Two of the senior Woodgrove Varsity volleyball players are involved in the complicated commitment process of college volleyball. Although the process is difficult and time consuming, they have proven to not give up easily. Each of them have fallen in love with the sport since the beginning.
The Woodgrove Volleyball program is filled with many skilled athletes including Reese Allen and Ella Meedel. In addition to playing high school volleyball for their last year, they are just starting their college volleyball journey. Accompanying Allen and Meedel, former Woodgrove Volleyball player Sophie Hays has been involved in the world of college sports for two years. Although Hays has chosen a college to commit to, she remembers many details about making her decision. Some statements are similar to those of Allen and Meedel’s committing processes.
Allen, the Woodgrove Volleyball starting setter, is committed to Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. EMU is a Division Three school, however Allen states, “The team is really good. It doesn’t matter what division it is, it’s still a good team.”
In addition to Allen committing to EMU, a scout from the college came to one of her Woodgrove games before she made the final decision to commit. Allen explained, “They were looking at mostly my attitude and my posture while I was playing. The way that I could rub off of my teammates with a good attitude and probably a skill level.” These examples are only a few of the many things that college scouts may be looking for in a talented player.
Adding onto the recruitment process, Allen shared the importance of using social media for recruiters. “Recruiting is marketing and marketing yourself for the college you want to go to or any college you can find, so you just have to make a brand for yourself.” Therefore, social media plays an important role when it comes to getting a college scout’s attention.
Meedel, the starting right side hitter for Woodgrove Volleyball, has many options for which college she will commit to for volleyball. She is currently deciding between three schools which include Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Virginia), Arkansas Tech University (Russellville, Arkansas), and Coker University (Hartsville, South Carolina). Besides where the colleges are located, ATU and CU are Division Two schools and EMU is a Division Three school. Meedel added that college, “Will definitely show me how much more serious I can get with [volleyball].”
Along with the effect of college sports versus high school sports, Meedel remarked that college sports are, “a lot more mental.” Meedel feels she may be faced with many challenges too. She commented, “I think my biggest thing if I go into college volleyball is to not get discouraged because as a reshman you don’t get a lot of playing time.” This is typically because upperclassmen will most likely have the advantage of having more time on the court.
On top of everything about college volleyball, Meedel knows how to get a college scout’s attention. She lists the process in order by stating, “First thing you have to do is put together a little game film. I made a highlight reel, and then I went to sports recruitments and attach it to my profile and it automatically attaches the video to emails whenever I want to email sports recruiters. And then there’s a phone call and depending on how the phone call goes, they either say they want you to come to their school, or they want to come to one of your games.” In a more simple way of stating these steps, Meedel adds, “Send out a highlight reel, phone call, and then they will come and watch a game or more.” This description summarizes the recruitment process, however, committing to a college can include more.
Former Woodgrove Volleyball middle hitter, Hays, goes to the University of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. The college is Division One and Hays plays for their Beach Volleyball team. This is now Hays’ second year going to Charleston and she has loved it ever since she started.
The college recruiting process is different for every athlete, including Hays. However, because she plays beach volleyball, she added, “my experience was a little bit different.” Hays explained, “I would play a beach tournament, generally a bigger one in Florida, California, or Texas, and there would be coaches at these events that would watch. I would usually talk to them, email them beforehand, call them beforehand to look for me and I would know to look for them.” To grab a recruiter’s attention, they are typically emailed or called by the player(s) they are watching before time.
Since Hays has already gone through the recruitment process, she has more of an idea on what coaches are looking for when scouting. She claimed, “a lot of it is initiative by the players. Coaches are looking for people to reach out and show genuine interest in the school itself because at the end of the day, it is an education more than volleyball.”
While in the recruiting process, Hays did many things to get the attention of college scouts. Hays discussed, “Things I did as an individual, definitely trying to show coaches that I was willing to put the work in…I did my own workouts and I sent coaches videos of me working out in my basement. Just trying to show a little bit of uniqueness, a little bit of the grind.” She added, “Social media was a huge part, I mean probably seventy five percent of my recruiting took place through social media first.” Hays’ information additionally proves that social media is an important aspect when involved in the scouting process.
The college recruitment process for any sport, not just just volleyball, needs the dedication and patience of skilled athletes. Allen, Meedel, and Hays can agree that if athletes have the determination and love for the sport, they should pursue it in college. Allen remarked, “I’ve just had a passion for it since I’ve started and I don’t ever want to stop.”