Down The Line - Recruiting Simplified Brett Sikora

Today's episode is an opportunity to speak Nicole Drewnick, who is the current setter for Notre Dame. Nicole's journey is one unlike many others. Her volleyball journey began growing up in a club volleyball gym owned by her parents, who were both successful professional athletes. Nicole takes us through what the recruiting process was like as a top setter in her recruiting class, how she made her decision, and what she might do differently. Nicole shines the light on her time on campus, which includes graduating a year early and enrolling in college during what should have been her senior year of high school, her struggles as well as her victories, throughout her time playing for three Power 5 programs. Having gone through the recruiting process in HS, and now twice through the transfer portal, Nicole offers some interesting feedback for not only young players just starting out the recruiting process, but also for other collegiate players as well about how to make the most of your time on campus. Nicole and I discuss some of the struggles with the college recruiting process and it’s current rules, and start the conversation on how we can help guide players to make the most informed decisions that they can!

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GRIT is something that is such a hot button topic in today's world, especially among athletes. It is a vital piece to the growth mindset, and is a characteristic that is highly sought after by the Navy Seals, Fortune 500 Companies, College Coaches and more.
But the question I wanted to answer, was simple: Is it possible for someone to grow and develop GRIT? And if yes, how?

Giving us her take on things in today's episode is Susan Forbes, onInstagram @HeySusanK . She is a former D1 volleyball player, a former college volleyball coach, she also has a background in psychology, and is currently a certified Life Coach, among other things.

She shares with us some tools that she helps her clients use, as well as the framework that she has developed to help us grow and strengthen our GRIT, in all areas of our life. Go to Susan’s website to learn more about how she can help you, take charge of your recruiting process, develop your GRIT, and much more.

Want to make sure that you've got your academic side of the recruiting process as dialed in, as we do the volleyball portion? 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/⁠⁠⁠

If you find today's show entertaining, or valuable, please take the time to share the episode with a teammate, friend, or other person who you feel could benefit from the information. And if you could take a minute to go into your listening app, scroll down to the bottom of the show page, if you could leave a rating and a review, that helps our ability to continue to improve the quality of the show, and even reach more impactful guests. Thank you for being a part of our tribe!


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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.
If you are a parent, teacher, coach, or mentor to young people, this episode is for you. But athletes, don't skip this episode. There is plenty of actionable advice for you too, on how to take ownership of your athletic career, and how to develop important life skills such as resilience, grit, and the ability to pivot when things don't go your way!

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 

Thank you for tuning in!


Want to make sure that you've got your academic side of the recruiting process as dialed in, as we do the volleyball portion? 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/⁠⁠⁠

If you are listening on Apple or Spotify, please leave a rating or a review to help us have conversations with impactful guests like this!


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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!

Paula joins us today for a candid conversation, as she takes us through both of her recruiting journeys, and what she did differently the second time around. She gives us actionable advice on steps that she thinks recruits should be paying attention to, and also shares some feedback about what she would do differently, if she had to start all over and do it again. She shares about some mistakes she made about not asking enough tough questions, to discover the information that will truly affect your college playing experience. Paula gives us insight into how to handle the mental side of college sports, talks about the advantages of a sports psychologist,and how relationships with those around you, can play an instrumental role in shaping your self-confidence.

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/⁠⁠

If you find today's show entertaining, or valuable, please take the time to share the episode with a teammate, friend, or other person who you feel could benefit from the information. And if you could take a minute to go into your listening app, scroll down to the bottom of the show page, if you could leave a rating and a review, that helps our ability to continue to improve the quality of the show, and even reach more impactful guests. Thank you for being a part of our tribe!




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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.

**Disclaimer** - No matter how optimized and perfect your social media profile and content may be, using Instagram as your entire recruiting strategy is a TERRIBLE idea. Instagram should be a tool in the process, not your entire process. Social media is a passive recruiting tool, and to guarantee that you get notice by coaches at schools from which you have interest in attending, you need to be proactive. Ok, now on with the show.

- Step 1) Optimizing your profile, with important information, and a link to highlight videos.
- Step 2) Posting videos that will capture and engage interest.
- Step 3) Be consistent, and post different types of content. Reels, photos, stories, etc. Don't try to go viral, be more concerned with the quality of content, and the value you provide
-Step 4) Follow the coaches and programs that you are interested in, follow players from the programs.
- Step 5) Be an active participant in the content that the coaches and programs are posting. Read: Name recognition.
- Step 6) Build a community on your Instagram. Have conversations, support others, and engage with relevant content.
-Step 7) Respond to others, and post your original content in a way that increases engagement.
- Step 8) Use relevant #hashtags and @tags.
- Step 9) Borrow other peoples viewers, add value and insight to other peoples posts
- Step 10) Do NOT tag college coaches in videos, highlight videos, and posts. There is one "yeah, but.."

Now, remember this whole recruiting process, isn't just about you. It's about the value that you bring to your future college team. And coaches are going to evaluate you to see how your skills, your strengths, personality and your opportunities best fits the need of their team. And it's all about how you fit in their puzzle.

You are not a standalone unicorn puzzle piece. Even the best players that we have in our program, even the best players in the country, they have to fit the puzzle based on what the coach values and what the team needs. Keep in mind, you getting recruited comes down to an opportunity to be evaluated, to see if you would be a good fit for your team. And once you understand this, that really goes a long way.


Want to make sure you have the academic side of the recruiting process covered? 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, visit their website at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.yourcollegecontact.com/⁠⁠

If you found this content valuable, please consider leaving a 5 star rating, and a review with your favorite parts of the show. And go into your listening app, and press share to send to a teammate, friend, or another parent who you think could benefit from the content!




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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. 


Each stage of the recruiting process lends an opportunity for different questions to be answered. And I know that you are all experiencing some degree of this burning issue - what questions should I ask? If this sounds like you, know that you are not alone, because I often get asked to help you come up with better questions. And this is why we are consulting with a recruiting expert for today’s episode.  


In today’s interview, we are joined by Jason Bibler. Jason coached college volleyball for 10 years at both the Division 1 and the Division 2 levels, including a D1 Head coaching opportunity. Jason was also the recruiting director for several clubs in the state before creating his recruiting company, Parallel Recruiting Initiative, or PRI, through which he does the recruiting education for 5 clubs in the Dallas Metroplex.  


Today we are sharing a list of great questions to ask during the process, and then taking on the task of how to make the questions better. By listening to this episode, you will learn some specific information that can help you stand out in the recruiting process, help show your mindfulness and creativity, help you have better, more in-depth conversations with college coaches, and most importantly, help you find the answers to the questions that you really need to know, in the process of discovering your best fit.   


Some of the questions that we cover in today's episode are:  
-Can you describe what your practice is like?  
-Are you recruiting for my position?  
-What are you looking for in a player in my position? 
-Where do I fit on your list of recruits? 
-What is your coaching philosophy?  
-What is your game day atmosphere like? 
-What is the culture like on and off the court? 
-What is the typical day like for a student athlete?  

To get some of the "how and why" behind the process of asking better questions, or to view his college needs list, please visit Jason's website  https://www.privolleyball.com/ 


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 


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/⁠⁠




If you found value from today's show, please rate us and leave a written review, so we can continue to improve the listener experience for you, and also allows us the opportunity to continue to talk to higher profile guests. IF you think that you have a teammate or friend that might also benefit from this information, click the share button to send this episode to them. Thank you for being a part of our Tribe




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