A large part of the season for most coaches is made up of recruiting. For myself and our BU program recruiting never really stops. When we finally get our recruits finalized for the next season we have to turn our thoughts on to the next set of grad classes. Since last January most of our coaching staffs attention is on the 2014 grads and beginning to identify the 2015 class.
At the beginning of the recruiting process we are involved a lot with the parents. But I feel the sooner we can work directly with the athlete the better. This allows us to learn more about the personality of the recruit at a faster pace. After the athlete joins the program our interactions with the parents will drop off to quick visits in gyms or restaurants. We rely on the athletes to keep their parents informed on what is happening with in the team. When a parent speaks for the athlete a lot during the recruiting process it often slows down the process more than it helps it. We really don't get a feel for the athlete's personality. I personally believe the athlete should make the decision (with the parents input) of where they feel they fit the best. I know the parent will do their jobs and will make sure the athlete is safe and going into a good situation.
In discussion with some of my NCAA colleagues I found that our recruiting process as a Canadian University is very different. For most of Canadian schools, finding potential players is often through word of mouth and by building of a reliable net work of coaches and friends. We can contrast that to most NCAA programs who have one or 2 assistant coaches where that is a large portion of their workload.
I rely heavily on other coaches. My first set of eyes are often coaches from Brandon High Schools, Derek Richels and Kevin Neufeld. Derek has been an assistant coach with us since the beginning of the program and is highly respected in Manitoba. Kevin has been an assistant coach but now primarily acts as a consultant for us. Kevin is a very successful high school and club coach in Brandon. Derek runs one of the top club team in western Manitoba. They often see the athletes for the first time and create our first evaluations.
We have many other friends of the program who will take time to recommend a player or will answer questions about players they know. WE use this network a lot in other provinces where it is harder to watch the athletes in person. A lot of the recruiting time is talking with these coaching and to start developing a data base of who fits our needs. Once we get a list of potential athletes we take time to narrow it down to the type of athlete that will fit into our program and school.
I rely heavily on other coaches. My first set of eyes are often coaches from Brandon High Schools, Derek Richels and Kevin Neufeld. Derek has been an assistant coach with us since the beginning of the program and is highly respected in Manitoba. Kevin has been an assistant coach but now primarily acts as a consultant for us. Kevin is a very successful high school and club coach in Brandon. Derek runs one of the top club team in western Manitoba. They often see the athletes for the first time and create our first evaluations.
We have many other friends of the program who will take time to recommend a player or will answer questions about players they know. WE use this network a lot in other provinces where it is harder to watch the athletes in person. A lot of the recruiting time is talking with these coaching and to start developing a data base of who fits our needs. Once we get a list of potential athletes we take time to narrow it down to the type of athlete that will fit into our program and school.
At Brandon University we look for a specific type of player. We want fast dynamic athletes. Size of the athlete is not as important to us as the height at which they play the game. All of our middles and most of our outsides were over 9'9" or 298-300cm on their measured spike approach. The athletes on our team that don't jump that high have special skills, they are very strong in ball control, and/ or hit a heavy ball. When we are narrowing down our data base for recruiting grade 11 we first look for speed, then spike touch. It is common for athletes to put 2-3 inches on their spike in their first two years. Usually the growth happens because of the athletes commitment to fitness.
Once we have determined they are athletic enough to play at a Canada West level we then turn to the process of finding out what kind of person they are. We all want strong character players and athletes that will get along with the team. We will discuss the potential athletes with their coaches, opposition coaches, teacher and other parents of athletes on the team. Of course we are in discussions directly with the player and her parents
At the beginning of the recruiting process we are involved a lot with the parents. But I feel the sooner we can work directly with the athlete the better. This allows us to learn more about the personality of the recruit at a faster pace. After the athlete joins the program our interactions with the parents will drop off to quick visits in gyms or restaurants. We rely on the athletes to keep their parents informed on what is happening with in the team. When a parent speaks for the athlete a lot during the recruiting process it often slows down the process more than it helps it. We really don't get a feel for the athlete's personality. I personally believe the athlete should make the decision (with the parents input) of where they feel they fit the best. I know the parent will do their jobs and will make sure the athlete is safe and going into a good situation.
At BU we hope the parent feel as much a part of our program as the athlete does.
Every coach will talk to many different players in a certain position. We have our dream list of who we want but we also have back up plans. Coaches understand that not all athletes will end up at your school. WE have to talk to many athletes. When an athlete decides to join our school we make a big deal out of it. Luckily for us we have very supportive media. It is big news in Brandon when we sign a recruit. It will be in the paper and on the radio.
So far this year we have signed 3 prominent players from Manitoba. Nikki Majewski an outside hitter from Winnipeg, Sara Barker another middle from Winnipeg and Jamie Campbell a libero from Brandon.
Every coach will talk to many different players in a certain position. We have our dream list of who we want but we also have back up plans. Coaches understand that not all athletes will end up at your school. WE have to talk to many athletes. When an athlete decides to join our school we make a big deal out of it. Luckily for us we have very supportive media. It is big news in Brandon when we sign a recruit. It will be in the paper and on the radio.
So far this year we have signed 3 prominent players from Manitoba. Nikki Majewski an outside hitter from Winnipeg, Sara Barker another middle from Winnipeg and Jamie Campbell a libero from Brandon.
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