Again, I write the title this way because you must know the experience behind this post. I only recently left the NCAA. I’d like to give you information that can transform your recruiting journey. People have asked me to write about how to market a libero for college recruiting. This post might be hard medicine for some, but you will learn a lot by leaning on these Fundamental Truths. This is long-form writing, but the detail in it is vital for your empowerment.
Fundamental Truth 1 - Liberos are the hardest position to get recruited to play in college. Why? If you look at the average roster or convention center, there are quite simply, so many of them. If you blindfold yourself and walk into a convention center, the chances of you bumping into a 5’4 libero first is almost 90%. 7/10 emails a college coach receives have the word libero or ds in it. Let alone all the small outsides that can be made quickly into a great libero.
Why are there so many liberos? Here are 2 reasons. Inexperienced coaches pigeonhole athletes into being a libero early because they don’t see the opportunity for athletes to develop skills. Example, they could be a great jumper, but “hey, you’re short, you’ll never hit in college!” (case by case, that is bs.) You can tell that to the 5’7 OH I recruited that liked to hit above .200 v Power 5 Teams w/o a full scholarship. Also, athletes develop a story in their mind that since they can’t hit or jump well enough, switching to libero will grant them access to play at a higher level than a different position that demands more athleticism/physical makeup of height/etc. This can be true occasionally, but now you have fresh challenges in front of you like more recruits to compete against for spots, as well as leading us into Fundamental Truth 2.
Fundamental Truth 2 – Statistically, liberos are close to the bottom of the list in importance in determining the outcome of a volleyball game. Middles as well. Those top positions go to your pin hitters (and mostly OH) & setter. That is why you might have heard so many coaches say, “I need a 6-rotation outside hitter! Or/ I want my 5-1 setter!” You can combine the hitting percentages of all pins on both teams at the end of a match, average it, and 8/9 out of 10 times, the team with the higher pin hitting% wins the game, even if by a small margin. You have a friend who disagrees with this? Feel free to reach me at davidbeckvolleyballcoaching@gmail.com and we will review the box score from your friends matches and film. 80/20 rule might make sense to many here. The Pareto Principle.
Fundamental Truth 3 - On average, you have 20 seconds to impress a coach with your film before it gets closed. Brutal? No. Coaches get so many emails added onto their daily responsibilities, they have to sort through them quickly. And even more, the majority of emails are from liberos. In one morning in the office, a coach can evaluate 10 other liberos that came in their inbox. 10. That’s just one morning on their computer, let alone the entire recruiting class, in person evals, and other avenues of collecting names for a list.
Fundamental Truth 4 - There are quality college coaches and not quality college coaches.
So, let’s combine these truths into a statement that encompasses so many family’s experiences.
“How am I supposed to standout to quality college coaches as a libero/ds when there are so many of us competing for spots and it seems like most coaches just want their pin hitters and setter – I feel like we are getting nothing back in our inbox.”
There are skills that are position specific that are more important than other skills. It is called a priority checklist in your job description. Let’s take a look at the libero priority checklist:
Serve Receive -> Defense -> Serving -> Out of System Setting -> Coverage
To get recruited as a libero & earn & keep your libero jersey in college, you need to be consistently passing above a 2.0 on a 3.0 scale, give or take, against faster, collegiate level serves.
For those of you with careers, a libero that can’t pass above a 2.0 consistently is the equivalent of an athletic trainer who places the athlete on the training table, gets the athletic tape out, puts the ankle in position, but can’t wrap the ankle well enough to give it support. It is the equivalent of a business person who makes calls, gets both parties together, writes up the paper work, but can’t close the deal. You know, the most important job.
“But Coach David, I am passing a 2.5 out of 3.0 on Hudl, why don’t I have more opportunities with college coaches??” Correct, you are passing a 2.5, against serves that are essentially a freeball speed over the net. Therefore, this film is mostly useless in whether or not a coach is going to put you on their list or not. Hard truth, but the truth. Your Hudl service that puts your plays together for you on your video page can be HURTING and LIMITING your opportunities to get more engagement with college coaches because it demonstrates your abilities against lower level competition in the 20 second window of time a college coach will take to evaluate you and decided if they’ll ever open your video every again. Whew, that is tough to swallow. Or, perhaps you are targeting schools, way out of your wheelhouse.
Now, you can play a middle tier club national bracket and pass below approximately a 2.0 and just dig lots of volleyballs over and over again and have a nice season. But that’s not college volleyball. You can’t get constantly pulled out of serve receive in college while your OH’s are passing the entire court and expect to keep your jersey longer than, I would estimate, one or two sets of volleyball and have unrealistic expectations of keeping that jersey on. Fundamental truths and position specific priority checklists come to light more and more the higher level you go with small deviations around the fringes.
Now, QUALITY college coaches will disagree on the fringes, where to order coverage, and Oos setting, depending on their system too. To each their own. But, as soon as the fringes become the number 1 priority (and god forbid you’re not even good at the fringes and that’s your first clips in a highlight film – you get closed out) that coach creeps into not quality, and for some, barrels into non quality status.
Example we all know – “I need a libero who can dig like crazy!” Yes, defense is important, but I cannot tell you how many liberos I have evaluated that can make nice digs, but are a black hole in serve receive. No good. You’re off the list. Why risk the fate of the college program? Serve and pass simply becomes more and more important the higher level you go. Look, coaches need to do their job and train, but some skills are better off being recruited than trained and hoping you get better at the very thing that gives a team an opportunity for success. Great liberos pass, and they pass well in tough situations.
It's not that there isn’t a college coach who won’t take you if you’re not passing well. Maybe they’re the best lib trainer in the world, maybe they are hubristic (usually hubristic). But we are focused on gaining the attention of the majority of quality college coaches in an ocean of other liberos – aren’t quality coaches who you want to play for anyway?
I recently worked with an awesome family collaboratively to restructure their list and highlight film. Shortly after, they received responses from 2 2023 NCAA D1 Tournament Teams being thrown on their list and asked to keep sending film as a 2026. A local D1 asked to setup a Zoom Interview, and a Top ranked D2 personally invites her to camp – opportunities that have begun, even while being a libero on a 2’s team.
Last, she received some thanks but no thanks. Initially disappointing? Yup. But so incredibly valuable and a guaranteed part of 99% of most athlete’s process. Now, you get to move them off your recruiting board and MOVE ON with your process instead of waiting around. This is an enormous value in and of itself. Your time, energy, money, and emotions are spent elsewhere with schools that actually have an interest in you.
I never contacted the schools and never used my network to leverage an opportunity for her. She did this all on her own merit. What a great feeling. For all you liberos out there, you have a road in front of you, and it typically takes a great attitude and work ethic from you to maximize your opportunities given the Fundamental Truth’s discussed above. Good luck!
Interested in learning about my Highlight Film Services? Leave me a message.
Note* It is dishonest to say a reworked highlight film will guarantee more opportunities. Maybe yours is already fantastic (few are). However, it is part of the holistic process in college recruiting that demands execution at a high level to solicit more opportunities along your journey to commitment and get your foot in the door with programs. I hope you enjoyed. If you want me to continue writing more posts, let me know.