3 Critical Questions to Ask When Choosing a Collegiate Program
Being offered a college scholarship is an amazing honor attained by very view volleyball players. Many of those players don’t realize that the scholarship itself is not the end result of all of their hard work, but just the beginning…
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Continue ReadingBeing offered a college scholarship is an amazing honor attained by very view volleyball players. Many of those players don’t realize that the scholarship itself is not the end result of all of their hard work, but just the beginning of a much harder road ahead. Choosing the right program is critical to having success on the court and in the classroom. Here are three critical things to consider when choosing your collegiate program.
Location
Choosing a school in a climate that you are comfortable in makes a big difference. An athlete from Seattle who has never seen snow or experienced prolonged spells of below zero temperatures may struggle to adapt to live at a college in Montana or Alaska. Being honest about what environment you are going to be comfortable in may not seem like a critical element, but being comfortable in your climate can make all of the difference when you are feeling those strong pangs of homesickness, things aren’t going your way on the court and you are struggling to find your way in a new social environment.
Proximity to Family
Everyone has different needs in this category. For some, being close to their parents and siblings is the only option that is going to work with them. Others can’t wait to get away. Think through the support network that you are going to have outside of volleyball in your new home. Is it better to be close to an extended relative who you can visit when you feel lonely? Will you be able to get enough support through calls, text and video chats to survive when things get tough? It’s not an easy question to be honest about when you are looking at the prestige of a college offer, but the answers could mean the difference between success and failure at the next level.
Coaching Style
This is a much broader question that it appears on the surface. It includes far more than what happens on the court on practice and game days. Is the coach hands on in their players’ lives? How easy is it to get in to chat with the coach when you have something to talk about? Are they active in the community with their players? Or do they go home to their family at the end of the day? What kind of coach are you looking for? Asking these questions during the recruiting process is helpful. Watching the way a coach acts and talking to current and former players about their experience is more than helpful, it is essential.
The recruiting process is intimidating and stressful in the best of situations. Asking these questions and seeking these answers is not easy, but it is essential to making a decision that will lead to success on and off the court in the next phase of your life.