The Coaches Car Ride Home
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The Coaches Car Ride Home
Episode 8 - The Coaches Car Ride Home
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Welcome back to The Coaches Car Ride Home! On this episode we are joined by our friend and Coach Lauren's former teammate Taylor! She has been in the college recruiting world for the last 7 years and has so much insight to share with you all. Join us for this fun Q&A session as Taylor drops all the recruiting tea!
See you all in Chicago!
Email us at : Thecoachescarridehome@gmail.com
Welcome back. This is episode eight of the Coach's Car Ride Home. I'm your host, Lauren.
SPEAKER_00Welcome. I'm Coach Paul.
SPEAKER_02And we are excited to bring you some content today about recruiting. So we're over halfway into the volleyball season and lots of recruiting is going on behind the scenes. I'm sure you've seen college coaches and scouts if you're of the age to be recruited, either near or around your court. And this always brings up a lot of nerves and questions from the parents and questions from the girls.
SPEAKER_00So we decided to find one of the best sources we know for college recruiting information, and that's Lauren's old friend Taylor Vanderbiesen.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. She has uh been in the college recruiting world for the past seven years. Taylor and I played volleyball together at Marist University, and she's been involved ever since. So she gave us some really good insight, and we're excited to share it with you all. Hi, Taylor. Thanks for joining us. We're so excited to have you on our podcast this week. Um, let's start by just telling us a little bit about yourself, who you are, how you got involved with volleyball, and what you do now.
SPEAKER_03Hi guys, I'm Taylor. Thank you so much for having me on here. This is a really full circle and special moment to be here with Lauren and her dad. I've known Lauren since, oh my gosh, I don't know, uh sophomore junior year of high school, and then we played college together. We were college roommates, um, just best friends ever since. So it's really cool that I get to be a part of this now. And um, so I spent the past seven years coaching in college. Um, I was a GA at Bryant University up in Rhode Island, and then I was assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the Naval Academy. And then the past two years I was at the University of Miami. Um, so kind of seen volleyball from all different levels of the Division I right now, uh recently. So uh now I'm coaching in college or in club now. So I have an 18 team. Um, so seeing the sport from the other end now, the club world.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, back into the club world after being in the college world for a long time is probably a little bit of an adjustment, but also probably a lot of fun. So um we have a couple, I mean, we have a lot of questions for you regarding recruiting, and we're so excited to jump right in. Um, but I just wanted to take your first initial impression and maybe your first few words that you have about how important recruiting is.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I love recruiting. It is like my passion when it comes to coaching and being a part of a college program was recruiting. And I think the biggest piece for me was just the relationship piece of recruiting. Um, I got to get to know the girls, their families, their siblings. Um, for almost two years is is the kind of the college process of recruiting. So two years before you even get to college. So I feel like I I got to know them really well, and then once you get to college, then I'm coaching you on a more personal level because I know I know who you are, what you do, I've known the past few years of your life. So um I love recruiting. I think it's it's really exciting that um the girls get to find a home that is they're really excited about, and it's a great piece, a great fit for us as well.
SPEAKER_00Why why or how is it important to get that right fit, like in the recruiting process, to make sure you look at a bunch of schools and talk to a bunch of people to find whether it's academically right or the coaches are right or the philosophy's right? Why should people be thinking about that and not just oh I want to go to the best school in the country?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think there's a lot of different reasons to choose a school, and now with the transfer portal, things are different these days. Um, but um it's important. I mean, just for me, like I went through the process, I know Lauren went through it too, and um some people have that like aha moment when you step on campus, and maybe it's just like the feel of the campus, maybe it's the distance from the school. If you don't like flying, maybe you don't want to go to the opposite coast of the country. Um, maybe it's just the relationship with the coaches, and you don't want to put too too much into that because you never know if coaches change, but that is an important piece. And um, for Lauren and I, we we were recruited under one coach, and then we had a different coach in college, and it was still an amazing school for us and a great um experience. So it might not always be the number one thing, but coaches are definitely important too, and I think getting to know the girls and the team is the most important because that's those are the people you spend all of your time with and the people that you might have in your weddings one day, and we'll be your long, long, long-term friends. So it's an important part to feel like you fit with the girls that are on the team because those are the people that the coaches try to bring in.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, definitely the culture. I think that's what you know really brought us to Marist is we loved each other. We loved the, I mean the beautiful campus, obviously, but I think we both kind of had that aha moment where we were like, yeah, no, this is where we're gonna go to college. So it definitely happens, and I know it's hard to explain to these kids that we're coaching in club, like just go on all the, you know, go visit, go check out these schools, just see, because you will have that feeling. Um all right, so let's start at the beginning. Like, what age do you recommend that they start looking into the recruiting process?
SPEAKER_03Um I think you can start, you know, as early as early as you can um to just kind of like get your name out there. I mean, right now, like I would say your 16 year is the most important. That's where a lot of coaches spend a lot of time at your 16 courts. Um, but you can start earlier, you can send emails early. Um, I was looking at emails of kids in eighth grade. So sometimes you you start really early and that's okay. And um, it's great to kind of get your name in front of coaches. Um, but I would say 16 year is kind of your your big year and the good chunk of the recruiting year, and then that summer going into 17 season is um where a lot of things can happen. Recruiting really can pick up, and then you can start talking to coaches, going on visits, making commitments from there on out.
SPEAKER_02I know every club is different, obviously. And our club, we really start focusing on recruiting in the 15s year. This is where we have them build their profiles and start getting used to making their videos and huddle and start just, you know, just some emails to their top schools and things like that, you know, really focusing on oh, look at the schools, look at the programs, look at where you might get like be a good fit. So by the time that 16 years roll around, they're really ready and to jump in and like full force with recruiting.
SPEAKER_00What is it they need to do in those years or even prior to 16? What what things do you recommend that they do to get ready? Should you start with identifying what might be a good school fit or a fit for your talent level, or just go out and you know, blast a lot of places? What's the best way to go go for it?
SPEAKER_03Um, having an idea of what's the best fit for your talent level is is helpful. I think that's what a lot of club coaches and club recruiting coordinators can kind of help hopefully guide you on the right path of what would be a good level to target. Um, I would say like before 16's year, it's great to go to some camps. Um then while you're at camp, you can get coached by these people and see like this is someone that I I see myself in practice with every day. Um, or like that gym was really weird, I don't want to be there. Um, so you or you can see the school, you can see the cafeteria, you you can see the dorms hopefully. Um so I think camps is a really good way before that sixteens year to explore a little bit more of the colleges and and meet some more coaches.
SPEAKER_02That's awesome that you brought that up because one of our parents actually had a question about camps. Um, just how important is it to go to a camp if you're interested in a school, or is camp a good place to be recognized if you are a standout player or something like that?
SPEAKER_03Yes, I I definitely think camps are are great. Um, I I would always say like be careful with camps because I think there's obviously like a lot of schools just want a ton of players to come to camp because they make money off camp. So I think utilizing your resources at the club, like like I said, the college or the club coaches, the club recruiting coordinators, they can kind of help out a little bit more guiding you onto which camps would be the most beneficial for you and which ones would be um maybe a good fit, or maybe this is uh a camp that you should go to because they are recruiting a 2027 outside and you're a 27 outside. So finding a good match there with all of the camps and kind of organizing which which camp invites you have or which days you have open in your busy summer. Um, but I I do think getting that to camp is super important and it's a good way to show off in front of the coaches while you're there at their camp and being coached by them.
SPEAKER_00How did how does somebody find out that they're recruiting a 2027 outside? Is that something that you would find in the email process back and forth with them or at a camp? Or you know, because you the kids you can't really talk to the kids at a at a younger age. So how's that information available?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's tough. When you're younger, um, I would recommend talking to your club coaches, club recruiting coordinators, because they can always talk to the college coaches and find out a little bit more about their needs for the upcoming years. Um, if if you don't have access to that, I think just starting with looking at their roster. Um you can kind of see like this person's graduating, they're graduating two setters, they might need at least one in my class to get a good idea, or you can maybe see like looks like they like to carry four middles on a roster. So I would be the sixth. I don't know. Um, so you can kind of start mixing and matching some pieces there, but I would say getting them to talk to club coaches and recruiting coordinators would be really helpful because they get a lot of inside scoop.
SPEAKER_00We we know as as club coaches that it's a pretty tight community of club coaches and college coaches, everybody seems to know each other, so there's a lot of discussions behind the scenes of what do you need, what are you looking for, what kind of options are available, and then also a little chitter-chatter goes back and forth between them about hey, you gotta check this kid out. Oh, if you've seen that kid, you know, even if they're looking or not looking, just because everybody's proud of their players and they want to promote them, you know, across all the coaches.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, everybody knows everybody. And I I do think obviously with the transfer portal, there's there's good and bad things, and I think right now it is opening a lot of colleges to explore all positions for every year because you never know how much changes there might be. And they're also they might say, like, we are looking for this position, and then come May transfer portal, and then they're not, or they or the opposite, they weren't and now they are, so it kind of opens up a little bit more um freedom. And I'm just gonna look for every position every year.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Is that does that make it harder for club kids that are coming in? Are they getting recruited maybe a little bit later or having a more difficult time landing on a roster? Does does a school maybe not take six recruits now because they might take three in the transfer portal? How does how's that affecting everything?
SPEAKER_03It might, yeah. I think the the biggest thing that it's that's affecting it is the roster cap. Um only being at 18, we used to be able to have um as many walk-ons as we wanted. If we want a team of 25, we can do that because you can walk on. Um, but now with the at least division one level, having that roster cap of 18, it limits a lot of potential walk-ons. Um, or they might say, like, I have one scholarship left, I want to wait to see if I can get an experience pin in the portal in May, and then they won't need a 26. Um, so it does definitely change things, but it it could open up more doors for some high school kids. You never know.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so going back to our emails. So, what makes a good email? Say I want to make a good impression, or what should I include in my email the first time I'm emailing the school or a coach? First of all, should I email the head coach? Should I email the recruiting coordinator? Or and what should I include in there? You know, my class and all of that. Like, what is something that is definitely the must have information in that email?
SPEAKER_03Um, I'm gonna be brutally honest right now. I didn't read any emails. I I I go through all my emails and I would see as long as your subject line has like first name, last name, year, position, uh, you could throw in your club name too, especially if you have like a common name. It's just easier for us to be able to look you up right away. Um, and then you can throw in whatever words you need in there. You can brag about yourself. Um, you can let them know you're coming to camp or going to visit school, but to be honest, I would just look for that that huddle link or the sports recruit, the highlight video, and I would click on that right away.
SPEAKER_00You can filter that information real quick about their their year, their age, what position, and then you want to see the video.
SPEAKER_03Yep. And everything college coaches use university athlete 24-7. Um, and uh just make sure that your name matches what's on University Athlete, because nothing would drive me more crazy when Katie was emailing me and I'd look up Katie and her real name's Catherine and I couldn't find her. So um definitely make sure that matches. And um, Lauren, back to your question, I would probably email everyone on staff. Um, you never know. I mean, most people, if there is a recruiting coordinator, they're probably the one responding and answering the emails, but you never know. Maybe the head coach knows your club coach and now he's made a connection, or maybe your assistant coach is answering all 2029s and younger, and they're they should get the email. So I'm probably just emailing all of them. Yeah, whatever email you can find.
SPEAKER_00And then so when you when you go click on that huddle link or whatever the the link is, what are you looking for immediately in that video?
SPEAKER_03That was my question. I think the most important part about recruiting is having a good highlight reel.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02Um well makes a good highlight reel.
SPEAKER_03That is like that's the most important part. I don't care if it's on sports recruit, if it's on YouTube, if it's on Google Drive, I don't know. I've seen it all and it doesn't matter. Uh the first three clips have to be like your best volleyball clips in your career. Um, genuinely, I would probably watch if you're a hitter, I'd watch three swings and I would know right away like you hit it hard enough, you jump high enough, you're worth seeing. Or didn't love that you started your first highlight video with a tip that's not exciting to me. Um moving on. So, like having a good highlight video is what will have coaches come see you live.
SPEAKER_00And it probably doesn't need a lot of bells and whistles, right? You're you're zooming in on that athlete, that's all you're looking at, I imagine.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, no, that stuff would drive me nuts when it's like they would go up to set and then they pause, circle, arrow, and then they would set and I was like, Oh, I just want to see your set. Um but no, you don't need as long as you had your your name and your position, I know, I know what a middle is. I'm I'm looking at you.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, so let's talk about a middle, right? So if you're looking to recruit a middle, should they obviously include hitting probably first and then some blocking? Now, would you want to see any serving or defense or anything like that? And that goes for outside hitters, right sides. Like, do you want to see other things or mainly just hitting?
SPEAKER_03Um I think show show what you're best at. So if there's if there's a middle that's the best blocker in the club, start with blocking. That's fine. Um you can see how how high you are and good handwork and then show some hitting clips. But or if you're really great on slides, go ahead. All first three clips slides. Um just show what whatever's best you're best at. Serving, I I don't love serving in film. Um maybe a libero you can throw in some but the the hustle plays starting first. I don't really need to see you running into chairs with one arm um as like your your best play.
SPEAKER_00That's great, but can you pass?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Liberos, I would say start with passing. That's a lot of people want to start with digging because it looks cooler, but passing is what college coaches need in a barrel, you gotta pass. So I always say start with passing, then digging, then maybe out of system setting, then serving. But I would say serving last for everyone, and then show your best things first.
SPEAKER_02That's super helpful because I know a lot of people.
SPEAKER_00Because you may never get past the first three clips.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and our kids love those hustle plays. They're like, look at this hustleness. I'm like, but that's not what they want to see. They want to see it so hard. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_03People passing a free ball, and I'm like, that's not helping me.
SPEAKER_02Um okay, cool. So stepping away from skill-wise. Now, I know in videos, like really you're only looking at skill, but there's a lot that makes a good athlete. What else are you looking for? Once they're finally on your list, you go to the court. Are you looking at other things at in this athlete? Um, maybe attitude, maybe the way that they cheer their teammates on, things like that.
SPEAKER_03Um, yeah, I would say the skill is what gets the coach to see you. Um, and then once we're at the court, um, I this could be different for every coach, but I like watching when the coach coaches you, how do you respond? Like, are you looking them in the eyes? Are you nodding? Is are you like a yes coach? Or did you like fully turn your head? Um, I like seeing if you get pulled, what that looks like. Um, I like seeing when you make an error, what's next? Are you like shying away from the next ball? Are you like, no, serve me again? Um I like some kind of interaction or just like a court presence. Um, I think especially for like setters, they kind of want that person to be like the leader. And like, does it look like people follow you? Does it look like you can direct the court without being like bossy, just like she has she has a good court presence about her. Um, those kind of things, yeah, they they definitely play a role when it comes down to like we're trying to figure out who's number one and number two on our list, and their skills both really good, so you gotta find what's what's next. And if one person just a better has a better personality or is more coachable, then that's that's a no-brainer.
SPEAKER_00I have a question about how to get you to come see a player on the court, right? So you've seen their game film. Do you decide right away I want to see this this player or not? Should they follow up with you and say, hey, you know, I'm gonna be playing at this tournament or that tournament? Should they send you multiple clips? How much is pestering you and what's a good way to get you to come see that player?
SPEAKER_03Honestly, just the highlight video for I don't know how every coach did it. Like for me, if the highlight video was good, then I would tag them and make sure I saw him at the next tournament that they were at. Um, a lot of kids love sending, like, I'm on court 68 at one, two, and five, and that's fine. You already know that. But we already have that. Yeah, we that's why we're always on our phones because we have your schedule. So they're gonna need that.
SPEAKER_00You either put them on the I want to see them list or not.
SPEAKER_03Yep.
SPEAKER_00And if you want to see them, you're gonna go see 'em.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. And sometimes it it did help me, like if uh a club coach or recruiting coordinator was like, hey, so-and-so is super interested in your school, uh, would you be able to see her? Then, you know, I would kind of go out of my way if if it was like a friend or someone that I knew, or if I knew like you're number one on her list, then I would kind of be able to at least give them some feedback of I'll go see her and maybe she stays on our list, or maybe like, sorry, not and then how many would you how many would you see at a tournament?
SPEAKER_00Would it be like, okay, you got 10 kids you're focusing on, or are you seeing hundreds of kids to kind of narrow your list down to these are my these are my keepers?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think that kind of depends on the the level that you're at. Like um at at the mid-major, I would try to crank out the hundred a tournament. Um, I would trust try to make notes on as many kids as I can, and if they emailed us and I already had notes on them, um like your your cat net is just much wider. But once you get into the P4 world, it's kind of there's only a certain amount of kids that can kind of play at that level, and that we've been aware of, so we go see those kids. So uh for me I would try to see three or four courts an hour, which on that court might have like one player I need to see, or maybe up to like three. Um, and then like my head coach, probably one or two kids an hour. So if you and that's for two days, one and a half waves, like it's not that many kids.
SPEAKER_00Once you've once you've identified kids and you've seen them, what's the next step? Do you reach out to them? Um, and how do those rules work with the kids that you're allowed to reach out to and the ones you're you're not? And as a player or a parent, what should I be expecting? Am I gonna get some feedback because maybe I saw you at a courtside, or what's what happens once you've seen a kid play?
SPEAKER_03Um, again, different for every school. Like some k people might just say, like, yep, still good, she's still on our list, and then you might not get much from them at all. Um for me, I I would reach out to the club coach or the recruiting coordinator and just let them know. Um, we were only allowed to say that we have general interests in a kid, so I would make sure that they knew that we had general interests. Um, and then I I was allowed to send like uh general admissions info, like basic school info, and then camp info. So all the kids that are receiving like all the camp info right now is probably because they saw them play, they like them. That's the only thing we're allowed to send until June 15th going into junior year. So maybe some camp info is usually a good sign that they saw them and liked them.
SPEAKER_00And once that June 15th junior year comes along, now what happens?
SPEAKER_03Then it's fair game. We can we can talk, we can text, we can you can ask what we're looking for. Um it kind of depends on the level with how fast June 15th goes. Some people will offer right away, some people ask you to come to camp then, um you'll see commitments right away, and then sometimes you don't hear anything, and that's totally okay. And that the process just um it can go until I mean I didn't even commit until senior year, so it can go it can go late, but fair game then.
SPEAKER_02My next question is about social media. I there's a lot of social media that these kids are getting involved in. Does that play a role in recruiting? You know, what they have on their social media, what their presence is, and like what that kind of is about. Like I know a lot of these girls have their personal accounts, but also volleyball accounts. Like, is that at all looked at?
SPEAKER_03Um, I think the volleyball account was helpful for me. I'm on Instagram all the time. I follow these kids, so I would see them often. Um, there's some head coaches out there, there's some coaches out there that just don't get into Instagram. So I wouldn't rely on Instagram volleyball page as like your primary recruiting page, just because there's some coaches that don't even have Instagram, so it's not great for them. Um and then as for like the social media piece, like just a reminder, like I I would save a lot of these kids' phone numbers on my phone and wait like until June 15th, I would have their numbers. I'm not allowed to text them, but I would have them. Every time I save a contact, it comes up in TikTok as like a recently added contact. So if you're up there shaking your butt on TikTok, I'm getting that. Like that's coming on my for you page. So um, not saying it's good or bad, but just reminder that like we see those things. Um, so again, it I've heard horror stories of it changing scholarship. Um, like people have been taking back scholarships because they don't like what they see on TikTok or Instagram or whatever. Um, I think it's just big when you're comparing a really close skill level gap, then you could always say, like, this kid looks like a partier and this kid is you know nothing to worry about on her Instagram.
SPEAKER_02So what about academics in this in this kind of same question area? Um, how how much are academics playing a role? You know, how well am I doing in high school and how does that, you know, carry over into my recruiting world?
SPEAKER_03Important. It I hate saying this because I think academics is like it's so important. You should I think that should be a big part in your decision-making process, but I do think like as you get to the higher levels of volleyball, um, it becomes less important. It's just like volleyball is your job, and if you're not great at school, we'll find a way to get you in. But I think for the majority, the mass majority of college recruiting, academics is is still super important, and that plays a big role. It's again like skill levels similar, but this kid's gonna be an issue in school, and this kid's gonna be super easy, and nothing I have to worry about outside of practice, and that's that's a no-brainer too.
SPEAKER_02What advice would you give for a freshman or sophomore going into like the very beginning stages of their journeys?
SPEAKER_03This is crazy, but I know like I always tell younger players to just find ways to enjoy volleyball because the whole reason you're going through this recruiting process in college, recruiting and college volleyball is because you love volleyball. And I think right now it's really hard to always like enjoy it. It almost seems like a job already because it's like I want to play in college, so I need to do five lessons a day and three practices a day and watch film and make the highlight root videos and send out 4,000 emails. But like this should be really exciting, and and you don't have to go to every camp, you don't have to go to every lesson possible. Like take some time away from volleyball because then it makes you miss it. Like, I do hope there are still kids having summer vacation and like spring break. Like, go ahead, take some time away from it, and then when you're away, then you miss it a little bit more, and then you want to play more volleyball. Um, but I mean do some research. I think it's great now that we have like pro volleyball out there so you can kind of see like what it's like at this level. Now we have Division I volleyball on ESPN, like every night in the fall, like go watch volleyball. Like it's cool to see not only can you see like the level, but you can see like let's just spend the night watching all of the setters tonight. Like, what do they do that I don't do? What what do they do that I like? What can I admire? And for us, like I don't we didn't really have that. Like, I didn't I didn't know what a great setter was. Yeah, and now they have so many resources to be able to watch that. So just enjoy volleyball, watch volleyball, um, start start with the recruiting process, just like maybe some ideas of like this is what I'm interested in learning about, this is what I'm interested in visiting, these are some coaches that I don't do or don't like. Um yeah, and then start reaching out to schools.
SPEAKER_02But yeah, I like that. I think too have the conversation with your coaches, right? I think freshman and sophomore year and your parents. I mean, I remember like dad and I, we had the conversation. Like, what is it gonna work for our family? Like, can I make this school work? Do I need to go, can I go out of state? Do I need to stay in state? Is this level actually appropriate for me, right? Like those hard conversations I feel like freshman sophomore year are so important.
SPEAKER_00Talking about misconceptions too, what I thought of was explain how scholarships work because I think a lot of parents and players have this misconception that oh, if I work really hard, I'm gonna get a full ride to this great, you know, big D1 school. And that works for the top, top, top players, but it doesn't work for everyone. So, how do scholarships work all the way down through the lower D1 schools and even the and even the the other schools as far as shared scholarships, partial scholarships, no scholarship? What are what are what's the reality of the situation?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, not everyone's gonna get a scholarship, and that's okay. Uh that doesn't mean you're not good at volleyball. Um, unfortunately, just some programs are fully funded, some programs are division three, they just don't get volleyball scholarships. Um, but you can still have a great experience without getting a full ride scholarship. And and guess what? No one needs to know if you're on scholarship or not. No, no.
SPEAKER_00Um other money available too. There's academic money, there's there's grants, there's plenty of opportunities to go play in college at a lot of great schools, even if you're not that top one full ride scholarship person.
SPEAKER_02And a lot of different levels, too, right? Like even if you're not gonna go play on the college team, so many big schools have clubs. They have club volleyball for the college kids, or you know, they have all these different leagues. And so I think a lot of people, another misconception is a lot of people forget how much volleyball is around, and you don't have to go, you know, play at a D2 school if you don't love it that much and you want to go to a big school and just play on the club team. Like that's totally an option. So I also think that's another big one.
SPEAKER_00And I have one other question about um when you're well, you could be next. Um when the when they're when they're getting in the recruiting process, should the player do all the work? Should the parent be involved at all? Um, and uh the second part of that question is are recruiting services worth it? Does that make any difference to college coaches if they hire some recruiting service and pay a lot of money for that, or is it best to just get an email from the kid, here's my game film?
SPEAKER_03Um, I guess starting with the parents first, like when you're in college, we we only talk to the players. So we want to have that relationship with the players early on in the recruiting process. Now, that doesn't mean that parents don't need to be involved. I do think it is a it's a big um process that the the parents should be involved. It's a big decision that the parents might have to pay a lot of money or they they want to be they do want to be involved, so I think that's totally okay to be involved, but I think most of the communication should come directly from the player, and they should be able to feel comfortable talking with the college coach that they're gonna have a lot of conversations with over the next four years. So I think that's that's important. Um, as for recruiting services, I think it depends. Um I I always think it's great to like I I've been talking a lot about like the conversation between a college coach and a club coach or a club recruiting coordinator. I think having that middleman um is is important because you get a lot of the inside scoop. You're you're they're able to relay more information. Um there's a lot of connections, a lot of people know a lot of people. So, like I said, if it was a friend saying, Go watch this person, I I I would go watch. If Lauren told me that she's got a great kid to go see, like I would go watch her. So I think you you want to have some kind of person there. Now, whether that's someone at your club, that's great, you don't need to hire a recruiting service. But um and I think all those like mass recruiting services, like I I don't think that really helps you. But if it's someone that you can have a relationship with and you they can truly like speak to you and who you are as a player and a person, I think that's it's helpful to have some kind of middleman, especially until you get to June 15th.
SPEAKER_00So for that shy, for that shy, you know, sophomore or junior who's afraid to you know contact college coaches, they just gotta get over it and get out there and do it, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Yeah. Do you remember talking to him? I when I talked on the phone, I would like run upstairs like in my closet in my room. It was like, mom, don't listen. Yeah. I had like a full-written speech of like, okay, if they don't answer, I hope they don't answer. But if they don't answer, I'm gonna read this.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna leave a voicemail. This is what it's gonna say. So like if you're out there and you're listening and you're nervous, it's okay. Like I'm so nervous.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but the important part is from the the coat from the college coach's side is you're interested in the kids, just like they're interested in the school. So there's that's gotta be a connection there. Yeah, it's okay to be nervous, but you can't you know hesitate to to make that call or send that email because that's the only way you're gonna get noticed. Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_02Okay, I'm going back. So I asked for advice for the freshmen and sophomores. Now let's I'm gonna ask for a little bit of advice for your juniors and seniors. They're a little bit like further along in the recruiting, you know, process. Maybe they haven't heard from schools yet if they're past that June 15th. What is like just a couple words or encouragement for them if they're still wanting to play at the collegiate level?
SPEAKER_03Um, there's a home for everyone, like at any level, uh club volleyball, like anything, there's there's a home for you. Um, don't stress. If you if you've reached out to a school a million times and they haven't answered, yeah, maybe don't put all your eggs in that basket. Um, but keep reaching out to other schools. Um I promise you, there's really there's a home for everyone. There's so many volleyball programs that like I you've never even heard of. And maybe it just takes one one email and one phone call, and then you go visit the campus, and it might be the home for you, and you just don't even know about it yet. So keep keep reaching out.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that we were coaching an 18's team one year and it was towards the end of the season, the second to last tournament or maybe even the last tournament, and the court was surrounded by college coaches who still needed to fill their rosters, and and as soon as the game ended, they all came up to myself and the other coach, and they said which players were uncommitted because they needed to know who they you know to go talk to right away and find out if there was an opportunity there. So it's it's never too late.
SPEAKER_02It's never too late. All right. So now for the parents, what advice do you have for these parents that are helping their kids along on the journey? And you know, they spend countless hours in the convention centers and behind the scenes and they they pour all their love into their kids. Like, do you have any advice um for them?
SPEAKER_03Um enjoy the process with them. I think having like a good conversation between you two, or parent with the player, and really sitting down and making sure you know like what is it that they want? Like, obviously, you you have some things, like you probably want as a parent, you probably want them to stay down the street, somewhere that you can move at home on, somewhere you can live on campus with your kid. Um, but you want to make sure that it's a place that that she wants the most. And you are just there as like a resource to help. Um, if you need to help her write some emails, you can help her with that. If you need to help her with the highlight videos, you can help with that. But make sure that your player is the one that's guiding a lot of um a lot of the process because it's ultimately where they're going to be living for the next four years and it's their experience too. But be as much of the process as you want to be.
unknownCool.
SPEAKER_02Um, okay. One more serious question and then two fun questions. Are there any must-have like applications or websites or like must-haves for kids being recruited? Other than university athlete, is there anything that is like super helpful?
SPEAKER_03No, I would just say making sure that university athlete is up to date because there's a lot of times where like I want to reach out to a kid, but their email's not in there. So there's no way that I can contact you. And maybe you're sad that you're not getting camp invites, but your email's not up to a date. Um, or I want to call you on June 15th, and the amount of moms that I have called on June 15th because their UA says their mom's phone number, it's embarrassing for me. Um, so make sure that UA is up to date with all of your current information. Um, but besides that, no, I mean sports recruit, huddle, YouTube, uh, you can use whatever.
SPEAKER_02All right, so two fun questions, one from each of us. Um, what is your favorite part about volleyball tournaments? I know you were going a lot as a recruiter, but now you're going back as a coach. What is something that you absolutely love about volleyball tournaments?
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, every time I go to a tournament, I'm just like reminded how small the volleyball world is. Um, like you I start to learn all the different college coaches, and then um this past weekend, one of the refs came up to me and was like, How do I know you? Um, like you you get close with the refs, you get close with the coaches, the parents, you see people that um like Lauren. I I mean, how many times have we met up now at tournaments? Um, so it you just like see a bunch of old friends. Um, and the volleyball world is it's just like truly so special. And to be at a tournament and then everyone is there that you've you've seen over the years, it's just really special. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00All right. So you've been a club coach, a college coach. What do you miss most about your playing days back at Marist with Lauren there?
SPEAKER_03Oh man, I there's so many days where I'm like, I just wish I could play in a practice. Like I just want to play, I want to compete. I like get jealous sometimes of my own practice plans because I like want to be in there. Oh, I just miss competing. Like it's it's you can only compete so much as a coach, you know. You feel it like on the sideline or flip and score and practice, but like to actually be in there competing day in and day out with your best friends. Uh that's like something so unique and something that um you only get for so long. And now I'm trying to find like adult leagues and ways to like stay involved and so competitive. But um, I just miss being involved.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_02So thank you, Taylor. Thank you for joining us. It's really been an honor. Um, we're so thankful to have you in our volleyball community as a resource, and I'm always texting you, asking questions. So I'm really thankful. Um, thanks for joining us today and answering our million questions.
SPEAKER_00And exciting to see you soon.
SPEAKER_02Thank you guys. Thanks.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that was a lot of great information from Taylor. I'm so glad she joined us. She really gave an insight into what's going on behind the scenes from the college coach's perspective, something that players and parents rarely get a look into because you're on your side of the computer worrying about what they're doing on their side of the computer. So thanks, Taylor, and I hope this helps some of our listeners, you know, get through this process.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, huge shout out to Taylor. We're so thankful for her. And, you know, players and coaches and parents, just a reminder going into your tournaments this weekend. Make sure you send those emails, make sure you include your name, your age, the year you're graduating, the position that you are, um, and then your highlight reel clip. Make sure that clip has your first, you know, Taylor said, your first or the first one should be your best three plays that you've ever had in your entire life. Um, so go ahead and revise that this week before you send them out. Um, make sure your university athlete is up to date with your phone number, your email, not your mom and dad's, but yours. Um, and good luck this weekend. Um, as June 15th starts to creep up on us, make sure that all this information is in and that you're asking and having those uh conversations with your coaches about your next level and and where you might fit into play.
SPEAKER_00And then and then when you see those college coaches show up at your courtside, don't get nervous. Just do what you know how to do and play how you know to play. They may be watching you, they may be watching someone else, they may notice you. So, you know, give it your best effort. And another thing we tell our players all the time is if you've contacted colleges and you know they might be coming, let your coach know that ahead of time so that they make sure you're on the floor, that you get decent playing time, that you get seen by these coaches, and they can give you some advice too on how to do your best performance.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, definitely. And always we're here for you. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out our email, the coachescarridehome at gmail.com. Always comment and like below and share this video with anybody who might be interested in playing at the next level, um, no matter what that looks like. So everybody can have some questions answered, and we're here for you. So have a great week. Good luck this weekend, and we're super excited. See you in Chicago.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for joining us. Good luck.
SPEAKER_02Bye.