Division 1 Volleyball

Question
Hey Steve, I'm a junior in high school and have been playing volleyball since my freshman year. This year was our first year playing in Division A, and my freshman and sophomore years we were undefeated through division B. I have been on varsity since my soph. year (junior varsity freshman year) and the college I am looking at are almost all division 1 for sports. More than anything I want to play volleyball in college on the varsity team (as opposed to intermural) and was wondering if you could help me by telling me what kinds of things D-1 colleges look for when they recruit. Thank you so much for your time and help!
Meg

Answer
Meg,

You asked a tough question.  My email address is Fordhamvb.aol.com, if you have questions after I give you my answer you can email me there.

First a coach goes and looks for the position he/she needs for the following year.  You can never have enough quick middles who can pass (they are usually the exception to the rule).  If a coach needs everything (which we do in '06) we look for height first (but speed and the ability to jump is just as good), then we look for passing (because if you can't pass you can't do anything else) and then we look at all the other skills.

I am the defensive coach at Fordham University, so I always look for a good passer who plays great defense when I am recruiting an outside hitter.  Then I look to see if she can hit all the angles and if she uses the block.  I would say that passing is the most important skill a coach will look for.  Once again, if there is a 6'3" middle who can not pass but is a stud a coach can find a way to hide them).

What position do you play?  How tall are you?  What is your vertical jump?  Do you have a skills tape?  Email me back and let me know what the answers are to these questions.

Talk to you soon,
Steve