Taking a break from recruiting and team training, how about some thoughts about volleyball clothing and equipment? My team/school does not have a contract with any manufacturer of shoes or clothing (i.e. Nike, Adidas, etc.), but we do have a ball contract. Because of the contract we enjoy, I am not going to review/put forth my opinion about volleyballs, for simple conflict of interest reasons. As for clothes, shoes and bags, we are paying for the merchandise and my schools have always paid for the merchandise, so I feel comfortable sharing my opinion.

Arguable the most recognizable volleyball product line is Mizuno. Every volleyball player knows them, as they are worn by some of the top flight college teams along with sponsoring our Olympic teams. I like the Mizuno uniforms and the company does a good job of presenting new styles that are fit to a woman's build. I am slightly less impressed with the game sweat suit options, as the quality of the material has broken down easily. The most negative item of Mizuno is the shoes - We purchased the most expensive court shoe they offered this season and we have had a number of players comment on how little cushion there is for the foot. To remedy this situation, we had to purchase cushioned inserts. One major drawback of Mizuno has always been price, they are usually the most expensive volleyball supplier in the industry.

A few teams in our conference wear Nike product. I like the minimalist cut of the uniforms and think they fit well. The Nike brand tends to be a mix with regards to women's volleyball. I believe the uniforms are good, but I have been less impressed with the shoes and sweats. For many years, Nike farmed out their volleyball product to Nike Robinson (I don't know if this is still the case), which put together the volleyball line. This association was frustrating, because the discounted prices available for college teams were only for the Nike Robinson items; you could not jump into another part of Nike to obtain desired clothes or shoes. The sweats tended to be unisex, which may work for other female athletes or sports, but they looked rather sloppy on the volleyball players - to get the length right, the sweats where huge or to get the fit right, they were short on length. Like Mizuno, I have not been impressed the Nike volleyball shoes, which is rather ironic knowing that Nike is a top flight shoe company. I find the volleyball court shoes bland and very stiff, and a number of other coaches must feel the same way because most of the teams that I see in Nike clothes are wearing Nike running shoes, not court shoes.

For a number of years, Asics and Mizuno were the volleyball companies. My teams have not had the opportunity to wear Asics, which is a result of the Asics representative(s) never returning my call. I know it sounds selfish, but while I may not be at at top 10 school, my program's budget spends just the same as another. I know a few coaches that outfit thier teams consistently in Asics product and have done so for many years. I like the look and options of the match sweats, and the shoes seem to be good, but the uniforms look a bit boring to me (I may only see what others can afford to purchase). I would like to explore Asics in the future, so if anyone knows a company representative, encourage them to return calls!

Adidas is a world wide company, but its volleyball line was emphasized in the USA not too long ago. For many years, they have supplied just about every European volleyball team and finally jumped the Atlantic to make a big American push. The great thing about Adidas was the price - you could get solid product at a discount compared to Mizuno or Nike. The styling tended, and still tends, to be a bit bland and the fabric used not high quality, but for a one and done season using it, it was hard to beat. The volleyball shoes have acceptable support and offer a few different options, plus you could always explore other shoes in the various sports - they let you cross over sports to obtain product at the same price structure. Unfortunately, this great price structure ended - recent price quotes have been similar to Mizuno and Nike. I was told by a sporting goods wholesaler that when Adidas sponsored MLS professional soccer, they had to raise prices on all product to cover their investment. Unfortunately, the quality of the product did not also rise like the prices.

UnderArmour is a new player in the sports clothing industry and has taken an aggressive slant with its product and advertising. The company was selling so much clothing to volleyball teams, which where just screening the shirts and using the tights, that they decided to start a volleyball specific line. I actually like the training apparel screened to make a jersey better than I like the volleyball specific apparel. The volleyball specific product is a bit spendy for what I feel you are getting, while using training product is a better deal. They don't have shoes at this time, which makes it tough to deal with two separate manufactures to outfit your team. The tough thing about UnderArmour is as the name suggests - it is a base level product made to be worn tight to the skin. Yes, they do have a number of looser fit cuts, but because of the material used, they can look flimsy and cheap. Putting players in ultra snug fitting product on game day (or practice) brings a whole self esteem and body image situation that can be very negative.

Some trends that I am noticing with the product being used -

1. More and more teams/players are using running shoes with a solid heel area for volleyball, as my team's have done in the past and will do next year. These shoes tend to have superior heel impact cushioning and even have more cushion in the ball of the foot (which I don't understand), but feel lighter than a basketball shoe. Volleyball has limited lateral movement (even middle blockers moving along the net are taught to point their toe and go), so catching the sharper edge of a running shoe is not applicable.

2. Baggy uniforms are not coming back, but the snug/sleeveless uniform is not catching on. It seems like the players like the cap sleeve best and something form fitting, but comfortable. This goes for the game sweats - feminine cut and quality. Practice sweats will always be baggy until the end of sports.

3. Because gyms are trying to bring on a second ice age, many college teams are providing a match day warm-up top to use during pre-game and if you are not on the court. It is just too easy to catch a chill, but lugging a giant sweat top around is not too cool!

4. Tall volleyball carts are awesome and expensive, and more teams need to buy them; especially the programs that we go on the road to play at!

Just some random thoughts on volleyball product. Each season, this selection, bidding and ordering of product can take up a bunch of time. Because programs can easily spend upwards of 20 thousand dollars on their teams, it is interesting to see what they are ordering and also, what they are not ordering (i.e. Nike volleyball court shoes).

As a coach, my most important product decision is shoes. My focus is to provide cushion for my players simple to reduce the occurrence of repetitive stress related injuries - shin splints, stress fractures, sore backs, etc. I have learned the hard way to do whatever it takes to make sure the athletes have maximum support in their shoes. After shoes, it is uniforms because this is the image that we present to our fans and school. I like to allow the upperclassmen input with this selection, but price also plays a large part.

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Today, Pearl, Sarah and me had to sit in front because we were usually sitting at the back during morning assembly. But it turned our to be a blessing in disguise for us, well at least for Pearl. I shall not talk about it here though. But anyway, medals were given out to the winners of the touch rugby. And they also showed pics taken during the rugby tournament. Some were real hilarious while others were just totally un-glam. But anyway, Mrs Chew also gave us this rather short talk on the V-formation of the geese. It was rather touching at some point when she mentioned about and I guess I almost teared.

But we received a letter to our parents today, informing them that at 4.15pm tomorrow, we can visit a website. Well, at least we can see off for the last time. I am not sure but I guess I might be going over to Kat's house to watch it together with her because it is better than to watch it at home and cry alone right? Anyway, back to the topic. So it was break and then it was chinese. We had this mock test which was rather okay. After that, we were sort of dismissed. Krish, Pearl, Kat and me had lunch and that was when Krish came up with the most ridiculous idea.

He taught us to play this "water game", which I am not going to tell you guys how to play. And then the loser will have to drink water. And the purpose of this game is to make your opponent drink up as much water as possible. And this game is rather stupid because it makes you drink lots of water in a very short period of time, because it is rather easy to win. But at the same time, it all depends on luck. And speaking of luck, I think luck is on Krish's side. He had to drink the least amount of water. On the other hand, Pearl and me had to drink the most amount of water. I don't know why but the both of us kept losing.

In the end, we had to re-fill our water bottles. And guess what? I drinking a full bottle of water from my Nike water bottle and Pearl also drank finish a full bottle from her water bottle, all within 15 minutes. And this made us almost puke. Get the idea of how insane we were? And Kat really puked. Gosh, Krish is really such a ridiculous person. And then, we played volleyball a while and then the stupid part came.

We had this whole "argument" at screw, deciding where to go. First, Kat wanted to go Frolick but some other SOTA people are going and Kat didn't want to let others know that we were going Frolick cos of some reason (not going to say). But Krish initially agreed, saying that he will study at Frolick but there is only like 2 freaking small tables, impossible for us to study there. And then, Krish and his stupid SUBWAY idea came. He had this craving for SUBWAY, and wanted all of us to go to the SUBWAY nearest to his house and eat and study. But it is near to Kat and my house but super far for Pearl's house. And then the idea of studying at Esplanade came about but considering the fact that people will be there, we cancelled that idea. And then finally, we decided to go Mac. And then I was like, "People who go Mac to study are losers".

That was real random, but yeah. And then there was this whole waiting and arguing and finally, Krish went off to Mac himself and we decided to stay in school library to study. And I really studied ok? I did lots of algebra questions. And finally, I took bus 14. And along the way, I thought I lost my way because of the F1 race thingy, bus 14 traffic got diverted and it turned to this unknown road which I have never seen before. And I was damn scared lah. And then finally, it came to City Hall MRT and I quickly got down. Such trouble for nothing. Haiz.

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The Keuka College volleyball team won both matches of a crucial North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) tri-match at Cazenovia College on Saturday. 
The Storm won easily, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-19), against the host Wildcats in its first match before pulling off a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 (15-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-8) win over SUNY Cobleskill.  
Keuka improves to 2-1 in conference action and 9-8 overall.  Cazenovia falls to 1-3 in the NEAC and 2-15 overall while Cobleskill now stands at 1-2 in the conference and 4-7 overall.

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Mekana Barnes, Volleyball
Colorado State middle blocker Mekana Barnes and TCU middle blocker Devon Kirk have been named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Co-Players of the Week. This marks the fifth career weekly award for Barnes.
Barnes, a 6-0 senior from Highlands Ranch, Colo., led No. 15 Colorado State to a five-set win over Utah and a sweep of No. 24 BYU to open conference play last week. Against Utah, she knocked down 13 kills, while tallying two blocks and one dig. Against the 24th-ranked Cougars, Barnes set a career high for hitting efficiency (.667) on 10 kills with no errors. She also collected six blocks and one dig vs. BYU. For the week, Barnes averaged 2.88 kills, 1.00 blocks and 3.50 points per set, while hitting .450 (23-5-40) in two matches.

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The Keuka volleyball team dipped below .500 on the year as they were shutout 3-0 on the road at Elmira College on Wednesday.
The Storm fall to 7-8 on the season while Elmira improves to 8-4.
Keuka finished with only nine kills as a team in 75 total attacks (.027) en route to the three game sweep.  Keuka lost 10-25, 17-25, and 11-25.  Elmira finished with 39 kills as a team while sporting a .323 attack percentage.

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With a six-match win streak in tow, the Ladyjack Volleyball team will open up the Southland Conference season this weekend when it travels northeast to take on Central Arkansas and Northwestern State. The Ladyjacks (8-3) will battle UCA (9-3) on Friday and were originally scheduled to play Northwestern State (4-5) on Saturday, however the match has been rescheduled for Monday at 7 p.

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Yesterday, I met with former coaches and teammates of my pro volleyball team and we had a wonderful time. From left to right are: Lin Ping, me (Ching Zedric), Coach Su, Head Coach Sun, Yao Hong, Zhang Wen-Lee, and Zou Jie. I haven't seen coach Sun since I retired in 1988. That was 20 years ago--which really makes me (and my teammates) feel OLD. Everyone is now working in different fields except Yao Hong, the tallest of us. She is a volleyball coach at a sports school in Beijing and coaches players primary school age through high school. My husband said that "seeing old friends is good for the soul." He was right.

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Seeking Improvement
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Mountaineer volleyball team has displayed tremendous potential on both ends of the court as they begin the home portion of their schedule this weekend. The Mountaineers have posted 2-4 record through the first two weeks of play, but veteran coach Veronica Hammersmith has detected improvement from her squad.

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First of all, Happy Birthday to Mary Jane Pepito!!!
We all know that MJ Pepito is one of the best defenders in the womens volleyball scene. She plays for her school San Sebastian College - Recoletos as the team libero. If you have seen her play before, then you should very well know that shes a leader inside the court as well.
MJ is also one of the cuties! In fact, Joey Villaluz (better known as Gearhead), describes her as a cross between Heart Evangelista and Mariel Rodriguez, with some Maui Taylor thrown in for good measure. So if youre a volleyball fan who thinks Mary Jane Pepito should win the Search for the next Auction.ph model contest, then vote for her.

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The Washington Officials Association will induct three men into its Hall of Fame on Saturday at the Yakima Convention Center. Tacoma's Ken Jones, Vancouver's Gery Gehrmann, and Seattle's Frank Fiddler are the Class of 2008.
Here are their accomplishments:
Ken Jones (Tacoma, WA) Ken began his officiating career in 1968 as a basketball official. Throughout his career Ken worked for the Western Washington Boys Basketball Association and Tacoma Girls Basketball Board. Ken served as the assigning secretary for Western Washington Basketball Association for 21 years. He has also been a WOA Executive Board member for 23 years, including 12 years as President.

Gery Gehrmann (Vancouver, WA) Gery began his officiating career in 1970 as a wrestling official for the Evergreen Wrestling association in Vancouver. Throughout his career, Gery worked numerous regional and state tournaments and was involved in Mat Classic from 1989 through 2006. In addition to officiating, Gery served as a WOA Executive Board member for 6 years, including terms as President and Vice President.

Frank Fiddler (Seattle, WA) Frank worked to create the WOA in the late 1950s, along with fellow WOA Hall of Fame inductee Tom Cross. Frank served as the chairman of the WOA Advisory Council from 1958 through 1977. Frank worked basketball, football, and baseball throughout his officiating career. In addition to his many years of service to high school sports, Frank officiated the 1964 and 1976 Rose Bowl games.

In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, the WOA will honor the following officials of the year:
Baseball: Stan Bryson, KPR Baseball (Kennewick)
Boys Basketball: Eric Cheatley, Lower Columbia Basketball (Longview)
Girls Basketball: Larry Fox, Tri Cities Girls Basketball (Kennewick)
Football: Jeff Donahue, Blue Mountain Football (Walla Walla)
Gymnastics: Donna Lucero, Snohomish County Gymnastics (Snohomish)
Fall Soccer: Robert Lemmon, South King County Soccer (Lakebay)
Boys Soccer: Octavio Torres, Wenatchee Valley Soccer (Wenatchee)
Softball: Steve Mayer, Snohomish County Softball (Everett)
Spirit: Jaci Gruhn, WSSJA (Olympia)
Volleyball: Marty Palmanteer, Okanogan County Volleyball (Omak)
Wrestling: Brian Stephan, Whatcom-Skagit Wrestling (Bellingham)
Steve Brown and Larry Johnson (Tacoma) will receive the Thomas A. Cross Service Award recognizing individuals who exemplify the ultimate service to the Washington Officials Association.

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Volleyball is a popular sport and fun to play as long as you know how to play. Volleyball is familiar to most people, and even those that don’t consider themselves super athletic still enjoy a game of volleyball.
Maybe it feels friendlier because your teammates are in close proximity and your opponents are not usually running after you or trying to hit you.
Whatever the reasons for its popularity, the game of volleyball requires skills and physical conditioning if you want to be a good player. Most importantly, you have to learn how to play volleyball before you can win a game of volleyball.
And the best way to learn how to play volleyball is with a few simple guidelines. Here are the basics:
Volleyball is a game played by two teams made up of six active players on each side. The game is played on a volleyball court, which is divided into two equal halves by a net.
Each team stands on either side of the net during the game. Besides the court and the net, the only equipment needed is a volleyball.
The object of the game of volleyball is to score points while at the same time preventing your opponent from scoring. A team scores points by hitting the volleyball over top of the net from one side of the court to the other.
A team earns points by attempting to ground the ball on the other side of the court and stopping the opposing team from successfully returning the ball to the serving team.
A game of volleyball begins with the serve, or service. You serve the volleyball by hitting it with either your arm or hand, and sending it over the net to the opposing team, where they attempt to return the ball back to the serving side if the court.
When the teams continue hitting the ball back and forth over the net, it is called a rally. Any player can hit the ball during a rally, using shots like a set shot or spike.
The ball can only be touched once by any one player, and hitting the ball two times in a row causes a fault. It is legal to strike the ball with any part of your body, although generally hits are made with the hands and arms.
During game play, each side can contact the ball up to three times before hitting it over the net, and a rally ends when one of the teams grounds the ball on their opponent’s side of the court or if the receiving team commits a fault. This is also how points are earned.
Points are gained by the serving team whenever they win the rally. If the receiving team wins the rally, they score a point and they also get the serve. When this happens, the players on the receiving team rotate clockwise one position and then serve, and the whole thing begins again.
The game ends when the winning team scores 25 points.

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The organization and venue were the best I have ever seen.
As westerners we stood out like sore thumbs. As we entered an English speaking attendent approached us and assisted us personally to our designated seats. Our seats were the best, front row about three metres above the floor and about 8 metres from the court and about 4 metres to the left of the ref. Especially for us a handwritten sign in English (the only english sign at the event) said that we could not hang our banners on the rail in front of us. (the rails around most of the stadium held Japanese banners)
We hung the aussie flag on the rail in front of us and within minutes an official was there to have us remove it. This happened each day.
The game against Japan was an eyeopener. An hour before the match the stands were full, 9,997 Japanese, Hilde and myself and Ian Thorpe who was sitting a few rows behind us in the VIP area. This also held the boy band, 4 cameramen and about 10 security guards. The venue had no fewer than 26 cameras operating for the match.
Back to the pre match fun: the dancing girls or cheer squad came out and with the announcer they had cheering and chant practice. Everybody joined in, chanting players names and whacking their little whackers. We felt very small, but the Japanese around us were very polite and when they found that we were parents of an Australian player, we became minor celebs.
After the cheer practice and Mexican wave practice, the cheer squad moved off and the boy band came on. That sent the crowd crazy. Thank goodness they were over quickly!
The lights went down and and deep drums started. With flashes and booming drums, each of the aussie players entered the stadium alone, just like a rock star coming onto the stage. It was done really well. Each player ran on to deafening cheering and they each had a small volleyball which the Aussies threw high into the crowd. Our guys were on a mission, and each attempted to put the ball the furtherest into the stands. Each big throw earned a 10,000 OOOHHHH. Phillip DeSalvo went for the Aussie rules kick into the crowd.
The same happened with the Japanese, but their throws were timid little ones.
Both teams played well with the Aussies dominating. The Japanese looked worried, until the Aussies choked. It was really difficult for us to get any cheering down as 10,000 vs 2 found us left out of it. Although each time we won a point, we had a window of about 3 seconds. It was silence before the 10k started again. That 3 seconds allowed us to get an Aussie Aussie Aussie in and wave the flag. Japanese sitting around us also helped wave our flag.
The game was great to watch even though the result was not one that we were seeking. Our guys were tired, the Japanese were good. When they won the game, their reaction was one of relief, as we were the team to beat.
In relation to volleyball in Japan, I would go again in a heartbeat. As I said, the venue etc was great. We had a good hotel 20 minutes walk via the most beautiful gardens. We expected Japan to be expensive. Not so. It was comparable to Australia for hotel and transport; meals were cheaper.

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The MACK Attack 16-Emerald team won the Hoosier Regional volleyball tournament at the Indiana State Fairgrounds this month.
The 16-Emerald team went 5-0 and defeated Circle City-16 Due from Indianapolis 25-7, 25-21 in the finals.
What a great way to end an awesome volleyball season, going undefeated at Hoosier regionals, coach Angela Bourne said.
The team will not compete at nationals, though, as the club lacked funding for the tournament in Dallas from July 1 to 5.
The MACK Attack 15-Emerald team won the bronze bracket after going 3-2 at the tournament.
The 15-Emerald team improved greatly from the first tournament to now, coach Jon Metzel said. It was a strong end to the season for MACK Attack.
Derby Girls plan fundraiser for park, golf event for CF
The Fort Wayne Derby Girls will donate money from their next bout to Black Pines Animal Park. The two home teams, the Smokin Guns and Lucky Harmers, meet at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Plex. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door; $5 for children 5 to 12, and free for younger than 5.
The Derby Girls will have their second annual golf outing May 31 at Autumn Ridge Golf Course. Proceeds for the event will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Eagle Marsh schedules open house for June
The Little River Wetlands will hold an open house at Eagle Marsh from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 21. Tours of Eagle Marsh will be given and feature live raptors.
The Little River Wetlands Project has 705 acres of varied wildlife habitat.

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Boys volleyball began in Pickerington in 1991. After the split that created Pickerington North and Pickerington Central, the program has carried on at both schools and continues to grow.
"I don't beg kids to play because usually once they start they don't stop," Panthers head coach Marci Truex said. "If I can get them young, then they're in for the long haul. Because it's a fun game, it's just exciting."Pickerington North fielded two junior varsity squads for the first time this season. Pickerington Central coach Corrie Feldman said that he has seen an increase in participation as well."This year my numbers have increased by about 50 percent," Feldman said. "I'm getting more and more kids to come out each year. It's starting to grow."Both Truex and Feldman have been the head coaches of the boys' programs since the 2003 split.Truex helped start a program at the junior high school level a few years ago, which she said has helped grow the sport in Pickerington at a quicker rate."This year, I'm reaping the rewards of starting that program," Truex said. "The numbers have grown enough now that when we get them as freshmen, it's not like having a new kid that's just learning. Before we split schools, that's all we had."Spencer Teeters plays outside hitter for Pickerington North. He began playing volleyball in grade school and has continued through what is now his junior season for the Panthers."I started in third grade and played (Pickerington Youth Athletic Association) and liked it ever since I started it," Teeters said. It's just fun. Practices are fun, open gyms are fun."Teeters, who will play football for the Panthers in the fall, said he and his teammates are always on the lookout for new players."Just anybody we see, pass them in the hallways, we ask them if they want to play," Teeters said. This year we had three or four new players that had never played before, and they did well."Currently there are 69 schools with teams who are members of the Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association (OHSBVA).To become an officially sanctioned sport by the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the number must reach 150 teams.The Tigers and Panthers compete in different divisions of the OCC, which has 17 schools with boys volleyball. At present, the Tigers and Panthers are the only high school programs in Fairfield County.Truex, who is the president of the Ohio Boys Scholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (OBSVCA), said that gathering support and numbers across the state has been a relatively slow process."This year we split into two divisions to try to encourage some smaller schools to join, and we picked up a few new teams," Truex said. "We keep hovering around a number."Volleyball is still viewed as a girls sport in some circles, Truex said. That perception - along with strapped school budgets - has been somewhat of a roadblock in the sport's growth."I had kids asking us if we wear spandex," Truex said with a smile. "I mean we've been around since the early nineties in Pickerington, and some people still have that close-minded view of what volleyball is."But having coached both girls and boys for over a decade, she notes that there are plenty of differences in the styles of play."Obviously the fundamentals are the same, you have to have the same skills," Truex said. "But the boys game is a lot more powerful, the speed is quicker. A lot of times it's more of a slugfest than a finesse game."The OHSBVA has attempted to foster growth by teaming with a number of volleyball organizations to offer a grant to schools looking to start a boys volleyball program.Feldman, who has also served as president of the OBSVCA, said that everyone involved is working hard to ensure that the sport continues to get bigger."The strength in our coaches' association is really good, and I think it's growing," Feldman said. "We're getting a lot of new coaches who are talking to a lot of new schools. We're doing everything we can to promote boys volleyball. And that's what it's going to take.

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First of all, let me apologize for not posting any information or answers to questions recently - I have transitioned to a new school and have just been way too busy! Now that things are a bit more under control and we are in the DI Recruiting Quiet Period, I will be able to provide some current information.

One of our readers has asked a very good question about College Volleyball Camps and Recruiting:


I am a junior and have already done a lot of the things you suggest. I play club ball on a national team, have attended showcases and 2 camps between my sophomore/junior year. I have my skills tape on the internet and have contacted coaches with a link to it. I have been in contact by email with several coaches as a result of all of this. I have also sent out a game tape to all of them. Many of them have suggested I can play at the college level and that if I visit their school be sure to stop in and see them, or call them if I have questions. Mainly DIV III, but a couple DIV II. I did this with one of them. I have also received emails and mailings with camp information from 5 schools. Some of them have personal notes inviting me to the camp and one suggested coming early and spending the night with players. My question is how do I know if the camp info is from a school that is thinking about recruiting me or just sending info that they are having a camp? I think that the school that suggested spending time with players might be interested. There is a DIV I school that sent me an email with the camp info. There wasn't anything personal, just a line at the end saying contact the assistant coach if I had questions about the camp. They contacted me once before, after a showcase with a recruiting questionnaire, again - nothing personal to me. If that school was interested, I'd probably go to that camp for sure. Do I just call and ask, and what do I say? - Heather


First of all, Heather has done a nice job of being proactive in the recruiting process - there are so many talented high school volleyball players that have the ability to play at the college level, that many times (and all college coaches are guilty of this) the college coaches can just lose track or not find out about many players.

Summer Volleyball Camps hosted by colleges have become a significant recruiting tool during the Sophomore and Junior years of high school. By and large, it is an Unofficial Visit by the player, yet the camp also allows the college coach(s) to train the Prospective Student Athlete because it is a skill instructional camp. College programs that are proactive in the recruiting process have become very aggressive about using their summer camps as a means of evaluating and recruiting the PSA's that they believe will help the program.

As Heather talks about, how do you seperate those programs that are recruiting with those that are just running the camp. A simple step would be to cross-reference the list of schools that Heather has contacted and received a response from, with those schools that have sent her camp information. If the only correspondense or response from a college program has just been for camp, then I would venture to say that this program is not interested in her as a potential member of the team.

If a school has been interactive in the recruiting process before the camp season and then suggests attending the camp as a means to get to know the program better, then this may be a good opportunity. Just an e-mail or camp letter is nothing more than business - don't be afraid to go to such a camp if you are academically interested in the school and feel you could showcase your talents; this has happened at many, many schools with players that received an opportunity because of their efforts.

With this being later in the Spring and later in the Club season, if the majority of the contact that you have received has been from non-Division I schools, then I would say that your level of ability would be Division II or III. While DI programs can't be everywhere at all times with Juniors tournaments, they have the resources to send out information or introductory letters to anyone they feel is or could become a Division I volleyball player. That is not to say that a Division I opportunity may not present itself very late in the process (just look at all the late DI commitments this year for Seniors), but statistically you may find a better volleyball fit with the non DI schools.

If you can afford to attend 3 camps this summer, then this is what I would suggest based on your questions: Go to the camps of the two schools (whatever division) that have been the most interactive with you thus far in the recruiting process and that you are the most intersted in - this would allow you to compare and contrast your top two interactive schools. Take the third camp opportunity and shoot high with the one Division I camp that you expressed a strong interest in - who knows what will become of it, but at least you can practice volleyball!

The most important part of the recruiting process is effective communication - not only by the PSA, but also understanding what is being said or not being said by the college programs. If you are confused or have a question, then call or e-mail the college coach - all the numbers and e-mails can be found at the college websites. If there is no response or the answer is evasive, then you have your answer.

Good luck and you are doing a great job.

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The 13th-ranked Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) have not dropped a set in winning two matches on Thursday and two on Friday to reach the semifinal. Germanys 11th-seeded Julius Brink and Christoph Dieckmann will play in Saturdays other semifinal. Their opponents will come from Saturdays consolation-round matches.
The U.S. team of Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.), ranked 23rd, lost its second match in the double-elimination tournament on Friday and finished ninth.
The Prague tournament gives Gibb and Rosenthal the eight SWATCH-FIVB tournaments they need to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games. The pair ranks second among U.S. mens teams in Olympic qualifying points behind Phil Dalhausser (Ormand Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.). The United States will send two mens teams to the Olympic Games.
Mike Lambert (Kaneohe, Hawaii) and Stein Metzger (Honolulu, Hawaii) are third among the U.S. mens teams in Olympic qualifying, but they still need three more tournaments to reach eight and the team has not been competing together due to an injury to Lambert. Metzger competed at the SWATCH FIVB tournament in Australia with Mark Williams (Los Angeles).
There is more information on the FIVB beach volleyball Web site at www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/index.asp.

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2008 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 10, 2007) USA Volleyball announced today that its 2008 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships will be hosted by the city of Tucson (Ariz.) on July 23-27. Matches will take place on 15 courts in the Tucson Convention Center exhibition halls and arena in downtown Tucson. The event is expected to have a $2.4 million economic impact on Tucson. For the second year in a row, the USA Volleyball High Performa

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