Three years ago, Maine Juniors added the position of College Recruitment Coordinator and named Jean Gould for this role. Jean’s youngest daughter, Izzy, graduated spring of 2019 and is heading to play collegiate volleyball, therefore Louise Hester is taking over as Recruiting Coordinator starting summer of 2019. Louise has been shadowing Jean during the entire 2018/19 club season, has attended numerous college recruitment seminars, and has helped her two children pursue their dreams of playing collegiate sports.
The main roles of our recruitment coordinator is to support and assist Maine Juniors players who have the goal – or may have the goal in the future- of playing collegiate volleyball. With so much information and constantly changing rules regarding college recruitment at the various levels (Division 1, 2, 3, and NAIA), Louise will help coordinate all Club services regarding recruitment, along with support from the director, John Razsa, as well the each respective player’s club coach within Maine Juniors.
She will also provide help, instructions and support to the players and families on how to use the common and free platform, University Athlete, that college coaches use for scouting players at several of the tournaments that Maine Juniors will be playing in this upcoming 2019/2020 season. She will also provide instruction and assistance to our national teams who will use the additional platform called Sports Recruits. By having access to these two platforms, it can replace the need for expensive, out- of- pocket services for most of our players who aspire to playing volleyball at the next level once they are done with high school.
Finally, she will coordinate a free recruiting seminar that is hosted by college coaches; a seminar where players and parents can come and ask these college coaches questions to get a first hand idea of their perspectives on the whole recruitment process, what a highlight reel should and should not include and so on. Last season, the head coaches from Boston College and Bates co-chaired this evening, and if you missed that session but want to see it, you can access that video here.
With the growth and increasing popularity of volleyball in Maine, more and more athletes are now pursuing their dream of playing collegiate volleyball. Louise is ready to assist our many talented players find their next collegiate volleyball team after playing Maine Juniors. Once the rosters of our Maine Junior teams are decided in November, Louise will start emailing everyone with recruitment tips and instructions. In the meantime, should you have any questions, feel free to contact Louise via email at recruiting@mainejuniors.org.
