"How to Support Your Child Through the College Volleyball Recruiting Process: A Parent’s Guide to Success"
When to Start: Freshman Year
The best time to begin learning about the recruiting process is during your daughter’s freshman year. College coaches begin evaluating talent early, and by June 15th after your daughter’s sophomore year, they will likely have a list of their top 5 athletes for each position in your daughter’s graduation class. This is also the date when coaches can officially extend offers.
To stay organized, help your daughter set up a dedicated email account for volleyball-related communication (e.g., Nikkiking2028@gmail.com). Also, check with your club team to understand what recruiting resources or support they offer.
Coach Communication Guidelines
Coaches cannot contact you or your daughter directly until later in the recruiting process. They can, however, respond to emails, but only with general information at first. To stay on their radar, make sure your daughter regularly updates coaches on her progress and achievements, ideally every couple of months.
Video Highlights
Video highlights are an essential part of the recruiting process. Start filming your daughter’s matches as early as possible. Coaches will want to see her athletic ability in action. I recommend using Balltime for video editing, which is a user-friendly platform for creating polished highlight reels. You can find more information here: Balltime.
Building Your Daughter’s Recruiting Profile: Tips for Parents
What Coaches Look For
Coaches primarily look at video to assess if your daughter has the skills and athleticism to compete at the collegiate level. They also want basic information like her height, vertical jump (approach touch), academic standing, and personal character traits. While a website or formal profile page isn't necessary, make sure to email coaches directly with this information. If they are interested in pursuing your daughter further, they will reach out to continue the conversation.
How You Can Help
The most valuable thing you can do is to record videos of your daughter playing. Study how top recruits create their highlight reels to understand what coaches are looking for. If you'd like professional video editing services—just contact me directly for more details.
Common Mistakes Parents Make in the Recruiting Process
Be sure to Not Over-Manage. Let your Daughter Lead the Process.
Waiting to Long to Get Started
Many parents wait until their child’s junior or senior year to start engaging with the recruiting process, thinking there’s plenty of time. However, college coaches begin scouting athletes as early as freshman and sophomore years. By the time your child reaches junior year, many top programs may already have their recruiting classes filled.
How to Avoid It:
Start early—ideally during your child’s freshman year. This allows your child to build relationships with coaches and start creating a recruiting profile that evolves over time. Even if your child is just beginning to develop their skills, showing coaches early on that they are serious about their sport can help them get noticed and stay on coaches’ radar.Additionally, this gives your child ample time to refine their game, attend camps, and get the necessary exposure to rise to the top of recruiting lists as they mature.
Overloading Coaches with Emails
Parents sometimes have their daughters flood coaches with too many emails or unnecessary updates. Coaches are already inundated with emails from countless recruits, so excessive communication can be overwhelming and ineffective.
How to Avoid It:
Be strategic with your emails. Instead of sending one after every practice or tournament, aim for quality over quantity. Update coaches periodically, ideally every 1-2 months, with relevant information—such as tournament results, or new video highlights. Keep emails brief, professional, and focused on key achievements.Relying to Heavily on Club Coaches
While club coaches are invaluable in the recruiting process, relying solely on them to manage everything—communication with college coaches, video production, recruitment strategy—can leave parents out of the loop. Coaches may not have the time or bandwidth to fully advocate for every player.
How to Avoid It:
Take a proactive role in the recruiting process. Support your child by helping them organize their communication, manage video content, and track recruitment events. While club coaches can certainly help guide you, don’t leave everything to them. Remember, this is your child’s future, and you should be involved in ensuring they are getting the exposure they need.Tip:
Schedule regular check-ins with your child’s club coach to discuss progress, recruiting strategies, and any additional opportunities (tournaments, showcases, camps) that may arise. Stay informed about which schools are showing interest in your child.Not Researching the Right Fit
Many parents push their child toward programs that are a poor fit academically, athletically, or socially. Just because a school has a strong volleyball program doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for your child.
How to Avoid It:
Do thorough research on potential schools. Look into not just the volleyball program, but also the academic offerings, campus culture, and overall environment. Consider factors like class size, majors offered, and the coaching style to ensure the school is the right fit for your child in every way.Focusing only on Big Name Programs
While many parents dream of their child playing for elite programs, they may overlook schools where their child could thrive and receive more playing time or attention.
How to Avoid It:
Broaden your search to include a variety of programs—not just the “top” schools. Consider mid-tier programs or smaller schools where your child could have a significant impact, enjoy more playing time, and develop further as an athlete. A good fit isn’t always about the name recognition—it’s about where your child will grow both athletically and academically.
How I Can Help: Offering Expert Guidance Every Step of the Way
It’s also common for parents to hire a recruiting service to help guide them through the process. If you decide to go this route, make a list of what services you need—whether it’s creating highlight videos, direct advocacy with coaches, or understanding where your daughter stands in the recruiting process. Make sure the service you choose covers all your needs.
The recruiting process is a marathon, not a sprint, and navigating it successfully requires more than just sending out highlight videos and hoping for the best. By avoiding the common mistakes outlined above and taking a strategic, informed approach, you can give your child the best chance to succeed while also making the process less stressful for everyone involved.
But you don’t have to do it alone. As a recruiting expert, I’ve helped countless families like yours guide their children through every step of the recruiting journey. From understanding timelines and choosing the right schools to creating standout highlight videos and building a powerful recruiting profile, I take the guesswork out of the process.
With my expertise, you can rest easy knowing your child is getting the attention they deserve—without the overwhelm. I’ll work alongside you to ensure you’re not only on track but ahead of the curve, so you can focus on supporting your child’s athletic and academic success.
We cover it all! I have even developed an internal educational portal for my clients. My team and I travel nationwide to major tournaments, advocating for our athletes through our extensive network of college coaches who rely on our evaluations.
If you’re ready to take the next step, reach out today. Let’s set your child on the path to success, and make the recruiting journey a positive, empowering experience for both you and your athlete.
Personalized Support: We offer 3 Types of Services
The Numbers!
Nikki has placed 127 athletes at the collegiate level! With over half of those athletes placed at the DI level.
We have an incredibly high success rate! We consult with each prospect to ensure that athletic skill meets athletes goals and expectations. We put together a personalized strategic plan for each athlete. If the athlete is not comfortable with agreeing to the target plan, then we part ways before any payments are made. As a result, our success rate is around 98%.