OMAHA – Nebraska Prep Volleyball is proud to announce that Championship Combines – the national leader in volleyball recruiting combines – is coming to Omaha on Nov. 23.
Championship Combines will run the Nebraska Volleyball Recruiting Combine from 2-3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 23, at The Courts volleyball facility in Omaha. The combine is open to any current high school or junior college athlete. The combine is limited to the first 150 athletes to register.
Cost for the combine is $65 plus a $4.57 processing fee and all registrations will be handled on-line HERE.
Championship Combines is run by one of the nation’s foremost volleyball recruiting experts in Matt Sonnichsen. Sonnichsen’s resume includes
- 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.
- Assistant Volleyball Coach at Clemson University, the University of Iowa and U.C. Santa Barbara.
- Head Volleyball Coach at The University of Iowa, The University of Tulsa, Newberry College and Louisiana Tech University.
- Head Volleyball Coach of the Guaynabo Mets of the Puerto Rican Women’s Professional League.
The week prior to coming to Omaha, Championship Combines will be hosting one of the largest recruiting combines of the year in Dallas-Fort Worth. Championship Combines also runs events in conjunction with the Kansas City MLK Day Tournament, St. Louis President’s Day Tournament, Mideast National Qualifier Tournament, Far Western Qualifier Tournament, and others.
Championship Combines will promote the Nebraska combine to all of the NCAA Division I, II, II, NAIA and junior college programs in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota and Minnesota. In addition, the player contact information from the combine is made available to every college program in the county.
At the combine, players will be divided by position and graduation year to allow attending college coaches to efficiently evaluate the players. At The Courts, six courts will be utilized with each having a “court coach” to allow players to showcase their skill set to the college coaches. The court coaches will put the players through volleyball drills within their specific positions, along with combining positions to illustrate group skill sets.
Players will not do any 6-on-6 scrimmaging, as that has the highest rate of injuries. During the combine, parents are encouraged to attend, but will need to stay in a designated area to allow the players to focus on kills and the college coaches to focus on evaluation.
Parents will be invited to attend a free recruiting seminar during the early part of the combine. The recruiting educational seminar is done in partnership with NCSA Athletic Recruiting.
Volleyball combines have become a great way to connect volleyball players of all ability levels with college coaches. The main reasons for the rise in popularity of the combines are:
- Unlike a tournament, each player receives equal exposure.
- You play the position you want, to be evaluated for college.
- Families don’t have to spend all day in a gym.
- The focus is solely on recruiting and evaluation; with an emphasis on individual drills, as to best showcase your skills to college coaches.
- College coaches can effectively evaluate hundreds of players in a short time.
- Combines are less expensive than tournaments to attend.
- Immediate possible contact between college coach and player.
The timing for the Nebraska combine also is perfect, because it takes place one week following the end of the Nebraska state volleyball tournament and a week after a vast majority volleyball clubs hold tryouts for high school aged players. This gives everyone an opportunity to participate in the combine without interfering with neither the high school nor club seasons while still being in “volleyball mode.”
Again, the combine has a hard cap of 150 athletes that will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. The size is limited to ensure quality exposure. For more information, visit www.vbcombines.com or email Matt Sonnichsen at info@vbcombines.com. To register, please click HERE.
