, and team combine to create an environment you think you will enjoy spending your university experience.
- Ask the coach for the team’s APR score. It is the NCAA’s new way of determining how successful teams are being at 1) graduating their players, and 2) keeping their players happy within the program.
APR Score ranges:
Below 90: Bad
90-95: Borderline. Worth checking details of why kids are either failing out or transferring out of the program
95-100: Excellent
Think of yourself as being in a big card game. Once you have a scholarship offer then you must decide whether to wait for better cards (ie more offers from other schools), or go with the ones you have. However, be aware that the longer you wait for better cards the bigger the chance that you will loose the cards you currently have.
One final word; if all of this becomes too nerve racking and you find it simply too difficult to make a decision on what to do, take a step back and re-evaluate the whole process. We might be able to help you as well if you are struggling with answers. You can always contact us for some friendly advise! info at volleyballprospects .ca
