Coach’s Clipboard: Do’s and Don’t’s of a Campus Visit
Brent Lewis There really isn’t too much you can do to mess up a campus visit. Below are six short and simple points to remember. – Be courteous. This goes a long way. It is very easy to deal with…
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Continue ReadingThere really isn’t too much you can do to mess up a campus visit. Below are six short and simple points to remember.
– Be courteous. This goes a long way. It is very easy to deal with a person who appears gracious for the opportunity to play college volleyball. Say “thank you” and “please”, but you don’t have to overdo it.
– Ask questions. No one has all of the answers they need to make a decision about college. We know this, therefore we expect you to have some questions. Ask about anything- classes, how close is the nearest mall, how the team travels, how often would you get to go home, which bank we would recommend for a local bank account, etc. The ones I listed seem to range from critical to insignificant, but you never know what minor factor might end up playing into your decision. I’ve been known to ask recruits some rather random questions and it’s perfectly acceptable for you to do the same.
– Get to know the coaching staff. We become your new family. Sure mom and dad will still be there, but they won’t see you every day like we will. We help you in a lot of different ways than your high school staff does so getting to know us on a personal level should be high on your priority list.
– If possible, get to know the players. We always try to arrange our visits so the recruit can meet the team. Since in a way we all become family, these are like your new sisters. You will be around these players every day in practice, on the road, on the court, and in the same hotel room. It is my belief that the current players are the greatest sell that a program can have, so we take great pride in recruits connecting with our current student-athletes.
– Don’t bad-mouth a former coach, EVER. This should be a no-brainer, but I hear it violated more often than I would expect. (Parents- this applies to you too!) You can expect a call from me to that coach. Remember that there are two sides to every story and you probably don’t want me to hear the other one. One family I’ve talked to had negative things to say about every coach they had ever played for. It wasn’t too long before I realized how evident it was that the actual problem was with them.
– Follow up. After your visit, we always want to know what you thought. If you really liked it, I would recommend a phone call to the head coach within a few days to let him or her know that. If you didn’t like it at all, I would recommend sending an email with a simple statement that you will be seeking other options. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s actually beneficial for you to do that as soon as possible. If they really want you they will continue contacting you until you let them know you would like to go elsewhere. It also helps us as recruiters to know that we need to pursue other options. And finally, if the school is in the mix and you could see yourself going there (even if not your top option), maintain regular contact with the coaching staff. You might end up needing them and you don’t want to seem a distant thought.
Brent Lewis serves as the head coach for Top Ten Volleyball Club and is the assistant coach for NJCAA D1 Iowa Western Community College. He arrived at Iowa Western in May 2013 after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA D3 Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas where he received his Master’s degree in Kinesiology.
The 2013 Iowa Western team went 44-5 and earned a seventh place finish at the National Tournament after being ranked as high as #2 during the season. The team won the Region XI and District D titles en route to the National Tournament appearance. With his assistance the Reivers led the nation in kills and assists as well as finishing seventh in total digs. In his two years at HSU he helped the team to a 58-10 overall record, 38-3 record in the American Southwest Conference, two conference titles, and two NCAA regional tournament appearances. The Cowgirls led the conference in kills and assists both years he was on staff. Following the 2012 season HSU was named American Southwest Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.
In three years as an assistant coach at the collegiate level he has amassed a record of 102-15. He has been a part of two school record winning streaks, first with the 2012 HSU squad that won 25 straight games and then again in 2013 with an IWCC team that tied the school record with 33 consecutive victories. He has coached a total of eight All-Conference players, one conference MVP, five All-Region players, and three All-Americans. A bizarre fact he is not real fond of is that three times his team has blown a 13-8 lead in the fifth set (it happened a fourth time but the team managed to hold on for the win).
A majority of his work lies in the statistical and analytical realm. While a graduate student he wrote a Master’s thesis entitled “Discovering Success in Volleyball: An Integral Match Analysis of the Relationship between Statistics and Team Rankings” which compared general statistics to team records in order to determine the most significant numbers for predicting the outcome of a win/loss record. He most recently finished a paper where he proposed a new statistic to measure a hitter’s effectiveness.
A native of Marshall, Texas, Brent was a hitter on the men’s club team at East Texas Baptist University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. He lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
You may email Brent at blewis@iwcc.edu with any questions or items you would like to see him write about.