13 year old, ht, vert, reach, playing experience

Question
My daughter is 13 yrs old 5'9" with a standing reach of 90 inches and has an attack vertical of 110 inches - my question is - is this a good vertical for 13 yrs old?  what can i do to increase it?  She wants to play division 1 college and she is very serious about it?  She and her partner who is also 13 yrs old (5'10.5") have been playing the junior beach and compiled a 19 wins to against 2 losses....they played exactly like the pro beach player play - one blocking and one is playing back row....

Answer
Good morning!  

Sixth camp is done.  Only 5 more to go!   :)   

You numbers are very reasonable.  Being 5'9" and being able to reach 2" over the net is normal.  However, being able to then ready nearly 2 feet higher is pretty impressive.  

Next:  Is she playing club ball?  If not, her chances of playing D1 ball diminish.  Why?  B/c she'll be competing against girls who have been playing indoor 6's nine months a year for 6 years......while she will have been playing 3 months a year.  Even at the D3 level, almost all girls play travel ball.  Can you tell me more about your experience in this area.

Or did you mean that your daughter is looking to play college beach volleyball?  If so, then I think she's doing all the right things.   :)   

Now, anyone who wants to play ANY college indoor 6's volleyball should follow these steps:

a) Make a skills tape.  Send it out to whatever college coaches you wish.   You say you're a junior......but do this asap!

b) Follow up.  Contact by email/text/phone each of these coaches once a week and don't stop until a coach tells you, "I'm not interested."  

c) Visit the schools.  Watch the teams play.  If you're not impressed, then scratch that school off your list.

d) What does the school offer academically?  If you don't like it (or you don't have the grades), then scratch it also.

e) Go to their summer camp THIS SUMMER.  Meet the coaching staff.  Get to know them.  

f)  PLAY CLUB BALL!  Then send the coaches who want to see you a schedule of where you'll be.  If you don't play club ball, send the coaches your high school schedule, but don't expect a coach to see you play school ball.  But, wow, they won't get to see you until next fall?  Oh, my.     

g) Being recruited is up to you.  Almost all college coaches don't have the budget -- or time -- to go around and search.  Many parents and players think scouts are at every tournament.   Maybe they are.  I don't know.  I have had very few "scouts" see my players.  College coaches evaluate my players by what they see on DVD's and what they see in person.  That's about it.  (If you're a scout and you see me at BigSouth, Shamrock, NEQ, etc. this season, please hand me a business card. I want to meet one.)

h) Do your work in the wt. room!  Don't overdo it, but don't ignore it.  Do what the basketball players or baseball players do.  No, we don't expect you to keep up with the football team!  haha

I think that's about covered it.  What else can I do for you?

OK, what else can I do for you?  Maybe I'll meet you some day at a STAR volleyball camp.  The past 3 summers, we've done 27, and we have 11 scheduled for summer 2012!  The business just keeps on growing.....Alaska, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, etc.  We can't wait for next Monday in Roanoke.  You can see all about us at www.coachhouser.com.

Coach Houser