The official recruiting partner of the Positive Coaching Alliance and one of the later-stage companies in the inaugural Dodgers Accelerator, FieldLevel is a social network for sports recruiting, and it has now expanded into women’s sports. Already operating in 5 men’s sports, the company just launched its signature private network for women’s volleyball and reports that hundreds of teams have already joined.
FieldLevel was first established in baseball before expanding into football, basketball, lacrosse, and soccer. Today, it is used by over 26,000 college and high school teams in 22 countries. FieldLevel unites college, high school, and club coaches in a private environment that improves communication and streamlines the recruiting process. High school athletes must be invited and personally assessed by their coach. Athletes also receive comprehensive profiles that include highlight videos, statistics, and academic records. According to the company, FieldLevel has helped over 17,000 athletes commit to play college sports since 2013.
Los Angeles Lakers General Counsel and FieldLevel Advisor, Daniel Grigsby said, “Both of my daughters played college volleyball, one at Cal-Berkeley and the other at Rice. The recruiting process can be terribly inefficient, where talented athletes unfortunately go unnoticed. I’m excited that FieldLevel has launched in women’s volleyball and not surprised that it’s already taking off.”
There are over 430,000 young women playing volleyball at the high school level, according to the the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS). College coaches face the daunting task of evaluating and recruiting the best players, with limited time and budgets. In addition to their high school teams, most athletes play on club teams and appear in a range of tournaments and showcases. But even with this added exposure, it’s nearly impossible for college coaches to see all players that are a good fit for their programs. Moreover, many athletes and their families can’t afford the additional costs beyond interscholastic play, sometimes pricing them out of the recruiting equation.
As in its previous sports, FieldLevel aims to aggregate all of the necessary constituents and information to better democratize recruiting, ensuring that deserving athletes are discovered by the right college coaches.
Albert Paschoal, a storied volleyball coach, expressed his excitement for the launch, saying “I live in Hawaii and my son plays baseball; we couldn’t be happier with the exposure he has gotten through FieldLevel, being ranked as high as 5th in the 2017 class. That said, I have been coaching women’s volleyball for over 20 years. We have won high school championships, coach of the year accolades, and the last 10 district player of the year recipients have hailed from our Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club. We have helped every one of our graduating seniors, for the past 10 years, continue on to play college volleyball at all levels. So it’s safe to say that recruiting has been my life the last decade, but I was never comfortable enough with any recruiting program or service to attach it to our club until I saw, in person, what FieldLevel has done for my son’s baseball recruiting efforts. I have seen companies come and go, but none of them offers the true power of communication as FieldLevel. I strongly believe this platform will be extremely helpful for recruiting in the sport of volleyball.”
