Taking It to the Next Level: Recruitment Behind the Scenes
By Zella Baresh
SAN MARCOS, TX — Club volleyball is becoming more prominent for athletes trying to get recruited to play at a collegiate level.
June 15 is a key date for the volleyball community. This is the day athletes can contact universities for the first time regarding recruitment. Erin Morgal, Force Volleyball’s recruiting director, guides athletes aged 15 to 18 through the next step of this process.
“Our 15-year-old is more of ‘Hey, I want you researching different schools, areas of the country and divisions,’” said Morgal. “Our 16-year-olds are allowed to start talking to Division II coaches.”
Morgal makes a big push at the 16s on how to write a proper email to college coaches.
“They focus on what communication with coaches sounds like via text message,” said Morgal. “Or phone call, email and how it changes.”
Force Volleyball Club Director Jamie Blair has coached since 2010 and has watched the club’s recruiting process change over the years. It has changed the customers’ decision on where to bring their daughters to play.
“Years ago, college recruitment wasn’t a big deal and didn’t play a big role in what we were doing as a club,” Blair said. “The overall business is getting larger.”
When Blair started, it meant sending a few emails to a couple of schools, and that was it. Now there are databases that the recruitment director of a club has to keep up with for each player.
“She’s constantly sending emails to schools,” Blair said. “She stays on top of players about sending emails out once a month.”
The Texas State volleyball team recruits new players each season. Senior Jade Defraeye came from France and played for the France Avenir 2024, so her recruitment process was a little different. She was able to get an agent who then came into contact with Texas State through one of her friend’s parents who moved to the U.S.
“It’s a pretty long process,” Defraeye said. “You have to do a highlight video, go through all the contact information about coaches in the U.S., Zoom video calls, and an English test.”
Club volleyball has become a major factor in the recruitment process today and ultimately guides players through this process more than before.
