They were together by happenstance; a girl waiting on her father to finish work for the day and a mother waiting for her daughter to finish an all-important recruiting visit.

Yet, Mrs. Ballew and Emily Luenemann connected. They stumbled into part of the family atmosphere that coach Rich Luenemann creates around his volleyball recruits.

The coach’s daughter made such an impression on the Ballew family that when it came time to make a decision, Ishi chose Washington University.

Welcome to coach Rich Luenemann’s world of volleyball recruiting.

In season or out of season, summer or winter, rain or shine, Luenemann is always recruiting. It is just a fact of life.

“Recruiting is an exhausting endeavor, endless nights on the phone, countless emails, sojourns to watch recruits play, and a multitude of campus visits,” Luenemann said.

He searches for a specific subset of recruits: young women who not only excel in the classroom and on the volleyball court, but who also fit into the Bears family.

“We are looking for someone who is very success-oriented, [with] a positive, enthusiastic and congenial personality,” Luenemann said.

Since Luenemann is recruiting for volleyball, and not the chess club, athleticism is also important.

“I look for athletic potential-sometimes the players we recruit are not there yet, they have not reached that potential,” Luenemann said. “It is exciting when you find a player who is motivated to play very hard and at yet at the same time has great potential to improve.”

So where and how does Luenemann work his magic and bring top volleyball talent to the Hilltop? It is a long drawn-out process that may start years before the recruit can even vote.

First, Luenemann identifies areas where elite high school and club teams play.

“Certainly I want to establish ourselves as the premier opportunity in the St. Louis area,” Luenemann said. “I have great ties in the Chicago area, having coached at St. Francis for 17 years, but a major goal has been to expand my recruiting network to a national level.

“Most recently we have received a lot of interest from recruits from California… the majority of recruits for 2004 are California girls.”

Luenemann also pinpoints elite volleyball programs across the country for possible recruits.

“I like to find programs where kids have been successful,” Luenemann said. “If you cruise through our roster, you will note that most of the players come from programs that have either won state championships or really went a long way… when they are used to excellence ,and they are used to working hard for that excellence, that is a big bonus.”

Just like a TV pitchman, Luenemann has to sell WU. However, that job is easier then most people would think.

“I think Washington University sells itself,” Luenemann said. “Anyone who is successful in the classroom endeavors to matriculate to a place like WU… we are very attractive to those success oriented people I am looking for out there.”

Yet, finding those people, even with targeted recruiting, takes countless hours of hard work.

Once contact is made between Luenemann and a prospective recruit, he has 500 in his 2003 database, the real work begins.

“I’ll start by talking to an English teacher, a math teacher and a guidance counselor,” Luenemann said. “I want to know about interaction in the classroom, work ethic and relationships with other students in the program.”

But that is just the start. Before the recruit even gets to campus, Luenemann has compiled a dossier of information.

“My best insights come when I’ll contact an opposing high school coach,” Luenemann said. “Often times I do not talk to their high school coaches because I think those coaches are almost obligated to say nice things.”

Luenemann also goes on recruiting trips to scout those already in his database and to identify fresh talent.

“My weekends are often spent in gyms, Luenemann said. “In mid-February, I will be heading to Las Vegas for a juniors invitational, watching volleyball matches 12 hours a day.”

Up until now, Luenemann was a lone ranger-finding prospective Bears on his own. In the spring, however, his new assistant coach will begin to scout the St. Louis area.

“Krista Haukop is really excited about WU and is interested in helping us recruit,” Luenemann said.

Luenemann sees himself as a low-key recruiter.

“I will never sit down and say, ‘Okay, tell me what your thoughts are,’” Luenemann said. “In three or four days I ask them to email me and me their thoughts about their visit.”

Recruiting is a grueling experience filled with emotions and tough decisions for coaches and players. For Luenemann, the process is a never-ending saga.

In the next installment, Student Life will look at what it takes for a top recruit to wind up at WU.

Popularity: 1% [?]

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Friday, February 7th, 2003 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.