8 Steps to Get Recruited to Play NCAA Water Polo
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This is a complete guide to getting recruited to play NCAA water polo, written by a former player. My high school teammates and I followed these steps to get spots at Division 1 schools like UCLA, UCSB, UOP, and many more. I want everyone to have the same opportunities we did, that’s why I’m providing this information for free!
If you want to play in the NCAA, it isn’t enough to just be a great player. You have to know how to get yourself recruited.
I’ve seen great players not reach the NCAA and I’ve seen average players get spots on top-10 teams. It all came down to their recruitment efforts. Players who do a better job connecting with coaches get more opportunities.
If you’re not sure…trust me, you want to play in the NCAA
It’s one of the most rewarding experiences you could ever have. You get to play in the top competition in the United States, while at the same time working towards getting a degree from a prestigious university. You’ll form lifelong friendships as you travel across the country playing tournaments, and you’ll face challenges which will shape you into a more confident and capable person.
NCAA water polo also provides you with opportunities that go far beyond the pool. It could get you admitted into a university that wouldn’t have accepted you on academics alone. One day it could help you find job opportunities from one of the former players in your teams’ alumni network. Both of these things happened to me and so many people I know. NCAA water polo isn’t just a once in a lifetime experience, it’s access to an entire network of successful people who want to help you.
Step 1: Get an NCAA ID and Get Eligible
Start this process in Year 9 or 10.
Go to the NCAA Eligibility Center and create a free profile page. There you will get an essential NCAA ID.
Make sure your grades are up to check. It’s best to have at least a 3.0 GPA. Having a strong GPA is the best way to increase your chances of getting a spot on an NCAA team. A strong GPA makes it easier for coaches to help get you into their school, and it shows them you will be successful academically. Coaches don’t want players who won’t be able to pass classes.
Clean your social media. Coaches and school administrators will look at it. It’s important to represent yourself well online.
Read the NCAA Recruiting Rules. The two most important dates to know are:
Division 1 college coaches cannot reply to athletes before June 15th after Sophomore year.
Official visits can be begin to be scheduled after August 1st the same summer.
Step 2: Choose your Target Schools
You want to cast a wide net. That way you are more likely to have options when it comes time to choose where you want to play. There’s such little extra effort involved in emailing a larger list of coaches and it could make a huge difference.
It’s a common mistake for players to only email a couple of teams they really want to play for. Sometimes they don’t get a spot on those teams. They end up not playing anywhere when they could have had a great experience on so many other teams around the country.
Conversely, some players don’t even try to play for teams they think are above their level. You can’t get lucky if you don’t give yourself the chance. You never know what might happen! Top coaches are sometimes looking for a player with a specific skill set just like yours.
Make a list of around 10-12 schools. Include 3-4 reach schools and 3-4 safety schools. Depending on your ability, a reach school might be one of the consistent top-10 NCAA Div 1 teams. A safety school could be one of the many Div 3 teams, or a newer Div 1 program (of which there are many outside of California).
Go on their team websites and compile every coaches email. Here’s a list of every Division 1 team ranked in the NCAA, as of September 25th 2024: NCAA list. Check this NCSA List as well which includes Junior Colleges and Division 2 teams: More Teams
Step 3: Build your Resume
Your water polo resume is a one page document that gives the coach a snapshot of yourself as a person, player, and student.
Include a big photo of yourself (not playing water polo) so they can clearly see your face.
List all of your relevant personal details, stats, and accomplishments (academically and athletically).
Here’s a link to a Sample Resume I found online. Thank you Justin Johnson and SET Water Polo. Fantastic resource!
Step 4: Make a Highlight Video
Highlight video’s should be roughly 3 minutes long. You will post it on Youtube and include a link to it in every email you send.
Prior to the actual clips, begin with an introductory slide. It’s basically a condensed version of your resume. Most importantly include your NCAA ID, your position, and your graduating year.
When putting it together, prioritize quality over quantity. Coaches receive lots of videos so you want to make sure yours has an impact. Film a large amount of your games and cut that footage down to only the most impressive clips you have. Put the very best clips at the beginning of the video.
Try to get clips from competitive games. Coaches understand that anyone can look good against inexperienced teams. The higher level the water polo, the better it will look to coaches when you succeed in those environments. You can even add captions that give important context to the clip (who was the opponent, what tournament was the game played at, whether it was a game winning goal, etc.)
Field players, don’t just include goals. You want to give the coach an idea of you as a total player. Try to have some clips that show how a play develops. For example, you could get a video of yourself stealing the ball, sprinting down the pool, drawing the defender and goalie, and then passing the ball to the weak side for an assist.
Goalies, don’t just include blocks. You could incorporate clips of some great passes on the counter attack, steals from center, and your communication on defense.
You can make more than one highlight video throughout your high school career. After all you should be getting better each year. Remember though, quality over quantity.
There are unlimited examples of water polo highlight videos on Youtube. Check out a few to see which ones you want to use as a model.
Step 5: Introductory Emails
Now you will create an email template that you will copy/paste as your intro email to every program.
Programs usually designate their recruiting responsibilities to the assistant coach. You will send this intro email to both coaches, but will likely continue regular communication with just the assistant coach.
Put your name, graduation year, and NCAA ID in the email subject.
Introduce yourself and explain that you’re interested in playing for their program.
Write a couple more sentences about who you are, where you’re from, and what you love about water polo. Let them get to know you a little bit.
List your GPA, hometown, position, plus your best 1-2 achievements in the sport. You don’t have to list everything because you will be attaching your resume to the email as well!
Remember, it’s a template that you will send to every program SEPARATELY. Don’t forget to update the coach/school name in the template each time. Bonus points if you add a unique sentence or two tailored to each program/school so it doesn’t appear like you mass emailed every team in the nation.
Attach your resume and include a link to your highlight video.
Let them know you look forward to staying in touch.
Step 6: Follow Ups
Follow up’s are the bulk of the recruiting process. Sending out a single email won’t magically get you a spot. You prove that you are serious about your interest in their program by maintaining contact throughout your high school career. Coaches value players that are truly dedicated to playing for their team.
You should send follow up emails every few months, and even more often in summer.
Some ideas to send update emails about:
You’ve made a new highlight video.
Your team won a championship game, and you scored x goals.
You beat your best 100 Freestyle time.
Congratulate the coach if their program did something special like upset a higher-ranked team.
Remember, they don’t have time to read essays. Keep your emails short and sweet.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t always receive a reply. Especially early on. NCAA Coaches get emails from hundreds of players. It’s impossible for them to respond to every single one.
Coaches prioritize responding to only their very top recruits. They are also more concerned with replying to recruits who are closer to graduating. They should start communicating with you more as you progress through high school.
Here’s why you should stick with it, even if they don’t always respond to your emails:
Coaches need a full recruiting class to maintain a full roster. Depending on how many of their players graduated, quit, or got cut; they could have any number of spots to fill.
They have targeted players in mind for those spots but inevitably some of those players will choose to go to other schools.
All of a sudden the coach has more spots on their recruiting class that they need to fill. That’s when they will begin offering spots to their next best options.
If you’ve been reaching out consistently, eagerly, and professionally for years; you’ve put yourself in a great position to get offered one of those open spots.
If you’ve sent them many emails and have never once received a reply, it’s probably a sign that they just aren’t interested. That’s why we cast a wide net!
Step 7: Tournaments
In your Junior and Senior year, It’s crucial for you to coordinate time for coaches to see you play. Coaches make more of an evaluation of you as a player from an in-person performance rather than a highlight video.
Send emails to let them know which summer tournaments you are playing in. Then send them your game schedules once they are released.
Junior Olympics is probably your best opportunity, but you could get lucky if you are playing a tournament in their area and they happen to be free that weekend.
If you do get to play a game in front of the coach:
Make sure to approach them to say hello before/after the game. Before is even better so you can remind them you are about to play and what cap number you will be.
Play hard and be memorable! The worst thing you can do in front of a coach is to play timid.
It’s not all about goals. It’s about showing you are a competitor. You can impress them with any part of your game.
Step 8: Official Visits
Hopefully at some point during your Junior year you will be offered an official visit.
Official visits are a weekend spent with the program. You stay with the players, meet with the coaches, and get to tour the facilities. Official visits are attempts by the program to recruit you!
An official visit doesn’t mean you are guaranteed a spot but it does mean you have a really great chance.
Not every school has official visits. It’s a good idea to ask the coach about their recruiting process.
Getting a Spot
Timing differs between programs, but eventually coaches will call or email you if they’d like you to join their team.
If you don’t hear from them, it means you haven’t gotten a spot. Unfortunately not all coaches will reach out to tell you if you didn’t make it. They might just stop responding.
If you targeted enough schools at every level, hopefully you have been offered spots on multiple teams!
If you haven’t been offered a spot at any of the schools you were targeting, you still have options.
You could go play water polo at a California Junior College for two years, before transferring to play in the NCAA. Let me know if you are interested in learning more about this! It’s a great pathway that saves families a whole lot of money.
You could try to “walk-on” to a team that did not give you a spot. Walking-on means training with the team for a certain amount of time with hopes of getting a spot in the next recruiting class.
Follow these steps to give yourself the best chance of playing in the NCAA.
Present yourself as best you can and communicate professionally. If you do that consistently then you can open doors for yourself that you didn’t know were possible!
If you have any questions, you can direct message me on this platform. I’ll answer everything I can!
If you have any useful information you think should be included, please post it on the Community Chat.
If you are interested in getting extra help from someone reliable, a great friend of mine Jesse Morrison helps students navigate the process from start to finish. Check him out at PCAA Online
Please share with everyone you know who could use the help. Consider sending it to your local club admin so they can share it as well!