Quick note here. In this case “college” is being used in the American way. That generally means institutions of higher education (2 or 4 year) beyond secondary school. This would be beyond A-levels, to provide an English comparison.

Inside College Volleyball is a book I published back in 2011. I worked with a fellow coach by the name of Matt Sonnichsen. Matt authored most of the content while I did the editing and publishing. He’d been blogging for several years as The College Volleyball Coach. At that time he was coaching at a Division I university in the States, having been working in the field for 15 years. Prior to that, he was a player of some note.

  • 2 time NCAA Champion at UCLA
  • MVP of the National Championship his senior year.
  • 3 time All American setter
  • USA National Team setter
  • 2 years playing professional volleyball in Europe
  • 5 year touring member of the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour

Matt left coaching a few months after the book’s release and now consults volleyball families on the collegiate recruiting process. He continues to write his blog.

We developed the book as a collection of the best of Matt’s blog. It is structured in a useful way to discuss the recruiting process. It also provides answers to some of the most asked questions. There is some discussion of life as a collegiate volleyball player, and Matt shares some of his opinions (he has many strong ones!), but mainly it’s about recruitment.

College volleyball is well established in the US, but less so elsewhere. As a result, there is interest in playing volleyball at a university in the States among foreign athletes. The opportunities to do so are considerable (there are over 300 schools in women’s Division I alone), with the potential to get a scholarship. This may be a very worthwhile option for some of the better international Juniors players. (Note: men’s volleyball in the U.S. is much smaller than women’s, so the opportunities are more scarce – at least in terms of scholarships.)

Having coached BUCS volleyball in England, and NCAA Division I and Division II volleyball in the US, I can tell you there is definitely a major difference in the caliber of play. The Northumbria and Durham teams I saw play in the 2013-14 BUCS championships were at a comparable level, in large part thanks to having a number of former US collegiate players. Aside from those two teams, though, the caliber of play in BUCS was well below that seen in the States. I’d venture to say that many teams in Division II and probably the better ones from Division III (and the NAIA as well) would be a stiff challenge for the top UK sides.

No real surprise there. The US teams train and/or play up to 6 days a week for a 3-4 month season. In the upper divisions there is also a secondary “non-traditional” season. That’s about 6 weeks in the off-season when teams can train full-time. Players also do individual or small group sessions the rest of the school year. And strength & conditioning work is just about year-round. All of this is after most of them spent four years or more playing/training 5 days a week for 3 months for their high school teams then going through a 5-6 month Juniors volleyball season where they may have been playing/training up to 3 days a week.

In other words, for the player looking to train and compete at a level higher than available in the UK and elsewhere, and with the desire to get a good education at the same time, attending university in the States is something very much worth considering. Meg Viggars, setter for Team GB, went that route, as have several others. With US programs adding beach volleyball into the mix as well, there may be even more opportunities.

I’m always open to answering questions about US college volleyball recruiting, but Inside College Volleyball is a good starting point for you and any of your players/parents interested in exploring that option. The book is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats. The reviews to-date have been very good.

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John Forman
John Forman

John is currently the Talent Strategy Manager (oversees the national teams) and Indoor Performance Director for Volleyball England, as well as Global Director for Volleyball for Nation Academy. His volleyball coaching experience includes all three NCAA divisions, plus Junior College, in the US; university and club teams in the UK; professional coaching in Sweden; and both coaching and club management at the Juniors level. He's also been a visiting coach at national team, professional club, and juniors programs in several countries. Learn more on his bio page.

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