Advice Needed for High School Beach + Indoor Player

[arwen]

Hi there. I'm new to this site as a member but have read many of the posts and find it incredibly insightful. I'm seeking the advice of BEACH volleyball college coaches or parents who have been through the beach volleyball recruiting process.

My daughter is a member of the class of 2020, attends a large high school, and plays both beach and indoor club volleyball. This will be her 5th year playing beach volleyball and she is on a 16s indoor team playing OH/DS. She would prefer to play ONLY beach volleyball in college and is setting her sights on that, which means she will likely give up indoor club volleyball next year (she will still play high school volleyball). 

My question is: Do college coaches want beach-only recruits to continue playing club indoor volleyball during all of high school, OR do they prefer a beach-only approach once they are sure that is what they want to do in college? Your advice will be crucial to her decision. 

Thanks!!!

[downtheline]

If she wishes to focus on beach and has had good training indoors it may be time to go with beach.

I see plenty of girls giving up indoor early in HS and now even before which I would not recommend.

The college beach game gets more competitive each year so if your not ready to show your stuff by freshman & soph years your going to be behind the curve? Imho.

[arwen]

Thanks - very helpful! She has trained at the top club in our area and is highly ranked in our region for beach. It may be time to make the switch! I'd be open to the alternative view as well, if anyone has that viewpoint to share.

[Deleted]

I'd hesitate take take her off a top open division team until the last possible season. Branding, undeservingly, goes a long way in raising your prospects. You should have seen the double takes at the JO's when these girls were walking around with TAV Beach shirts.

[downtheline]

Not too many beach coaches recruiting at JO's or regional indoor events.

Wearing Beach shirts are fun but I don't think it gets you anywhere with the beach coaches who are now looking below 9th grade to track prospects.

[volleyballjim]

Regardless, ask a beach player if they'd like to go back to the gym. Money, yes (if they're pro), otherwise "Are you kidding"....

[slackerdad]

What region are you in? Being a top beach player in, say, New England might be a bit different than in San Diego. It's much harder (and more expensive) to find a good coaching fit and consistent high-quality play if you don't live somewhere where there is strong beach volleyball culture *and* access to free courts. Ever noticed how kids who only play high level pick-up basketball can get good very fast simply by playing with older kids? By 16yo, you need to play against better players constantly; it can be older kids or adults, but you won't get better fast enough just playing tournaments where you're always finishing 1st or 2nd. Playing teams you always beat is a waste of time and money whether you live in a region with good players or not.

You say she's a OH/DS, so I'm guessing she's under 5'10". Right now, there are more women of that stature in D1 beach than in D1 indoor. Maybe that's because shorter girls have made the transition to beach-only at a younger age, so they have more skill? Maybe being on the beach requires less-specialization, so 6'2" women who can't move well can't compete?

Are you looking for opportunities to play for her to play or scholarships? If she focuses on being the best player she can (indoor or beach), there will always be a school she can play at. If you are looking for the proverbial scholarship-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow and your kid has size, athleticism, grades, work ethic and skill, there are more scholarship opportunities indoor.

To answer your question: I don't think beach coaches care if you are playing club or HS indoor when they recruit you; they just want to see that you can play on the beach. If you live somewhere where you can't play outside year-round, it's probably a good idea to play some version of volleyball, preferably doubles, during the winter.

[JB Southpaw]

Apr 26, 2017 14:26:44 GMT -5 downtheline said:

Not too many beach coaches recruiting at JO's or regional indoor events.

Wearing Beach shirts are fun but I don't think it gets you anywhere with the beach coaches who are now looking below 9th grade to track prospects.

I agree,

I'd make sure to attend regional USAV beach camps, and any college programs that you are interested in, camps.

I'd stop JR indoor, save the money towards beach events and good coaching. If you are playing JR indoor, you are missing valuable sand time.

[crawdaddy]

Give up club indoor but not HS. Playing with your high school classmates are memories you don't want to forfeit.

[Wolfgang]

I'm sure someone has mentioned it above but if not, there are more indoor opportunities at the collegiate level than that of beach. You can pick almost any school in the nation and there's a 95% chance that there's an indoor program. However, the same can't be said for beach. You want to attend the Univ. of Colorado or Michigan -- sorry, no beach team.

[crawdaddy]

Apr 26, 2017 16:38:40 GMT -5 Wolfgang said:

I'm sure someone has mentioned it above but if not, there are more indoor opportunities at the collegiate level than that of beach. You can pick almost any school in the nation and there's a 95% chance that there's an indoor program. However, the same can't be said for beach. You want to attend the Univ. of Colorado or Michigan -- sorry, no beach team.

True and not true. The indoor opportunities for an OH/DS (which I read to mean an undersized OH) are limited and don't include either of the two programs you mentioned. Plus, by the time she graduates expect the number of beach programs to increase significantly. Now if she's interested in the many top-notch academic D-3 schools out there I totally agree with you since almost none of them have beach teams.

[arwen]

She is in 9th grade and still growing just a bit but definitely an undersized OH. Probably will be around 5'9 or 5''10. Best subject is math so she wants to major in engineering but absolutely positive she only wants to play beach in college, not indoor. So based on everyone's comments I think it would be wise to go beach-only next season. She will continue playing indoors in high school. Also has some HP experience and is signed up for a beach college camp this summer.

Would love to read more comments. Thanks for all of them so far!

[ciscokeed]

Your plan is perfect. Play high school indoor and concentrate on beach. Understand there are a lot of beach programs that have little or no scholarship money so save club dues for college tuition- and enjoy the drama free and enjoyable beach game

[arwen]

Thank you! It feels great to know we will be making the right choice.

[Deleted]

Apr 26, 2017 14:26:44 GMT -5 downtheline said:

Not too many beach coaches recruiting at JO's or regional indoor events.

Wearing Beach shirts are fun but I don't think it gets you anywhere with the beach coaches who are now looking below 9th grade to track prospects.

Well I have two girls likely headed for a PAC 10 school, and medaling in the JO's will do just fine for the colleges we are looking at. They were there. 
If your trying to push some "get noticed" or BVCA tournament for out of towners go right ahead.  The best competition for their ages is at the JO's, hands down. Not a single top CBVA player skipped it in their age bracket. The problem with the AAU JO's is nobody makes money promoting it.