Down The Line - Recruiting Simplified

In today's episode, we are joined by Kirsten Jones. Among other things, Kirsten is a parent to a collegiate athlete, podcast host, former collegiate volleyball player, volleyball coach, author, and she is also a certified Peak Performance and Sports Parenting Coach.

The topic of today's conversation is all about how we, as parents, coaches, and teachers, can better prepare our young athletes for their journey ahead.

Topics covered in today's conversation:

- Fixed vs Growth Mindset.

- Envisioning long-term goals.

- Growth mindset and effort.

- Building grit through competencies.

- Supporting young athletes emotionally.

- Finding the right fit.

- Parent and Coach Relationships.

- Empowering young athletes.

- Youth sports and societal pressure.

- Athletic recruiting and transfers.

- Lessons from when things don't go our way.

- Finding your passion.

- Worst advice given.

- Valuing individual levels in coaching.

- Fostering independence in children.

More information about today's guest:

Kirsten Jones, Peak Performance & Sports Parenting Coach.

Her new Book -Raising Empowered Athletes: A Youth Sports Parenting Guide for Raising Happy, Brave, and Resilient Kids

Get your copy on Amazon, or anywhere that you buy books:  https://a.co/d/aS7h4ZS

Kirsten's Podcast - #RaisingAthletes can be found on the website: ww.KirstenJonesinc.com 

Have you ever wondered what it's like to play at the highest level possible? Today we talk with Tribe Alumni, and former Indiana University libero, Paula Cerame, and we explore that concept. Paula started her college volleyball career at the University of Florida, where as a member of the 2018 class, she was part of the top 2 recruiting class in the nation, where she was recognized by Prepvolleyball.com for being "a diamond in the rough of the recruiting class, for her athleticism and playmaking ability".

Fast forward three years later after the COVID season, and Paula transferred from Florida to Indiana University, where she proceeded to start every match as a libero over the next two seasons. Her career at IU included being named captain during her senior year, has played in the toughest arenas in college volleyball, even beating the #5 team in the country on their own floor, as well as breaking the IU record for Big Ten digs in a single season. Paula also has experience at the international level, as she has been invited to play with the Puerto Rican national program, and has spent time in their gym, and even playing in international competitions. Now, Paula is getting the opportunity to play professionally, with the Real Pro Volleyball team in Orlando!

If you are an athlete, there is a good chance that you are using your social media account wrong. Your goal is to use it to help you in recruiting, but you aren't taking the steps necessary to have the type of reach and interactions, that will actually help put your videos, and your content in front of the college recruiters. And you could be even doing some simple things, that are actually hurting your recruiting! Today we are going to take you through the steps to best optimize your Instagram account, so you are properly using this recruiting tool in a way to help you have a bigger reach, more meaningful interactions, and help set you up for potential NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) opportunities in the not so distant future.

If you are just starting out on the recruiting process, it is normal for you to have a lot of questions about a lot of different aspects of a college campus, a program, and a coach. This is especially the case once you are finally permitted to have meaningful conversations with college recruiters through texts, emails, or even phone calls. And then once you get to the final steps of your recruiting journey, where you get to go on a college visit, this gives you the opportunity to have your questions answered by the college coaching staff, or even players that are currently a part of their program. 

You can also listen to Jason's Podcast, PRI Talk where he answers recruiting questions, in generally 5 minutes or less: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pri-talk/id1502261081 

There are a lot of questions that people have throughout the recruiting process. If you are like most players and parents, some of those questions are about how college volleyball players spend their time. You might also have questions about what other types of activities make up the 20 hours per week (plus more) that the players spend in volleyball related activities while they are in season. Some of you with goals and aspirations of playing volleyball at the highest levels possible, might even wonder what it’s like playing in the NCAA tournament, and the amount of preparation and dedication that goes into being one of the top teams in the nation. You might also have some misconceptions surrounding the term “red-shirting”, and what that experience is like in the sport of volleyball. In today’s episode, Alexis Finnvold who is a redshirt freshman at the University of Louisville, answers those questions and more.Want to purchase some Louisville volleyball gear, and help provide support to Alexis, while rocking the sweet gear? Then visit Louisville's NIL store, to browse some sweet apparel - Alexis Finnvold

Making a campus visit is one of your biggest tools in finding a school that feels like home. This is the part of the recruiting process that you have the most control over, but also the piece that you can start evaluating earliest in your recruiting journey.  Each of the 4 visit types can provide valuable information during your search for a college home, and make sure you know when each option is available to you.  

When you first set out on your recruiting journey as a freshman or sophomore, the recruiting effort can feel very one-sided: "NCAA Rules don't allow us to communicate with you prior to June 15th following your sophomore year of high school". Things are about to change dramatically, and you are about to get some remarkably honest feedback about the accuracy of schools you have been sending emails to up until this point. 

Want to make sure you aren't restricting your academic options when it comes to getting accepted into your dream school? Go visit our partner, Your College Contact, and use the code TRIBE20 at checkout, to receive 20% off any of your services. To sign up for their free consultation and learn more about their other services, go to their website at: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.yourcollegecontact.com/⁠

Tribe Alumni Rebecca Martinez shares her recruiting journey as a libero. Her journey has some details that may sound a little different than the process that some of you are going through right now, and there will be some situations that she went through that hits really close to home. During her playing career, Rebecca earned some amazing individual accolades and experienced a championship level, as a three-time All-American, and playing in the NCAA Tournament. She also had to fight through what could have been a career ending injury, and she shares the humbling experience that she had to endure, as she had to relearn the basics. Rebecca reflects on how her injury helped shape her future job choice after her playing days were done, and offers some advice to young players going through the recruiting process.