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Post by larry on Sept 25, 2014 18:36:05 GMT -5
(I originally posted this in the sand forum, but felt it might get better visibility here, because so many more folks go to this one. And the subject matter is germane.)
A friend and member of my beach group plays Division I indoor volleyball for a school that does not offer a sand program.
She will graduate in May and hopes to transfer to a school to play sand volleyball as a graduate student. How many seasons of sand eligibility would she have? My assumption is four because indoor and sand are considered different sports by the NCAA.
This girl can flat out play beach volleyball, but doesn't have a ton of connections in the U.S. She came here from Germany, first playing junior-college ball before getting a full ride at a low D-I program.
What would be the best avenues for her to pursue with regards to finding a school at which to play sand ball?
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Post by GoUCLA on Sept 25, 2014 18:51:04 GMT -5
No, that's not how it works. There are rules in place. I'm not positive, but I think she only has 1 year of eligibility.
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Post by Not Me on Sept 25, 2014 19:29:31 GMT -5
No, that's not how it works. There are rules in place. I'm not positive, but I think she only has 1 year of eligibility. You are correct. |
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Sept 25, 2014 19:38:05 GMT -5
If she is willing to transfer after the end of indoor season, she would be able to play the 2015 and 2016 seasons. If she stays at her current school through the end of the current school year, she only has one year of sand eligibility left as a grad student (2016). Something for her to keep in mind is that she'll get more interest from sand programs if she's able to play two seasons instead of one. If she is interested in transferring to a school in order to play the Spring 2015 sand season, she needs to get a release letter from her current coach (even though her indoor eligibility is coming to an end, sand coaches generally won't talk to a prospective transfer without a release). Usually not an issue if a program isn't offering sand. And of course there are academic issues to consider as well.
This isn't to say a program would wouldn't take her if she only had one season of eligibility, and a fair number of players have done exactly that. But being available for two full seasons makes her a more attractive prospect in the eyes of sand coaches. In addition, she should be aware that most sand programs are not awash in scholarship money, and only a very small handful of players in the country are getting full rides. 1/4 or 1/2 schollies are the norm, and there are several schools that aren't offering scholarships at all (yet). Don't know if that's an issue for her, but wanted to mention it.
In terms of contacting coaches, probably the best place to start is CollegeSand.org. That site is generally the most up-to-date reference for collegiate sand, and has links to every sand program. She can peruse that list and figure out which schools might be the best fit for her while also getting contact information for coaches.
Best of luck in her search.
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Post by larry on Sept 25, 2014 20:01:33 GMT -5
Many thanks for the clarification. She has indicated to me that she wants to get her Bachelor's Degree from her present school, which would mean she would not be available for another sand program until the 2016 season. I will let her know what the ramifications of that would be.
She trained for the last month of the summer with a high-quality beach group that includes at least one main-draw AVP player. She runs like a deer in the sand. Even for one season, she would be an asset to a whole lot of sand programs. Maybe not at the Stanford, USC, Long Beach State or Pepperdine level, but at the ones a cut below that, for sure.
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Post by bayarea on Sept 25, 2014 20:39:56 GMT -5
Many thanks for the clarification. She has indicated to me that she wants to get her Bachelor's Degree from her present school, which would mean she would not be available for another sand program until the 2016 season. I will let her know what the ramifications of that would be. She trained for the last month of the summer with a high-quality beach group that includes at least one main-draw AVP player. She runs like a deer in the sand. Even for one season, she would be an asset to a whole lot of sand programs. Maybe not at the Stanford, USC, Long Beach State or Pepperdine level, but at the ones a cut below that, for sure. Haha...she would actually be a HUGE asset to Stanford's sand program, which is 180 degrees different than USC or Pepperdine's sand program (ie. no dedicated Stanford sand scholarship players until 2016). Actually, the question might be if she needs a sand scholarship to continue. You are talking about the 2015-16 academic year, which is currently loaded with sand scholarship players and walk-ons at the top (SoCal and Southeast) beach programs. Northern California programs have not added sand-specific scholarships but probably will by the Spring of 2016. |
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Post by larry on Sept 25, 2014 20:54:16 GMT -5
I simply used the California programs as an example. Apologize for my specific lack of knowledge about the status of Stanford's san fortunes.
She pretty much would consider any program that displayed an interest. She is eager to get better on the beach.
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Post by fetchin on Sept 25, 2014 20:55:26 GMT -5
Hawaii has a sand player from Germany this year, maybe she knows her and could ask her for some help? Named Lara Schrieber. Then again don't expect hawaii to have much scholarship money left this late.
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Post by bruin805 on Sept 25, 2014 21:16:04 GMT -5
The other posters are correct that she has 1 year of eligibility remaining if she stays at her current school through the end of the school year.
An athlete has 5 years to complete 4 years of competition. The 5 year clock begins when the athlete begins school. So at the end of her 4 years playing indoor, there is one year left on the "clock." So even though she has not used up any of her 4 seasons of eligibility of sand volleyball, the "clock" has still be running and only has one year left before it hits 5 years.
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Sept 25, 2014 21:50:06 GMT -5
Many thanks for the clarification. She has indicated to me that she wants to get her Bachelor's Degree from her present school, which would mean she would not be available for another sand program until the 2016 season. I will let her know what the ramifications of that would be. She trained for the last month of the summer with a high-quality beach group that includes at least one main-draw AVP player. She runs like a deer in the sand. Even for one season, she would be an asset to a whole lot of sand programs. Maybe not at the Stanford, USC, Long Beach State or Pepperdine level, but at the ones a cut below that, for sure. Haha...she would actually be a HUGE asset to Stanford's sand program, which is 180 degrees different than USC or Pepperdine's sand program (ie. no dedicated Stanford sand scholarship players until 2016). Actually, the question might be if she needs a sand scholarship to continue. You are talking about the 2015-16 academic year, which is currently loaded with sand scholarship players and walk-ons at the top (SoCal and Southeast) beach programs. Northern California programs have not added sand-specific scholarships but probably will by the Spring of 2016. Sand hasn't reached the level of D-I indoor in respect to early commits. Yet, at any rate. There are a large number of programs, particularly in thr South, that are currently looking to fill their rosters for the 2016 sand season. |
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Post by larry on Oct 1, 2014 19:03:10 GMT -5
Wanted to thank those who took the time to respond to my question. My volleyball-playing friend actually has received positive feedback from 5 or 6 of the programs she preliminarily contacted. She was encouraged by the response.
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Post by Wolfgang on Oct 1, 2014 21:00:45 GMT -5
Karissa Cook played indoor vb for Stanford during her undergrad years from 2010-2013 (?). Then, she played sand vb for the Univ. of Hawaii for one season in 2013-2014 as a grad student. I have no idea what grad program she enrolled in. It's kind of vague.
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