Making Illegal Recruiting Services More Transparent Does NOT Improve It - An Open Response to the AVCA Blog.

This morning, I was browsing my Facebook Newsfeed and saw that the AVCA posted a blog by Mitch Kallick, an assistant coach at a Division I institution. You can read it here. I'd like to start by saying I respect Mitch for coming out and saying what a lot of Division I coaches think. I also recognize that these coaches are working for Athletic Departments that rarely give them more than a one-year contract - their ability to provide for themselves and their family depends on them building a successful program, and in order to compete, they need to be in the recruiting game as aggressively as their peers. That being said, I respectfully disagree 100% with his proposal. 

Coach Kallick, I have a bit of experience on both ends of this: As a student, I went to a big state school, transferred to a community college, then found the right fit for me at a private institution, where I played Division III volleyball. I've also served as an assistant coach for women's volleyball at the Junior College, Division III, and Division I level. It took me all of one year at Division I to recognize that the culture of the sport was not for me - the very fact that you admit that when it comes to early recruiting, 'When you speak to college coaches regarding it, the response you hear most is, “Not a fan/hate it but we have to."', is an alarming statement. If the majority of coaches don't like it, then why are we not trying to change the system? More importantly, why is the answer to actually make it easier to do?

I now work for a juniors club full-time, and one of my main tasks is to sit with families and educate them on how to avoid my path of letting a college sell to me instead of really thinking about what I wanted from my college experience. I understand why coaches do what they do, but it doesn't change the fact that no one cares more about the athlete's best interests more than the athlete and their family. The thing that saddens me is how I feel as a society we HAVEN'T set up a culture where the athlete has to really think about what they want about their future - in a generation of instant gratification, we basically let schools spoon-feed us information on why their school is where we should go, with no true knowledge about the athlete to know if it's a good fit for them. The reality is, if player A has a specific physical skill-set that you want and will make a dramatic impact on your volleyball program, but wouldn't necessarily be a good fit for the student-life aspect of the school, and player B has the grades/personality that fit the school but does not have the ability you're looking for, you're going to talk to player A, because that's what you "have to do" for your program.

Knowing this, why do we think it's a good idea to let the coaches/programs dictate communication?

Don't get me wrong: This is on the groups at the earlier stages as well. High schools don't do as good of a job as they should in educating kids on how to do the college search (Which is sad, because with the internet, it's NEVER been easier to research/contact schools and gather information). Many clubs and "recruiting services" are more concerned with promoting their kids that make it to Division I schools as a way to lure more kids to their program than they are sitting with ALL families that are interested and teaching them how to research schools, properly introduce themselves to the coach, how to make a good video, etc. - that being case, of course college coaches are going to tell kids all the great things about their school and why they should go there. But let's not pretend that they don't have their own agenda first and foremost.

While I know the numbers may be a little off, you can read in an earlier post that about 1.4% of kids get the full-ride scholarship. We constantly use FEAR as our recruiting tool, telling these kids "you have to look at schools early, otherwise you'll be too late" - and I think that's garbage. I've been involved with college athletes for 10 years now, and have not seen a situation where a Division I caliber girl had to drop down to Division III because she waited too long. Because the reality is, if a player has the ability to improve your program, you'll find a way to include them - I know this first-hand, because I've seen a starting freshman lose her scholarship to a junior college transfer because the coach wanted her and had no other way to get her in. Does this happen always? No, there are plenty of ethical coaches out there. But it doesn't change the fact that the power of renewing scholarships sits with the coaches, NOT the players.

I appreciate the fact that you were willing to put your name out there and admit "this is being done across the board" - but I don't think the answer is "we know it's happening, so let's allow it". My answer is "How can we make it so this isn't as necessary of a process? And that answer is EDUCATING THE PLAYERS/PARENTS. Help them learn how to do the searches. Players can contact you, so why don't we help them in their process so that they know how to do so? 

I challenge everyone reading this: DON'T settle for a process that coaches admit they don't like, as well as something that forces CHILDREN to start choosing their colleges before they truly have any idea of what they want, both on and off the court. Coach Kelleck says let's make the process more transparent, I say let's make it more efficient. Recruiting will never go away, but it doesn't mean we can't do a better job of educating players so that they can make their decision with more certainty that they're going somewhere they WANT to go, not somewhere they can go. If a change is to be made, let's start it by taking more responsibility at the high school level of giving our players better guidance at picking their schools - including the 98.6% of kids that won't be scholarship athletes.