I once received a question from an NCAA Division I assistant coach asking about US players going to the UK to play volleyball as post-graduate students. In this post I address that subject as best I can. Please see The College Volleyball Recruiting Playbook for tips for US athletes seeking to go abroad.
The 2019-20 figures released by USA Volleyball (which was the peak for total transfers so far) show at least 65 players receiving international transfer certificates to play in England. There could be more playing for UK universities who did not get an ITC because they don’t play in the top level of the National League (NVL) there. For example, I had a couple of Americans play for me at Exeter back in the day. Since we did not play in the NVL, they didn’t need ITCs.
The point I’m trying to make is there are quite a few Americans playing in the UK each year. A number of them are even on scholarships. Mainly, those are post-graduates. Think players who finished their NCAA playing career, but weren’t quite ready to stop playing competitive volleyball. This was definitely squeezed somewhat post-COVID with players getting additional years of eligibility, but I suspect it’s starting to revert now that those years are mostly worked out of the system.
If you’re looking for a scholarship, you need to find a university where volleyball is a performance sport. Most universities have volleyball clubs that compete in BUCS, which is the rough UK equivalent to the NCAA (the NAIA might be a better comparison). The performance programs, however, are a different situation. They are much more akin to what we would call varsity sports in the US. There aren’t that many of them, though.
Universities with performance volleyball programs
Here are at least some of the universities that have volleyball as a performance sport. I’ve included links to their information web page.
This first group includes the programs which are fully performance designated.
These other programs aren’t quite up to full performance standards. For example, they might have only part-time coaches, limited additional support (strength coach, etc.). I think they all offer at least some scholarship money, though.
- Bournemouth (used to be fully performance, but downgraded)
- Cambridge Anglia Ruskin
- Derby
- Northumbria (used to be fully performance, but downgraded)
- Warwick
- Sheffield Hallam (men only, used to be fully performance, but downgraded)
- Staffordshire
On the women’s side, Durham has been a top team for several years, however recent changes have put the future of the program in doubt. Nottingham, Newcastle and Essex have all developed into strong contenders.
For the men, Durham are also strong, but beset by the same uncertainty as their women’s program. Essex and Nottingham are both recent national champions on the men’s side, while East London and Newcastle have both made the national semi-finals in recent seasons.
There’s plenty of competition at the top of the BUCS standings, with Essex for ’23-’24 also becoming the first program in the UK to offer professional contracts to postgraduate students alongside scholarships.
Bournemouth was in the same BUCS league as Exeter when I coached at the latter. I also got to coach against Durham (men) and Northumbria (men and women) in Final 8s.
Recruitment
If you go to a university without a performance program – or you just want a less intense volleyball experience – you’ll simply be part of the school’s club program. Generally speaking, that just means turning up for their tryouts or something along those lines when school starts. Easy enough.
If you want to go the performance route, however, you should think of it like the college recruitment process. You’ll want to reach out to the program(s) you’re interested in, provide them information about yourself, give them some video, etc. I cover all of these topics in The College Volleyball Recruiting Playbook.
Placement service
Several years back a service was developed by a woman who herself played in the UK as a post-graduate. It is called TeamGleas. Think of it as an athlete promotional service that universities subscribe to. They don’t just cover the UK. If you, or someone you know, is thinking about playing and going to school abroad, it might be worth having a look (I have no relationship to the firm).
Another service is run by Guimond Vukovic Group. Derek Guimond played in the UK at Essex and for IBB Polonia London in the Volleyball England Super League. Their service is very similar to that of TeamGleas. (Again, I have no relationship to the firm).
I’m also aware of playoverseas, which is based in the UK. They have a more wide ranging service that encompasses many sports and has many links to different institutions. They do however lack the volleyball history of the two firms above. There may be other services out there as well (if you know of any, let me know).
Keep in mind
A word of warning is required here. You should not expect the same level of support and facilities in the UK as you see at US colleges and universities (especially the higher level ones). Volleyball just isn’t that big a sport at this point. This goes doubly when talking about the non-performance club programs. Training for them might only be once or twice a week, possibly with no coach.
And the competition in BUCS won’t be spectacular. Since most teams are club programs, they just aren’t that strong. The performance programs, though, are generally linked in with a club playing in one of the top divisions of the National League. That’s much more serious, and in some cases includes professional (or at least semi-pro) players.
I bring this up not to discourage anyone from going to the UK to study and play volleyball. I just want to make sure the expectations are realistic. If nothing else, it could be a great experience on many levels. Certainly, it provides opportunities to do some interesting travel.
Want more?
One of my Coaching Conversations was on this very topic. It features a coach and two of his former post-graduate players, both Americans.
Questions?
I hope this post provides the information you need to at least start thinking about things and exploring your options. If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them if I can. If I can’t, I might be able to get them from my contacts among the coaches over there. Feel free to post them below, or contact me.
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