Coach’s Corner – Red Flags

Prior to our Ireland trip and, no, I don’t keep mentioning it to be annoying (although it is a side benefit), I had reached out to a number of coaches on another Coach’s Corner story idea. These were coaches I’ve had dealings with but hadn’t contributed to a story on the site, yet. I think it’s good for these Coach’s Corners if we get a wide range of viewpoints and not always hear from the same voices. (Unless it’s mine. That’s okay.) Well, I was a tad nonplussed by the volume of emails back so I had to reach out to some coaches that I know love to hear their own voices on the site like to help out. Anyway, the topic today is recruiting and what are the red and green flags you have, as a coach, with potential recruits. In a nutshell, the specific questions were:

• What are some Red Flags that will stop you from recruiting someone regardless of their talent?

• What are some Green Flags that would cause you to recruit someone that you know probably will not see the floor for you in 4-years?

Instead of attributing each quote to the coaches, I thought it might be better to just list the coaches that helped with this article. All my love to Leah Bernier (Gettysburg), Paul Schlomer (Edgewood), Tara Stilwill (Ithaca), Bryan Snyder (Washington & Lee), Jeremiah “Bullfrog” Tiffin (Schreiner) and Kurt Vlasich (CMS).

Before I get into the flags, I do want to remind readers and especially Potential Student Athletes (PSA) that there is a Recruitment Video (PSA) Article on the site (link to the left or dropdown). That topic sort of goes hand-in-hand with this one if you are a PSA trying to figure out how to get recruited.

Let’s start with the Red Flags and what I found is that most of the responses could be boiled down to a few general areas. I will list them here and the go into more detail below.

• Parent Problems

• Lack of PSA’s interest/engagement in recruitment

• Poor PSA attitude

• Current team’s opinion of PSA is not positive

I am so excited that parents made the list and, I think, were touched on by almost every coach. This is going to be fun.

As someone who had a couple of horrible club experiences due to parents thinking their child was the next big Olympian and/or thinking they were owned something, I was so excited when my daughter got to college and knowing that the parent factor was gone. It was all up to the coach and their conversations with their ADULT players. I was wrong. Some parents just got to parent, I guess. So, it makes sense that coaches want to spot potential problems and prevent that atmosphere from coming into the program. Some quotes:

“When parents dominate the conversation. I have a rule that parents aren’t allowed to talk about playing time with me so I can already foresee that becoming a bigger issue.”

“If you have parents yelling at refs and coaches on the sidelines, that’s not going to stop in college.”

“Not paying attention in the huddle during timeouts or between sets (even worse if they are looking at and talking to their parents).”

There was never a single time while my daughter played (for two different coaches) where I mentioned playing time. This didn’t mean I agreed with the decisions being made, but I respected the coaches and my daughter to handle her own business. I think every parent is going to help their daughter during the recruiting process but that stops when you step on to a campus and based on the above comments, you should be careful at the club matches.

Something that was tied in with parents at times was the second item dealing with the lack of PSA interest. If the parents are pushing the recruitment effort, it’s quite possible that the PSA doesn’t have her heart in the sport. College volleyball roster spots are scarce (unless you go to Austin College…joke for Ed Garza). A coach does not want to give up one of their spots to someone that may not give the program 100% and be gone in a year. One quote that highlights this:

“I have taken very promising recruits off of our list because they seem very disinterested or do not care much about their recruiting process.  The commitment required to be a college athlete is high.  If a recruit does not show that passion for the recruiting process or for the volleyball work ahead, they will probably be unhappy once they get to campus.”

The third flag mentioned (Poor PSA attitude) was the big one. I got a ton of input on this one. Here are the quotes:

“We watch what they are doing in the time they aren’t actively playing. If they make a mistake, how do they respond? Are they mad? Do they not high five a teammate? If their coach is giving instruction, do they make eye contact and nod in affirmation? Do they roll their eyes? Do they give an excuse? If they are on the bench, are they engaged? Encouraging their teammates?”

“[Do they have] bad body language or reaction after a teammate makes an error, not being engaged when calling lines or working at the table at a club tournament?”

“How they interact with their teammates when the game is not going well or they are playing poorly. If they can’t uplift the people around them that’s not the vibe I want.”

“Having a positive attitude is everything.  I will not recruit a player who is selfish, sour, entitled, or a complainer.  You can see these behaviors by how athletes treat their club teammates, club coaches, or their parents.  You can see this by how they interact with me and my team on their campus visits.  We spend too much time together over 4 years for me to recruit jerks.  I want our gym to be a place where everyone wants to be.  One bad attitude can spoil that quickly.”

Love that last one, “We spend too much time together over 4 years for me to recruit jerks.” Sometimes, it’s really that simple.

The fourth red flag dealt with how the current team thinks of the PSA. This wasn’t mentioned a lot but I (who is not a coach) think this is really important because if you have a good culture, they can police themselves.

“The team is the best barometer when it comes to whether or not a prospect will do well. They need to fit the vibe of the team and have the same values. Are they talking crap about their teammates and coaches? Are they asking questions about the party culture on campus? Do they speak about inappropriate things?  Or on the other end are they super quiet and not easy to talk to? My kids just say they “lack pizzazz” and that tends to mean they aren’t for us.”

There were other comments that dealt with how the PSA dealt with their parents that kind of wrap around these big four red flags.

“How they interact with their parents, especially on a visit. If they treat their parents like servants (also at games), or make eye rolls then that’s a lack of respect for authority.”

“If you walk off the court and hand your parent your bag to hold or carry…I’m out.  And one that really drives me nuts is when a parent has to bring you water to refill your water bottle in the middle of a match.  To me, that shows me that you’re unprepared.  I’ve had people tell me, well…”she drinks more water in a match than her hydro holds.”  I would say, “get a bigger hydro.””

Remember, these are the red flags that immediately eliminate a PSA from consideration. Look back at the question that was asked. A potential recruit “…regardless of their talent”! In a nutshell (outside the first red flag about parents), this is how the PSA carries themselves on and off the court.

Moving on to the green flags, my original thought was to really highlight the items that could potentially get a PSA recruited even when the coach thinks they don’t have the talent. Most coaches just gave me their green flags, which was perfectly fine. I did have two coaches say that they have taken PSAs they didn’t think would see the floor, including this one, “I had a kid that was in my PE class years ago.  One day she sent me a 3-page letter on why I should add her to the varsity team.  I was so impressed with her thoughts and commitment to write the letter, I knew she would be a great add despite most likely not being good enough to see the court.  And sure enough, that was exactly what she did.  She was so galvanizing, that if you ask anyone on [named a specific team], they would give her the credit for her support and positivity despite not even suiting up…”

I did have one coach that stated they do not recruit anyone for the team that they don’t think will help on the court during their four years. This coach went on to say, however, about players that don’t pan out, “It takes a special person to be a 4-year reserve.  Many cannot make it to the end as a reserve.  It is a thankless job, but my 4-year reserves have been some of my favorite players to coach over the years.

On to the specific green flags that were mentioned:

• A great attitude

• A fantastic attitude

• A really good attitude

• An outstanding attitude

Wow! Great parents didn’t make the list? Who would have thought that? Now, attitude wasn’t the only green flag mentioned but it was mentioned a lot. I’ll try to break out everything that was talked about. It makes sense if a bad attitude can get you a red flag, then a great attitude can get you a green flag. There were a number of examples of what constitutes a great attitude. Coaches are looking for PSAs that put their team first, care about their teammates and push for a positive team culture. They want PSAs that are going to come in a fight for a spot and not expect anything to be given to them. PSAs that are not asking about guaranteed playing time. They want PSAs that love being a student-athlete and enjoy the recruiting process. They love being in the gym and playing and supporting their team. They look for an upbeat vibe and players that the coaches want to work with. They want players that have similar temperaments and values that their team has. They want PSAs that are cheering on the bench regardless of the situation and that celebrate their teammate’s good plays more than they do their own. Giving max effort regardless of the score. In summary, they look for leaders.

Now, leaders can have a very specific meaning but I didn’t get the sense here that this was the case. The PSA needs to be a leader (not necessarily of the team) but of the culture. Of keeping things positive and looking out for others. Keeping the team (or really the family because that’s what good culture turns a team into) moving in the right direction by being supportive. You don’t have to have any volleyball talent to be this type of a teammate but it’s the biggest green flag when you have both.

There were a number of other green flags mentioned so let’s get to those, as well. Three that were kind of related to me were PSAs that love the school, PSAs that have family in the area and PSAs that are active in their community. The reason that I think they are green flags and kind of related is that they are reasons that the PSA will stay at the school. With the transfer portal and the normalization of switching schools, I think these three help a coach believe that the PSA is in for the long haul.

PSAs that love the school seems so simple but numerous PSAs go to a college simply because they believe it’s the best volleyball environment for them.

Don’t. Do. This.

If a PSA comes into a school they love, then they are most likely going to stay even if things get rough. It’s basically an anchor for the PSA. Go to a school you don’t care about and if one thing goes wrong on the volleyball court then they could be looking for the exit.

“They have to like their life outside of the gym or they will become disenfranchised.”

Having family in the area is another type of anchor that provides an emotional support to the PSA. It’s a big bonus for the team and the player when family and friends come to the matches and provide a loving foundation.

Being active in your community was another great input from a coach.

“I’ve found that players that work/volunteer will continue to do that here and be involved in other things which will give them a reason to stay.”

The last green flag I’ll get into is an obvious one; high academics. High academic students are better able to cope with the stresses of practice/playing and academics. There is less of a chance they struggle and have to drop the sport or drop out entirely.

So, in a nutshell, coaches are looking for a great attitude and reasons they want to attend their school. It seems simple but so many PSAs will get tripped up by this.

I, again, want to thank all of the coaches that responded (and even the coaches that didn’t respond). You all are very busy with spring ball and recruiting so anything you can give the site is amazing.