Beyond the X’s and O’s of the Game — Coach Blog Series, Part 5

Coaching at the collegiate level goes beyond just game strategy. This series explores the administrative side of running a successful program, with practical insights from Coach Mac, a former women’s volleyball coach.

Have a topic you’d like us to explore? We welcome and encourage you to reach out with suggestions for future sessions: [email protected]

Recruiting

Recruiting for collegiate coaches is one of the hardest—and best—parts of the job. You get to personally handpick the individuals who will become part of your team, which is both exciting and a little intimidating. Coaches should always double-check their specific recruiting calendar based on their NCAA division and sport to make sure they’re recruiting at the appropriate times of the year. With the number of emails coaches send and players they communicate with, it can be difficult to keep everything organized. You’re often collecting film links, phone numbers, call notes, competition schedules, academic information, and more. There are a variety of platforms available to help with this, and Spry is one that provides tools specifically designed to keep coaches organized.

Within Spry, coaches can create prospective student-athlete (PSA) profiles and keep all relevant information in one place. This can include things like phone numbers, emails, recruiting class, position, height, academic information, video links, and more. Coaches can also upload attachments like transcripts and add notes. From personal experience, I used to keep notes in multiple places—spreadsheets, notebooks, my phone, and even sport-specific databases. Having one centralized location where information can be stored, accessed, and updated by staff helps prevent miscommunication and lost details. Everything is available at your fingertips through the Spry app.

One feature coaches should take advantage of is the ability to send questionnaires to PSAs. These responses can automatically help build out a PSA’s profile. This is especially useful when a PSA reaches out and you’re interested in learning more, you can send the questionnaire to quickly get a general overview before scheduling a call or digging through multiple emails. As busy as collegiate coaches are, efficiency is key.

I’ve personally used Spry while recruiting for my Division II volleyball program, and it played a big role in my process. When a PSA reached out and I was interested in continuing communication, I would first email them to schedule an initial phone call. Then, I would send them the questionnaire I created in Spry. This allowed me to gather all of their information in one place while automatically building their profile. After conversations, evaluations, or visits, I could log notes directly into their profile and document when each interaction took place. I also uploaded transcripts and any other documents they provided. Again, having everything in one place helped me stay organized and ensured that other coaches, staff members, and administrators had access when needed.

This level of documentation is also important for compliance. Compliance directors require records of conversations, evaluations, and visits to ensure coaches are following NCAA recruiting bylaws. Having everything documented in one system makes it much easier if the department is ever audited.

Recruiting can look different depending on the level and sport, but one thing that remains constant: coaches need to document as much as possible. This not only helps with staying compliant but also keeps everything organized when managing a large pool of PSAs. With the volume of communication coaches handle, proper documentation helps keep everyone straight.

As a reminder, coaches should always check with their compliance director or division manual to make sure they’re following NCAA guidelines and bylaws. This includes recruiting calendars, visit rules, and other regulations. At the end of the day, coaches are trying to find the best PSAs for their program’s future, and minimizing potential issues is always in their best interest.