The following are some time-tested, proven tips that have helped countless prep volleyball players get recruited. 

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1. MAKE A LIST OF COLLEGES OF INTEREST: Make a list of your colleges of interest. When making your list, academics should be the primary factor. Be realistic about which schools may accept and recruit you.

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​2. CREATE YOUR VOLLEYBALL "PLAYER PROFILE":  A Player Profile is a must for getting recruited. Create and post your Volleyball Player Profile on University Athlete. You will need to post basic information, including your position(s), graduation year, GPA, dominant hand, height, approach jump, block jump, standing reach, school or club, playing experience, awards, etc. Make sure that you list your club and/or high school coach's telephone numbers and email addresses. Create a volleyball-only email account to use as your contact email account for volleyball recruiting.

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3. CREATE A VOLLEYBALL-SPECIFIC INSTAGRAM AND/OR YOUTUBE ACCOUNT: Critical to you getting recruited is having an online platform to showcase your volleyball skills. Your IG or YouTube account is your online volleyball resume. Do not post non-volleyball posts on these accounts. The purpose of your online resume is to showcase your volleyball skills, not to showcase what type of clothes or food you like. You will post your top video clips here. Here is a sample of some key information you should include in your bio:

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Name:  Sara Sample

Club Team/Year/Positions:  Rally VBC 16U | 2028 S/OH

School & GPA:  Sample School | 3.8 GPA

Accolades:  USAV NTDP, ​2026 Far Westerns 16U MVP

Volleyball Specific Email:  SaraSample2028VB@gmail.com

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*A volleyball-specific email is crucial to ensure that you do not miss any emails from college coaches.

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​4. SHOOT HIGHLIGHT AND GAME VIDEOS OF YOURSELF: Shoot highlight videos showcasing your skills to college coaches. The first 60 seconds must include your very best highlights to capture a coach's attention. You can also shoot videos of yourself during training, i.e., passing, setting, hitting, blocking serving . . . etc.  Keep the videos short; Coaches can evaluate your abilities relatively quickly and do not have time to spend watching long videos on each player. Do not include music or fancy graphics, as this mostly annoys coaches, as they are only interested in seeing you play volleyball.  If you are shooting a game video, include a "Spot Shadow" or "Arrow" that temporarily identifies you in the clips.  Post these videos on your IG and/or YouTube account.

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​5. EMAIL THE COLLEGES ON YOUR LIST: Email the coaches of the colleges of your interest and include your Recruiting Profile link and your IG or YouTube video links. Emails are great because the coaches will get it instantly, and they can click your link to see your Profile and see you play. Let the coaches know why you want to play for them. You should also visit the school's website and fill out the "Recruit Profiles" form to let the coaches know you are interested in playing for that college. The coach will then typically send you a volleyball camp brochure and likely add you to a list of players to track. If you are participating in the combine, we highly recommend emailing the coaches you want to play for and inviting them to watch you play.

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6. PROMPTLY REPLY TO ALL COACHES:  This is important. You must promptly reply to all college coaches, whether they leave you a voicemail, email, text, or DM. This is because coaches want a player who is responsible and responsive. Moreover, never ignore an email from a coach at a school that you are not interested in playing for because that coach may someday be coaching at your dream school.  Staying in contact lets the coach know that you are interested in playing for him/her. Often, when a coach writes to you, he/she will simply be updating you weekly on how their team is doing, but he/she is also letting you know that you are still on his/her "radar" and that they may be recruiting you.  

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​7.  BE REALISTIC AS TO WHAT LEVEL OF VOLLEYBALL YOU CAN PLAY IN COLLEGE:  Less than 1.1% of girls prep volleyball players nationwide go on to play DI collegiate volleyball. However, Hawaii typically boasts 7 - 8x that playing at the DI level, but like everywhere else, most players will play at the DII, DIII, NAIA, and JUCO levels. In fact, more than 81% of college athletic programs are outside of DI. Therefore, do not overlook playing for DII, III, NAIA, or JUCO schools, as there are more opportunities at these schools. 

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​8. BE REALISTIC ABOUT WHAT POSITION YOU CAN PLAY IN COLLEGE:   While Hawaii has 7 - 8x more players playing at the DI level than the national average, and 42.6% of these players are hitters or middles, you may be too short to play outside or middle at a DI school. On the other hand, you could play outside or middle on a DII, III, NAIA, or JUCO school. A DI team may want you to play Libero for them, and therefore, to enhance your "stock," you should also get some Libero training and playing experience. You need to be realistic about which positions you can play in college, depending on the level of college volleyball you want to play.

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​9. RESEARCH THE NEEDS OF THE COLLEGES: You may want to be recruited as a Setter for a particular college, but that college may not need a setter for the years that you will be in college. Therefore, you might not want to spend time writing to schools that have no need for your position unless you really want to go to that school for academic reasons. Simply look up the rosters for your colleges of interest and get an idea of their needs during the years you will be in college.

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​10. LET THE COLLEGE COACHES KNOW WHERE THEY CAN SEE YOU PLAY: If your club or school team is traveling to the mainland to play in a tournament, email the coaches of your schools of interest to come and watch you play at mainland tournaments. If the coaches will be at tournaments you are playing in, they most often will come and watch you play.  Invite coaches to come and watch you play at the Hawaii Volleyball Combine.

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​11. REGISTER WITH THE NCAA:  If you plan to play DI or DII collegiate volleyball, you must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly the NCAA Clearinghouse). Click here to register. 

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​12. KEEP YOUR GRADES UP: This is one of the most important tips. You may be a great player but if your grades are not good, you might not qualify to get into the college of your choice. Each year some talented players do not get recruited simply because their grade point average (GPA) is too low.

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​13. APPLY EARLY: This is one of the most important tips as well. One of the key things to do to get recruited is to apply early to the schools of your interest. When you apply early, you are competing against a smaller pool of applicants, thereby increasing your chances of getting admitted. More importantly, coaches will more seriously consider a player who has already been admitted as opposed to someone who has not. Often, players apply late in the process, making it unlikely that a coach will consider them, even though they may be better than an admitted player. This tip alone can get you recruited over a player who is "better than you". In fact, coaches at the combine spend more time evaluating a player who has applied or is already accepted into their school than someone who is not.

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​14. GO TO A COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL CAMP: If you can afford it, go to a college volleyball camp of your top college choice. This is because the coaches will watch you very closely at their camp, and they will likely try to recruit you there if you impress them. Going to their camp shows the coach that you are seriously interested in playing for that school. Sign up for the "advanced" camp because the "beginners" camp is just that, and high school players will not learn much at the "beginners" camp.

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​15. UNOFFICIAL AND OFFICIAL VISITS: You should visit the schools that are recruiting you so that you have a good idea as to whether you can see yourself going to that school and playing volleyball there. You arrange unofficial visits with the college coaches, but you pay for all expenses to visit the school. If the college coach is seriously recruiting you, he/she will arrange an "official" visit, and the school will pay for the expenses. The "official" visit typically follows the "unofficial" visit. Some schools may not have the budget to pay for an official visit.

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​16. DON'T BE DISCOURAGED IF A COACH DOES NOT RESPOND TO YOU: The NCAA rules restrict how and when a college coach can contact you, so do not get discouraged if a coach does not reply to your email. Sometimes the school will send you a volleyball camp brochure. This may or may not mean that the school is interested in you. The coach can contact your club or high school coach listed on your volleyball Profile to let you know that he/she is interested in you or to get more information about you. Please see our Recruiting Guidelines Page or the NCAA rules at www.NCAA.org for details as to when a coach can contact you. This will depend on your year and month in high school. Less restrictive rules apply to DII, III, NAIA & JUCO schools.

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​17. KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE WHEN PLAYING AND ON THE BENCH: College coaches will not only observe your playing abilities, but they will also observe your attitude on and off the court. If you hang your head when your team is down, the coaches might see it as a negative. Conversely, if you try to encourage your team when they are down, this is viewed as a positive. Coaches watch your body language, your facial expressions, and what you say. Coaches will also watch you on the bench to observe your attitude and whether you are engaged and supporting your teammates.

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​​​18. GO TO A RECRUITING COMBINE: Recruiting combines like the Hawaii Volleyball Combine will enable you to "show your stuff" in front of a captive audience of college coaches. They are there for one reason: to recruit Hawaii players. A combine is better than a tournament because a coach can get all your "measurables" (i.e., approach jump, etc.), see you in drills and playing in matches, and they can request to see you play out of position.

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​19. KEEP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES CLEAN & PRIVATE: If a coach is interested in you, he or she will do some research on you, including looking at your social media posts.  Therefore, you should ensure it has clean, appropriate content.  Keeping your pages private is recommended.

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​20. WHAT IS AN OFFER? An offer is when a college coach offers you a scholarship for a year or year to year to play college volleyball.  The offer could also be as a "Preferred Walk-on," with the possibility of a scholarship if you perform well enough.

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​21. ATHLETIC MONEY v. ACADEMIC MONEY: Some schools do not offer athletic scholarships or may not have any scholarships left to offer. However, many schools have packages that can include academic scholarships, grants, and programs that can help to fund your tuition and other expenses.

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