Advantages of Playing Junior College Volleyball

Many athletes may not have thought of attending a Junior College focusing only on four year schools. For many students, going the NJCAA route can be very beneficial. The majority of our top sophomores go on to play in the NCAA. Playing for a Junior College can offer:

• Opportunity to Play – Since teams are comprised of only freshman and sophomores, there is a much greater opportunity to see the court. At a four year school, many players will not see much court time the first two years.

• Chance to Improve – Many athletes are still developing physically and technically. Playing for two years at a Junior College provides the chance to grow and improve. The end result can be playing for and graduating from a highly regarded university.

• Opportunity to Improve Academics – For students with marginal academics or poor language skills, two years of work at a Junior College provides an opportunity to improve their academics and increase their acceptance at four year schools. Statistically, St. Petersburg College’s student that go on to four-year schools have a better grade point then the “native” four-year students.

• Earn an AA Now, Bachelor Later – In two years, you graduate with a degree (AA or AS). Going on to a four year school provides the opportunity to receive the same bachelor’s degree as students that spent all four years at the university.

• Acceptance by Florida State Schools – In Florida, any state school must accept students with a degree from St. Petersburg College. This makes St. Petersburg College an excellent avenue to enter any of Florida’s colleges.

• NCAA Recruits from the NJCAA – Many top NCAA Division I and Division II schools are actively recruiting from the NJCAA. This is true in Basketball, Football, Baseball, and Volleyball. In fact, USC, the undefeated national NCAA champion, is recruiting from the NJCAA.

• Florida Strongest NJCAA Region – Florida is a very strong region for volleyball with 5 of the top 30 teams and 2 bids to the national tournament. Therefore, top schools that are looking for NJCAA talent are looking in Florida.

When your college career is over, the most important fact will be how high your reached, not how you got there. Think about this, there are currently 118 former JC athletes in the NFL, 43 in the NBA, and many in Major League Baseball. Many all-time great athletes played in the NJCAA including Nate Archibald, Dennis Rodman, Larry Johnson, Latrell Sprewell, even O.J. Simpson. Professional golfer Chad Campbell, Pither Mark Buehrle, first baseman Albert Pujols, and 2-time Softball Olympic Gold Medalist Crystal Bustos started in the NJCAA. Even Pat Powers, Volleyball Olympic Gold Medalist started in Junior College.

It does not matter where you start, only how high you go!