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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=FPYCparent]My DD's played her first year of club VB on a 15s team as a HS freshman.  As a [i]young-enough[/i] 10th grader, she earned a spot at a top CHRVA club (c'mon, there are only two options here :) ) and was given the choice of playing 16s with a virtual guarantee of no playing time at her position or playing 15s again with playing time.  She chose the latter, getting a decent amount of playing time and was a part of many winning experiences that resulted in an Open bid for USAV GJNCs.  She also learned during the second 15s year that she wanted to change positions.  To better facilitate the position change, she moved to another club to play 17s and 18s for her final two years.

What we missed/didn't know (at the time) as parents was how important that 16s season is for college recruiting.  It is fitting that today is [b]June 15th[/b].  Student athletes can start committing to colleges on June 15th after their sophomore year.  If any player has desires to play in college, it is fairly important to play 16s as a sophomore (before 6/15) because that's where many college coaches will be focusing their attention to find potential recruits.  To be fair, only the true/known top talents will announce a commitment on the 15th or shortly thereafter, but it is hard to make up an entire season of being seen by top programs once you are playing as a junior or senior.  Those coaching staffs are already looking at the following year's crop of potential recruits (e.g., next year's rising juniors).

Did not playing 16s as a 10th grader impact my kid's college options?  Maybe ... may be not.  (She was "recruited" to play D3 VB starting this fall.) But knowing what I now know, it may have been better for her to play 16s while in 10th grade just to enhance her visibility to college programs.

So, whatever choices players and families make regarding playing up or down, I'd recommend making that choice prior to the 16s/sophomore year if there is a remote chance the kid may want to play in college (regardless of the preferred sport).[/quote]

But you just said joining the 16s team meant getting no play time. How would college recruiters see her if she didn’t get any playtime?[/quote]
Being in 10th grade for 16s is indeed important if your DD wants to play in college, especially D1, but there are kids who are able to make it work if playing up or down.

Your question about playing time on a top team is valid and could be a whole separate discussion, but it is absolutely possible to be recruited to play D1 as a non-starter on a top team. Metro 18 Travel teams send the overwhelming majority of their players to play at D1 colleges every year, and with 15 players on a roster in most years there are many players who are not starters being recruited.[/quote]

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