After countless hours spent on hardwood and sand courts, Ella Keeven, senior, was offered a position on the D1 beach volleyball team at University of Texas Austin.
Keeven played indoor volleyball for seven years before switching entirely to beach volleyball except for the high school indoor season.
“One of my good friends started playing, so I started playing for fun,” Keeven said. “I really enjoyed it, ended up quitting indoor volleyball, and went to full-time beach.”
Almost 8 million students nationwide participate in high school sports, with only about 530,000 competing at the collegiate level, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Starting in June before a student’s junior year, NCAA coaches can reach out with recruitment opportunities.
Because Keeven started the recruitment process later than most, she said she sacrificed a majority of her free time to focus on training and connecting with coaches.
“There was a span of three months where I went to a ton of college camps, training, sent highlights and emailed coaches,” Keeven said.
Throughout the process, Keeven relied on her family and coaches for support and a greater understanding of what she needed to do.
“I didn’t really know what coming into college was going to entail,” Keeven said. “I had to get that information from other people.”
In addition to her love for the sport, Keeven is also excited for the campus environment.
“It was a big weight off of my chest,” Keeven said. “I just love the college, too. I’m really looking forward to the college town, the other sports and the team.”
Adam Starling, Activities Director, said it is important that students take aspects outside of athletics into consideration as well during the recruitment process.
“At the end of the day, student athletes need to select a school they would enjoy attending and be able to earn a degree that they want to utilize post-graduation,” Starling said.
Starling said recruiting can look different between sports, so student athletes should talk to a trusted coach that will be honest with them about what level schools they should look into. Starling also said student athletes should shy away from focusing solely on their statistics.
“A college program isn’t concerned with how good of a high school player you are, they are focused on how the athlete will project at the next level where the game speed is faster and has more powerful athletes,” Starling said.
Being able to manage time well is also essential, Starling said. Balancing academic and athletic success is a large part of becoming a collegiate athlete, Starling said, because many schools will likely not recruit athletes who do not show commitment in the classroom.
“Students need to make sure they have their academics in order first,” Starling said, “And the longer an athlete plays, the more competition there is for fewer opportunities.”
Layla Torgoley, College and Career Counselor, said it is important for students to plan ahead academically, as the recruiting process can start early into athletes’ high school years.
“Make sure you are setting yourself up for success by taking challenging but doable classes,” Torgoley said.
One piece of advice Torgoley had for student athletes going through the recruiting process is to trust the process and stay focused.
“Be patient, work hard and make sure your grades come first,” Torgoley said. “You are a student athlete.”
