
For people aspiring to become a Division 1 volleyball player, there’s a few things you need to know and do. Firstly, it’s best if you have a few years of experience prior to high school of volleyball experience and to be in high ranked volleyball clubs.
Developing your skills as a volleyball player and engaging actively in training and continuous practice will be the best way to set your skills apart from other players you’re competing against and also people on your team. Playing volleyball takes a lot of dedication and to repeatedly be getting touches and practicing. Ultimately, all this training should help you be the best player you can. It’s good to aim for high-level club teams and to participate in volleyball training camps to aid in this endeavor, as well.
Being a part of a club can help you attend big tournaments, which may be vital because there are typically college scouts there looking for players. Being able to attend those will help you get noticed by a D1 coach and potential recruiters.
Another way to become noticed that a lot of current players are doing is creating social media accounts to show off their talent. Players make these accounts to post their best highlights and put their information in their bio so coaches know a little bit about them. This is the quickest and easiest way to put yourself out there to be noticed by D1 coaches and recruiters. There are platforms for players to be able to connect with coaches on, like the NCSA.
As a player, you can also contact coaches directly. While researching schools and identifying programs you would be interested in that match your skill-level and also academic aspirations, you can usually find coaches’ emails on the program’s website and email them directly. By emailing them, you can send them information about who you are and your experiences as a player.
Also, adding film of you playing to the email is a great way to grab their attention and notice you as a player. Make sure to be professional and efficient with your interactions with coaches to really help boost your first impression.
Something else coaches look at when recruiting players is their grades. So, keeping up good grades in school will definitely help you stand out and be very beneficial. There’s also certain academic requirements you need to meet when trying to become a player for the NCAA program, so make sure to check for updated requirements often.
A very popular player for the Texas Longhorns volleyball team is Maddie Skinner. She joined the volleyball sport later than most at the age of 15 years old. Her older sister Avery is also a popular volleyball player and played for Kansas. She was Maddie’s inspiration for wanting to play the sport. Maddie Skinned previously played other sports, but she found volleyball and quickly became a skilled player. With her athletic background and athletic family, she felt influenced to pursue volleyball seriously.
Skinner played for a volleyball club called Houston Skyline and that’s when she became serious about playing. She also played for her highschool team all four years. She was a co-captain her senior year at her high school and also earned All-American recognition, becoming ranked as the nation’s number two college recruit. She first committed to University of Kentucky but later transferred to University of Texas. There she became a three-time national champion and earned multiple All-American honors.
Maddie Skinner is a great example of how with some hard work anything is possible. Even though she started at a later age and didn’t have much time to gain skill, she put her all into volleyball and became a very popular and recognized athlete.