November 17, 2025 âą 29 mins
đ Sophie Scott | From Cal-Berkeley to Whatâs Next: A Two-Chapter Recruiting Journey
On this episode of the Significant Recruiting Podcast, Matt Rogers sits down with Sophie Scott, Senior Middle Hitter at Cal-Berkeley Volleyball, to talk about her recruiting journey from high school⊠and now again as a 5th-year senior preparing for her final season at a new program.
Sophie discusses early communication, decision-making, injury setbacks, and what sheâs learned along the way. Recently honored with the Cal HOPE Courage Award, she shares powerful insights for athletes and parents navigating the constantly changing world of college recruiting.
Listen now and find more resources â including the Volleyball Recruitâs Journal â at CoachMattRogers.com.
Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
Welcome back to the SignificantCoaching Podcast, recruiting
edition.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers.
Today on the show, we get tohear a recruiting story that
comes full circle in part two ofour conversation with Sophie
Scott.
Sophie, a senior middle hitterat Cal Berkeley Volleyball takes
us inside her journey.
First is a high school recruitnavigating the pressures and
(00:30):
decisions and unknowns ofchoosing a Division one home.
Now, years later, navigating abrand new recruiting world as a
graduate senior looking for theright program to finish her
college career.
Sophie is an unbelievable younglady.
She's confident, resilient, andshe was just honored with the
Cal Hope Courage Award,recognizing California high
(00:52):
school and college studentathletes who have overcome the
stress, anxiety, and mentaltrauma of injury, hardship, or
life circumstances.
She is so deserving of thishonor and I'm so happy for her
courage and that she gets tokeep playing next year.
If you're a recruit, a parent ora coach, trying to understand
how recruiting really works andhow it will affect your
(01:14):
teenager, not just for the firsttime, but for the second time
around.
Sophie brings clarity, honesty,and a perspective that every
family needs to hear.
And while you're at coach mattrogers.com, make sure to check
out my new book, significantRecruiting and the Volleyball
Recruits Journal.
It's built to help volleyballathletes take control of their
recruiting path with structure,with intention and confidence.
(01:37):
Alright, let's jump into it.
Here's part two of myconversation with Sophie Scott.
Sophie, I told you this already,but I'm a girl Dad.
I was a a volleyball dad for along time.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthat recruiting experience you
went through, because at sixfour it's pretty unique, I would
(01:58):
imagine,'cause you had coachescoming to you at 14 wanting to
talk to you and get into yourhead a little bit.
What was your experience likefrom 14 to 18 on the recruiting
trail?
So I was in a funny spot'causeobviously there's specific rules
now with the NCAA andrecruiting, but when I was 14
(02:19):
there weren't those rules.
So I did get emails and callsfrom coaches at that time where
I had no idea what I wanted atall.
But I did get attention fromcoaches at that time, and that
came from club tournaments atthe time when I was 14 years
old.
I wasn't necessarily reachingout to a bunch of coaches yet.
But then when I started gettinginterest in calls and emails, I
was like, oh, wow, this isreally happening.
(02:41):
Then the rules changed.
So I had to cut all thoseconversations at the time.
And then my experience from thatpoint on when they have all
these rules is, and what itkinda looks like today for if
you're getting recruited is youcan get invited to camps, you
can email coaches, what courtsyou'll be on, at club
tournaments, stuff like that.
You create a lot of films, somake sure you're filming things
(03:02):
at tournaments and stuff.
And then you send those and it'sa one way communication for the
time being.
You won't hear back fromcoaches, but.
The way that you can know ifyou're getting interest is oh,
we'd love for you to come tothis camp, or we'll be at this
tournament at this time.
And it's nothing too crazy.
'cause they can't but thatdoesn't mean they're not looking
(03:24):
and that doesn't mean thatthey're, you're, they're not
watching.
You have to do a lot of that,like one-way communication and
being proactive in that aspect.
And that's what I did.
And then June 15th of mysophomore year.
That is when the floodgates openand you can start getting a lot
of calls and texts and actuallyhaving real conversations with
people.
And so that's when it allhappens and you'll get texts and
(03:45):
everything You'll get set up.
Zoom calls.
I was an interesting recruitbecause I was being recruited
during the COVID year I couldn'tdo a lot of official visits.
We did online official visitsand online campus tours through
FaceTime and Zoom and.
PowerPoint presentations, whichended up being pretty good.
They worked out, me and myfamily did our own kind of
visits.
(04:06):
We would go on travel trips.
To different schools and hit abunch if we could and walk
around campus ourselves.
And obviously I couldn't meetwith the coaches technically,
but I met with some of theplayers on these like unofficial
officials.
So that was how that went.
And then I narrowed it down.
So that was June.
I talked to coaches for a fewmonths and then I committed to
Cal in December.
(04:27):
So of you started your junioryear?
Yes.
Of my junior year.
Yeah.
Let's try and make recruitingeasier today.
Me and you.
Let's,'cause it sounds like youand your parents did a lot.
Obviously when you're six four,coaches are gonna come to you
because everybody thinks theycan make you stronger and faster
and bigger and stronger and allthose things.
They can't.
They can't teach five, a five,seven, girl how to be six four.
(04:49):
So you're gonna be a verypopular girl by being six four.
But even through thatexperience, especially being a
COVID kid, being recruitedthrough the COVID years, it's a
big change.
It's a big difference in howcoaches knew how to recruit.
What are some things that, let'ssay you have a daughter in 20
(05:09):
years.
What are some things that.
You think you'll do differentlyfor her or advice to a 16,
17-year-old now about thatprocess?
Do you need to throw everythingagainst the wall or is, or can
you simplify it into five to 10minutes a week?
Honestly, I do think recruitingis a lot more than people think,
(05:33):
and I do think there's ways tosimplify it.
But to get the best results, youdo have to do a lot of work on
your own and you can simplify itto a few minutes a week.
But I think starting thatprocess early and really knowing
what you want in a school and aprogram is at least the bare
minimum that you need to knowbefore getting on the phone with
(05:53):
schools.
If I were to simplify it into afew things to do, I would say
make a list of things that youwant in a school and a program.
Start filming everything whetherthat's tournaments or you do
individual sessions or practicesor whatever it is.
And then just playing your heartout and having fun and getting
(06:14):
better.
And I think those three thingsare the main things to
everything.
And obviously there's a lot ofdetails that go into those, but
if I were to simplify, it'd bethose three things.
'cause you can't go intorecruiting if you have no idea
what you want.
And I think that's part of thereason when I first started
thinking about planning college,I did make a exact list of what
I want in school.
So academics, location, thingslike, even do I want there to be
(06:37):
four seasons?
Do I want good weather?
Do I want to stay on the WestCoast?
Do I wanna travel?
Do I want to, have a top 10program?
Do I want to have higheracademics?
Like all of those things.
Having that baseline list andseeing where these schools fit
into what you want is reallyimportant.
And then, yeah, just sendingvideo out I think is what you
(06:57):
gotta do.
But it's hard to.
The recruiting processes can bea lot, and I think going through
it almost does prepare you forsome of the stuff you deal with
in college.
And it's honestly a good startto start getting some hard
things and hard conversationsand new things through the door.
Yeah, I would just be diligentin all aspects of it.
It's great advice.
It's really the right approachbecause you have to do a little
(07:20):
bit every week.
You just have to put the timeinto it, and it doesn't have to
overtake your life, but you haveto put a little time into it.
Yeah.
And it sounds like you werereally great at the invitation
to coaches saying, Hey, I'mhere.
I'm interested in you.
I'd like to see if you'reinterested in me.
And that's the right way to dothis.
Let's, there's so much.
Negativity that I hear when I'mspeaking somewhere with parents
(07:43):
about online recruiting servicesand all those things that are
out there.
Was there, and we don't have toget into the specifics I know
you had a great relationshipwith Sue and Sue.
Sue Weber did a great job ofguiding you and mentoring you,
but what was the value for you,for having your information
online, having your film, havingyour grades, having a central
location where coaches couldfind you, but you could also.
(08:07):
Market yourself?
What was the value of that foryou?
I think it's almost like nowthat I'm older, I think of it
almost like a LinkedIn, likeit's like the same vibe where
you yes.
Everything that you have foryour volleyball career and what
you've done is in one centralplace.
And it's really easy for collegecoaches or whoever to go look at
that.
And I think as much as the I dohear a lot of recruiting
(08:29):
services aren't that great.
Whatever.
It's, I truly do think they arebecause it's like you got a
whole profile with everythingthat you've ever done, including
your film your awards, youreverything is in one place.
And that's really convenient forcollege coaches'cause.
If you have everythingeverywhere and you have oh, this
is my bio, but then you have togo to YouTube to find this, and
then you have to go this placeto find this, it can get a
(08:51):
little scrambled.
There's ways to make it easier,of course, but I do really like
what I did with NCSA and thenthe other benefit of having.
Recruiting service is the peoplethat you work with.
And that's so much of what Suedid and she was so incredibly
helpful for me.
And having a recruiting coachlike that is just, it's really
(09:11):
rewarding.
And I don't know if I would bein the place that I am without
her.
And so I, I am reallyappreciative of her'cause she
did help us so much and sheanswered so many questions that.
I would not know where to go ifI didn't have someone to ask
those to.
And same with my parents.
Like she, she helped my parentsso much with what role they can
play in my recruiting processand stuff like that.
It was really awesome to havethat and I was lucky to have
(09:32):
that.
SU's a superstar.
I'm so glad you have her in yourlife and if you don't know it,
you'll always have her in herlife.
She'll al that's she's, when sheloves you and she's working with
you, your family, and so I'm soglad you have her.
All right.
Let's move ahead here.
You're doing this again.
We're going through thisrecruiting process again.
(09:54):
Break down the three things thatI think scare and excite high
school parents and kids themost.
These days it's equal, we'reexcited about it, but we're
scared of it.
We don't know what it means.
NIL, sports Agents portal.
(10:16):
What are, where are those thingsat in your life right now, and
what are you doing with them?
Yeah.
I'll start with NIL.
For Cal specifically, we don'thave a collective necessarily,
so the whole aspect of NIL rightnow and what you see these
headlines about, and I've donesome deep diving into it.
(10:36):
There is collectives at schoolsthat will pay certain.
Teams and then certain peoplefrom those teams get paid
through those collectives.
It's almost like a bank accountfor that team.
And that comes from, and thatcomes from other things.
Our basketball team has that,our women's basketball team has
that, and our football team hasthat here.
Volleyball doesn't necessarilyhave that specifically.
There are a lot of resources atCal for different NIL
(11:00):
opportunities, which a lot of myteammates and I as well have
taken.
And so that kinda looks a littlebit different.
That goes with brand deals andpostings on socials of different
things and you get products andyou get paid a certain amount of
money for this post or whateverit may be.
And that's the traditionalaspect of NIL and it's.
Grown into this other thing withthe collective.
(11:20):
So for volleyball, it's lesscommon unless you're a top,
crazy, top 25 program and youhave a lot of money into your
program that you have that kindof collective style stuff.
Nebraska, yeah.
Nebraska for example, would be agreat, I'm sure those girls are
getting paid a lot of money.
And that's and.
Great.
I'm happy for them, but it's alittle bit different when, you
do your own little stuff and Iknow those girls do the same
(11:42):
thing with they'll do branddeals and posts and everything
like that.
You do get a little bit of both.
That's what it looks like for mepersonally.
I've just done some brand dealsstuff.
I haven't been super involved inNAL like crazy.
But I have done certain thingsand I have liked what I've done
I will get more into thatprobably out, out outside of
season.
It's hard to do a lot of branddeals and take pictures and do
all this extra stuff when you'rein season, but I've done a few
really fun things and I'vereally enjoyed that.
(12:04):
So yeah, that's been cool on theNIL aspect.
What was the other thing?
We had portal stuff and we had,yeah.
Let's talk about agents, and Idon't know if you have an agent,
but I'm sure you're dealing withteammates that do tell me where
that's changed because this,you're talking to an old dog.
I've been a head college coachsince 2001, and for many years I
(12:25):
never had to worry about agentsbecause they weren't allowed.
Now they're allowed.
Is there a role for agents andhow important is it for you and
athletes like you that aremaking that transition from one
school to another because youhave a year of eligibility and
you get to use it.
So how important are theseagents to you?
(12:47):
Me personally, I don'tnecessarily have a specific
sports agent.
Obviously I work with Sue still.
And then I also have an NILagent kind of vibe, but I don't
necessarily have a specificsports agent that's going to.
Follow my career and kind ofpull strings and stuff like
that.
For me there.
I know that's also very commonin kind of the bigger sports,
like I said, football,basketball, women's basketball.
(13:08):
That is very common.
I'm sure it is again, it's verysimilar in the NIL aspect is the
bigger teams will have thesesports agents and the bigger
NIL, me personally, I know a lotof international people might
have some sports agents'causethey do wanna play for their
national teams when they getback to their countries.
I know that's pretty common.
But there, there isn't a hugerole, at least in my personal
experience, but I know it doesplay a role in other sports and
(13:30):
other people as well.
So I don't know too much aboutit.
I can't speak on it too muchpersonally, but I do know that
there is an aspect of it incertain sports more than there
is others.
Fantastic.
I'd rather you didn't knowanything about it.
So that makes me happy.
Exactly.
I just think this is your life.
This is your future.
And you should be able to call acoach and say, coach, I'm
interested in you and I'd liketo know if you're interested in
(13:52):
me.
And that's where therelationship should be.
And I think we've lost a lot ofgreat coaches because they're
not able to build relationshipsanymore with the people they're
interested in.
And, so no worries on that.
But let's talk about the portal.
Because that's, that is a verypresent day thing that, that all
(14:12):
kids have to be concerned with.
What has the portal meant toyou?
'Cause can you officially go onthe portal this week?
Or do you have to wait to see?
I'm in the portal.
I'm already in the portalactually.
Okay.
You're in the portal.
Okay.
Yeah.
Grad transfer portal is a bitdifferent.
That portal opened October 1st.
I entered the second week ofOctober, and I've been in it so
far.
(14:32):
It's been pretty interesting sofar.
Like it's, it just feels likeanother recruiting process.
It honestly, it gives mereminders of when I was going
through high school a littlebit, but.
This time I just have a lot moreexperience in talking to people
and also my volleyball career.
So there's aspects that aresimilar and there's aspects that
are different.
Grad transfer is very different'cause, there's like grad
programs that you have to enterinto and obviously the portal is
(14:54):
open for a longer period oftime.
So that aspect is different, butI know people that have entered
the portal in their undergradand it's.
It's a bit different'cause thereis specific timelines that you
have to enter in and then thereis like more rules within that.
I know there's more dead periodsand stuff like that that you
can't talk to coaches in as wellas coaches if you do enter the
(15:14):
portal, can take away certainthings from you if you're still
at that school.
You can't, you might not be ableto practice, you might not be
able to use the facilities.
You might lose your scholarshipfor the time being.
That's completely up to thecoaches and your relationship
with them.
That can also happen for gradtransfers, but it's less common
I think.
Like for me, I had two teammateslast year that did grad
(15:35):
transfers.
One of'em transferred toVillanova and one of'em
transferred to Creighton.
They're both playing there now.
They're doing great.
Ava and Anna.
They're probably both gonna makethe tournaments, so good luck to
them.
But yeah, so that's kinda thesame with me here.
Like grad transfers are verydifferent and my coaches are
incredibly supportive of whereI'm gonna go with that, and I'm
(15:55):
very fortunate to have that.
They like, oh yeah, you shouldenter the portal and if you need
us to call anyone or anyonewants to call us please let us
know.
I'm very fortunate to have thatrelationship with my coaches and
I'm really glad that they're sowilling and able to help me with
that.
S very different when you'reolder versus younger and
switching schools and checkingnew things out.
But my experience as a gradtransfer so far has been pretty
(16:16):
good.
What's so great about yourstory, Sophie, is you could have
transferred a long time ago.
You could have left, you couldhave seen if the grass is
greener on the other side, likea lot of kids try and do, and
they don't fight through thoserelationships to make them
better and fight through, toearn their opportunity that they
crave.
And it says, again, it says alot about your character and how
(16:36):
you were raised to that.
You stuck it out at Cal and now.
There's that little gift at theend to say, now you can go
somewhere else and get amaster's degree if you'd like
to, and have another year andplay somewhere else.
What's the conversation beenlike once you got in the portal
in terms of how have you beencontacted?
(16:57):
What's that conversation looklike?
And again, you don't have togive us specifics, but walk us
through how that feels and howthat, the specifics of that's
been.
Yeah, I've gotten a lot of textsand I've gotten a lot of emails
and that's the major form ofcommunication.
And then from there, I kind ofhop on the phone with different
schools.
I just have normal conversationsand right now, because it's so
early in the process still, I'mjust having get to know you
(17:18):
conversations and, they'll watchmy games, I send them film, that
kind of stuff.
And then from there it's beenhonestly a really good
experience and I've had a lot ofgood conversations so far and
I'm happy to continue thatprocess.
And then sometime during the endof the season, hopefully going
on visits and stuff like that.
I know some schools are waitingtill the end of season all as
well to start recruiting.
Personally in no rush right now,but it's been pretty good so
(17:41):
far.
And yeah I'm excited to keepgoing with that.
And the conversations have been,productive and, I feel good
balancing that with season aswell.
So that's been one of my majorworries was like, oh, how much
can I balance with this?
And it gets busy sometimes withthe calls.
Oh, I'll have practice in themorning, then classes, and then
it's four 30 and I gotta hop ona call till five.
And then I'm like, oh, now I caneat.
(18:02):
So now I gotta balance.
You gotta remember you're ahuman being sometimes, right?
Schedule's pretty packed, butyou gotta remember to eat and
sleep.
But yeah, everything's beenreally great so far with that
process.
I would've been one of thosecoaches.
'cause the a CC is huge now.
And you also played in the PAC12, so there's a lot of coaches
that know of you and probablyrecruited you outta high school
(18:23):
and have been keeping an eye onyou.
I would've been one of thosecoaches.
If I didn't get you, or I'vebeen watching you play these
last four years and I knewyou're gonna be available, I
might pick up the phone and justsay, Sophie, we want you Offer
us on the table.
Let me know when you wanna talk.
Have you gotten some of those?
Yeah.
I've had conversations withcoaches.
I did have outta high school.
(18:44):
I haven't had a Here's youroffer right now.
Yeah.
I think that is less common thanpeople think, but I do, I have
had really great conversationswith coaches I've had in the
past, and I've even reached outto coaches I've called before
and been like, Hey it's been aminute.
Yeah.
Good for you.
I'm in the portal.
And as much as it is coachescalling me, it is also me
(19:07):
reaching out to people just likeI did outta high school.
It is very different.
And I think what you askedearlier about I could have left,
I could have tried other things,and I think there was such an
appeal to stay at Cal because ofhow great the academics is and.
I'm not one to shy away from achallenge, obviously, like we
talked about.
So I did stick it out and we'vehad up and down seasons, but.
(19:27):
I've been really grateful for myexperiences here and I am
excited to, explore otherthings.
Like I've had a very highlyacademic school and obviously I
wanna keep academics, but I'malso open to schools that are
really big into their sports.
Not that Cal isn't super biginto their sports, but there are
programs that invest a lot andI'm excited to explore those
options as well.
So I'm interested'cause you dida great job of explaining
(19:49):
recruiting earlier about, figureout who you are first.
Figure out who you want.
You're a completely differentperson four years later, have
those priorities and valueschanged from when you were seven
to 16, 17 and what you'relooking for next?
Yeah.
I think they have, there aresimilar aspects like I do want a
big school, I want big sports.
I want to stay in a competitiveprogram.
(20:11):
I wanna stay in the Power fourconferences.
So there is that aspect of itthat's been pretty similar since
my high school experience.
But I think what I want.
A academic grad program is verydifferent.
I think outta high school I waswanting to do psychology.
So now I'm in a completelydifferent realm.
And I think that's veryinteresting.
And also just the role that Iwould play on a team is very
(20:31):
different.
'cause I will be the oldest outof the group, I'll be a grandma.
And playing that role versuscoming in as a freshman is very
different.
And I, that's been a questionI've asked to coaches, what do
you see my role as a moreexperienced player?
It's interesting to do thataspect as well.
Are you getting good answers tothose questions.
I, I like the answers, just whenpeople are looking for grad
(20:52):
transfers, it's normally to be aleader that can make a
difference even for a shortperiod of time.
And I do feel like I can playthat role on a lot of different
teams wherever I end up.
So I'm excited to see thatprocess as well.
Are you finding some coachesthat say, we need that from you.
We need you to come in and beAuntie Sophie.
Grandma Sophie, we need you tocome in.
We need your leadership, we needyour toughness.
Are you hearing some of that?
(21:13):
There's been a few schools thatare really looking for someone
to come in'cause they have ayounger team and so they do want
to see someone give as much asthey can to a program when
they're an older player.
Yeah.
Is that scary for you or a redflag for you that they're
younger and they need leadershipor is that exciting for you to
have that opportunity to go inand be that leader?
(21:33):
I think it's exciting.
I think it is like a uniqueexperience.
'cause I am a senior on thisteam and I have my like senior
leadership kind of stuff.
But hopping into a whole newteam where they might have a
team dynamic.
And I'm coming in and they wantme to be a leader, I think.
It is going to be somethingthat'll be a new experience to
navigate, but it's a challengeand an experience that I'm
excited to potentially do.
(21:54):
I don't shy away from that.
I'm excited about it.
Even if I go onto a team thathas older people as well, I
think I can fit right in.
So wherever I end up, I'm justgonna be myself and give as much
as I can to that program.
I love it.
I so much appreciate your timetoday and I wanna respect your
time.
I know you got big prep for SMUlater this week, and you get
(22:15):
them at home, which is exciting.
I want to dive in just a littlebit about the mental side of the
game, especially being a femaleathlete, being tall, being six
four tall.
Social media wasn't a part of myworld when I was your age.
I didn't have to worry aboutsomebody filming me.
(22:36):
I didn't have to worry aboutsomebody posting something on
me.
I didn't want no one couldscream at me from 3000 miles
away and hurt my feelings.
What has that been like for youand who have you become through
all that?
Has it changed who you are?
Has it changed?
Is it, have you learned.
(22:57):
What you really are and who youreally wanna be through some of
that.
Yeah.
Being in the public eye as anathlete, there's a lot that
comes with that.
And you always are beingwatched, and I've always been
pretty mindful of what I put onthe internet.
I wouldn't put anything that Iwouldn't want the world to see.
A lot of my content isvolleyball related, but I also
post my life.
And so obviously there's thingsthat.
(23:19):
It can be like, oh, it could bea concern that someone could do
something weird with thisinformation or, comment some
something rude.
And I've had that experience,there's been people that,
comment on, my height, myappearance, whatever it may be.
And at the end of the day, thoseare people hiding behind a
screen.
And I've always known that andit is what it is.
And I hit delete and I keepgoing with my life.
And I know that's hard for a lotof people to do but you have to
(23:42):
remember that.
You are so much more than whatis just on the internet and
people don't know who you areface to face and whatever
comments or whatever that maybe, that has no value to your
life because.
Your soul and who you are andwho you surround yourself with
is what is important.
And nothing on the internet isthat deep.
(24:03):
And you just gotta keep yourhead up.
And I think obviously over timeI've developed that confidence
and it's easier said than done,but you do really focus in more
on what's in your real life thanwhat's online.
And I think that is the biggestthing that you can do for
yourself, because whatever'sonline.
Nothing's real on the internetfor real.
Just focus on the people rightin front of you and the things
(24:24):
that are right in front of youversus what's on Instagram or
TikTok or whatever it may be.
And then just be confident inwho you are as yourself and what
you do.
And.
You're, you get one body, youget one, life and you gotta live
it to your fullest.
And just value the things thatare right in front of you.
I think in staying present anddon't get lost in these
loopholes online and.
(24:46):
Whatever.
'cause most of socials, almostall of social media is not real.
So I don't know if I could havehandled it.
I'm such an empathetic person.
So I feel everything, I, yeah.
Something bad happens in theworld, I feel it.
It, sure.
We're, I can tell that's a bigpart of you and some of your
answers today.
How much everything is acollective for you and you care
about your team and how you goabout your business and you
(25:09):
share everything.
I had a rough week.
I got a lot going on in myfamily and I work with a lot of
teenagers and college kids and Ihad a day the other day where it
seemed like I had five phonecalls and it was emotionally
just knocked me out.
And at the end of the day, I'mjust, I got tears in my eyes and
(25:29):
I'm trying to help all thesekids and trying to be strong for
them and strong for parents thatare going through something.
And and I called my brother andI just said, I just need to vent
a little bit.
I need to share with you what'sgoing on in my heart.
You don't have to do anythingwith it.
I just need to, I just need toshare it with somebody.
No.
Have you learned that about thisgame that you're playing?
(25:52):
Yeah.
The struggle that you, in thatyou gotta go to those people,
whether it's mom and dad, or agood friend or a teacher, a
coach.
Have you learned to share andget that stuff off your chest
and make sure people know you'regoing through it?
Absolutely.
And I think that was somethingthat was really hard for me.
'cause I'm not, I'm an emotionalperson, but in my own space I
(26:12):
don't really like to put thatonto other people.
And that's just how I've alwaysbeen.
Yeah, me too.
Yeah, it's hard.
Yeah.
It's hard.
I just, I've never been like,like I always tell my teammates
if you see me crying, it'sprobably because of volleyball
and I'm frustrated with probablymy injury more than I am
frustrated with actuallysomething else.
'Cause I don't know if myteammates have ever seen me like
for real cry unless it's beenabout like my injury.
(26:34):
So I do think I have teammatesthough, like people, I'm very
close with.
My class, specifically, mysenior class I'm very close with
and they've seen me go through.
Everything in all four years.
And those are the people Ireally do lean on.
And I've had amazing, likemental performance coaches that
have helped me through a lot aswell.
And I, that was hard for me toget into at first, but when I
(26:55):
found the people that reallymesh well with me.
It was really helpful.
And like I said, my parents havebeen my rock, so just finding
your people is what's important.
And like you said, like as muchas I am a tough cookie, I do
need my own space sometimes.
So yeah.
Just finding that is, is reallyimportant as well.
Let's close, give a piece ofadvice to those young ladies
(27:18):
coming up and wanna play collegevolleyball.
Give'em some advice.
I would just say keep working.
Like everything that you gothrough and all the time and
effort that you put in will payoff and there are good things
always coming your way.
And just enjoy it like.
You have such a uniqueopportunity and play such a
unique sport that is evergrowing.
And there's so much more comingwith volleyball.
(27:40):
And just be grateful for theopportunities that you're in.
And again, like I said, withoutmy injuries, be grateful every
single day that you have theopportunity to step on a court
and touch a ball.
'cause a lot of people don'thave that.
And there is such a genuine,unique, special thing about
volleyball and the relationshipsthat you build.
So just be grateful for it and.
(28:01):
Stay in the present.
Great advice.
You're wonderful, Sophie.
You're gonna be a rock star inyour life.
If you're not, you're alreadythere.
But I'm so excited you get tokeep playing and I'm praying and
wishing that you get the next15, 18 months of health to
figure out how good you canreally be and show the world
(28:21):
your potential.
Thank you.
I really appreciate that.
That means a lot.
This is awesome.
I.
What an incredible conversationwith Sophie Scott.
She's such an inspiration.
I only wish I would've had someof her courage as I battled
injuries during my collegecareer.
She has never lost that love ofthe game or the pursuit of the
significance of the game.
If you're a parent of a teenagegirl, this would be a great
(28:44):
listen for them and a great rolemodel for their future.
Sophie's courage, her gratitudeand the way she honors the
people who've lifted her upalong the way is something every
athlete can learn from.
If today's episode inspired you,head over to coach matt
rogers.com and check out thevolleyball recruits journal and
all of our coaching andrecruiting resources available
(29:04):
to you every day.
Until next time, stay focused onwhat you can control.
Stay humble and keep chasingsignificance.
Welcome back to the SignificantCoaching Podcast, recruiting
edition.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers.
Today on the show, we get tohear a recruiting story that
comes full circle in part two ofour conversation with Sophie
Scott.
Sophie, a senior middle hitterat Cal Berkeley Volleyball takes
us inside her journey.
First is a high school recruitnavigating the pressures and
(00:30):
decisions and unknowns ofchoosing a Division one home.
Now, years later, navigating abrand new recruiting world as a
graduate senior looking for theright program to finish her
college career.
Sophie is an unbelievable younglady.
She's confident, resilient, andshe was just honored with the
Cal Hope Courage Award,recognizing California high
(00:52):
school and college studentathletes who have overcome the
stress, anxiety, and mentaltrauma of injury, hardship, or
life circumstances.
She is so deserving of thishonor and I'm so happy for her
courage and that she gets tokeep playing next year.
If you're a recruit, a parent ora coach, trying to understand
how recruiting really works andhow it will affect your
(01:14):
teenager, not just for the firsttime, but for the second time
around.
Sophie brings clarity, honesty,and a perspective that every
family needs to hear.
And while you're at coach mattrogers.com, make sure to check
out my new book, significantRecruiting and the Volleyball
Recruits Journal.
It's built to help volleyballathletes take control of their
recruiting path with structure,with intention and confidence.
(01:37):
Alright, let's jump into it.
Here's part two of myconversation with Sophie Scott.
Sophie, I told you this already,but I'm a girl Dad.
I was a a volleyball dad for along time.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthat recruiting experience you
went through, because at sixfour it's pretty unique, I would
(01:58):
imagine,'cause you had coachescoming to you at 14 wanting to
talk to you and get into yourhead a little bit.
What was your experience likefrom 14 to 18 on the recruiting
trail?
So I was in a funny spot'causeobviously there's specific rules
now with the NCAA andrecruiting, but when I was 14
(02:19):
there weren't those rules.
So I did get emails and callsfrom coaches at that time where
I had no idea what I wanted atall.
But I did get attention fromcoaches at that time, and that
came from club tournaments atthe time when I was 14 years
old.
I wasn't necessarily reachingout to a bunch of coaches yet.
But then when I started gettinginterest in calls and emails, I
was like, oh, wow, this isreally happening.
(02:41):
Then the rules changed.
So I had to cut all thoseconversations at the time.
And then my experience from thatpoint on when they have all
these rules is, and what itkinda looks like today for if
you're getting recruited is youcan get invited to camps, you
can email coaches, what courtsyou'll be on, at club
tournaments, stuff like that.
You create a lot of films, somake sure you're filming things
(03:02):
at tournaments and stuff.
And then you send those and it'sa one way communication for the
time being.
You won't hear back fromcoaches, but.
The way that you can know ifyou're getting interest is oh,
we'd love for you to come tothis camp, or we'll be at this
tournament at this time.
And it's nothing too crazy.
'cause they can't but thatdoesn't mean they're not looking
(03:24):
and that doesn't mean thatthey're, you're, they're not
watching.
You have to do a lot of that,like one-way communication and
being proactive in that aspect.
And that's what I did.
And then June 15th of mysophomore year.
That is when the floodgates openand you can start getting a lot
of calls and texts and actuallyhaving real conversations with
people.
And so that's when it allhappens and you'll get texts and
(03:45):
everything You'll get set up.
Zoom calls.
I was an interesting recruitbecause I was being recruited
during the COVID year I couldn'tdo a lot of official visits.
We did online official visitsand online campus tours through
FaceTime and Zoom and.
PowerPoint presentations, whichended up being pretty good.
They worked out, me and myfamily did our own kind of
visits.
(04:06):
We would go on travel trips.
To different schools and hit abunch if we could and walk
around campus ourselves.
And obviously I couldn't meetwith the coaches technically,
but I met with some of theplayers on these like unofficial
officials.
So that was how that went.
And then I narrowed it down.
So that was June.
I talked to coaches for a fewmonths and then I committed to
Cal in December.
(04:27):
So of you started your junioryear?
Yes.
Of my junior year.
Yeah.
Let's try and make recruitingeasier today.
Me and you.
Let's,'cause it sounds like youand your parents did a lot.
Obviously when you're six four,coaches are gonna come to you
because everybody thinks theycan make you stronger and faster
and bigger and stronger and allthose things.
They can't.
They can't teach five, a five,seven, girl how to be six four.
(04:49):
So you're gonna be a verypopular girl by being six four.
But even through thatexperience, especially being a
COVID kid, being recruitedthrough the COVID years, it's a
big change.
It's a big difference in howcoaches knew how to recruit.
What are some things that, let'ssay you have a daughter in 20
(05:09):
years.
What are some things that.
You think you'll do differentlyfor her or advice to a 16,
17-year-old now about thatprocess?
Do you need to throw everythingagainst the wall or is, or can
you simplify it into five to 10minutes a week?
Honestly, I do think recruitingis a lot more than people think,
(05:33):
and I do think there's ways tosimplify it.
But to get the best results, youdo have to do a lot of work on
your own and you can simplify itto a few minutes a week.
But I think starting thatprocess early and really knowing
what you want in a school and aprogram is at least the bare
minimum that you need to knowbefore getting on the phone with
(05:53):
schools.
If I were to simplify it into afew things to do, I would say
make a list of things that youwant in a school and a program.
Start filming everything whetherthat's tournaments or you do
individual sessions or practicesor whatever it is.
And then just playing your heartout and having fun and getting
(06:14):
better.
And I think those three thingsare the main things to
everything.
And obviously there's a lot ofdetails that go into those, but
if I were to simplify, it'd bethose three things.
'cause you can't go intorecruiting if you have no idea
what you want.
And I think that's part of thereason when I first started
thinking about planning college,I did make a exact list of what
I want in school.
So academics, location, thingslike, even do I want there to be
(06:37):
four seasons?
Do I want good weather?
Do I want to stay on the WestCoast?
Do I wanna travel?
Do I want to, have a top 10program?
Do I want to have higheracademics?
Like all of those things.
Having that baseline list andseeing where these schools fit
into what you want is reallyimportant.
And then, yeah, just sendingvideo out I think is what you
(06:57):
gotta do.
But it's hard to.
The recruiting processes can bea lot, and I think going through
it almost does prepare you forsome of the stuff you deal with
in college.
And it's honestly a good startto start getting some hard
things and hard conversationsand new things through the door.
Yeah, I would just be diligentin all aspects of it.
It's great advice.
It's really the right approachbecause you have to do a little
(07:20):
bit every week.
You just have to put the timeinto it, and it doesn't have to
overtake your life, but you haveto put a little time into it.
Yeah.
And it sounds like you werereally great at the invitation
to coaches saying, Hey, I'mhere.
I'm interested in you.
I'd like to see if you'reinterested in me.
And that's the right way to dothis.
Let's, there's so much.
Negativity that I hear when I'mspeaking somewhere with parents
(07:43):
about online recruiting servicesand all those things that are
out there.
Was there, and we don't have toget into the specifics I know
you had a great relationshipwith Sue and Sue.
Sue Weber did a great job ofguiding you and mentoring you,
but what was the value for you,for having your information
online, having your film, havingyour grades, having a central
location where coaches couldfind you, but you could also.
(08:07):
Market yourself?
What was the value of that foryou?
I think it's almost like nowthat I'm older, I think of it
almost like a LinkedIn, likeit's like the same vibe where
you yes.
Everything that you have foryour volleyball career and what
you've done is in one centralplace.
And it's really easy for collegecoaches or whoever to go look at
that.
And I think as much as the I dohear a lot of recruiting
(08:29):
services aren't that great.
Whatever.
It's, I truly do think they arebecause it's like you got a
whole profile with everythingthat you've ever done, including
your film your awards, youreverything is in one place.
And that's really convenient forcollege coaches'cause.
If you have everythingeverywhere and you have oh, this
is my bio, but then you have togo to YouTube to find this, and
then you have to go this placeto find this, it can get a
(08:51):
little scrambled.
There's ways to make it easier,of course, but I do really like
what I did with NCSA and thenthe other benefit of having.
Recruiting service is the peoplethat you work with.
And that's so much of what Suedid and she was so incredibly
helpful for me.
And having a recruiting coachlike that is just, it's really
(09:11):
rewarding.
And I don't know if I would bein the place that I am without
her.
And so I, I am reallyappreciative of her'cause she
did help us so much and sheanswered so many questions that.
I would not know where to go ifI didn't have someone to ask
those to.
And same with my parents.
Like she, she helped my parentsso much with what role they can
play in my recruiting processand stuff like that.
It was really awesome to havethat and I was lucky to have
(09:32):
that.
SU's a superstar.
I'm so glad you have her in yourlife and if you don't know it,
you'll always have her in herlife.
She'll al that's she's, when sheloves you and she's working with
you, your family, and so I'm soglad you have her.
All right.
Let's move ahead here.
You're doing this again.
We're going through thisrecruiting process again.
(09:54):
Break down the three things thatI think scare and excite high
school parents and kids themost.
These days it's equal, we'reexcited about it, but we're
scared of it.
We don't know what it means.
NIL, sports Agents portal.
(10:16):
What are, where are those thingsat in your life right now, and
what are you doing with them?
Yeah.
I'll start with NIL.
For Cal specifically, we don'thave a collective necessarily,
so the whole aspect of NIL rightnow and what you see these
headlines about, and I've donesome deep diving into it.
(10:36):
There is collectives at schoolsthat will pay certain.
Teams and then certain peoplefrom those teams get paid
through those collectives.
It's almost like a bank accountfor that team.
And that comes from, and thatcomes from other things.
Our basketball team has that,our women's basketball team has
that, and our football team hasthat here.
Volleyball doesn't necessarilyhave that specifically.
There are a lot of resources atCal for different NIL
(11:00):
opportunities, which a lot of myteammates and I as well have
taken.
And so that kinda looks a littlebit different.
That goes with brand deals andpostings on socials of different
things and you get products andyou get paid a certain amount of
money for this post or whateverit may be.
And that's the traditionalaspect of NIL and it's.
Grown into this other thing withthe collective.
(11:20):
So for volleyball, it's lesscommon unless you're a top,
crazy, top 25 program and youhave a lot of money into your
program that you have that kindof collective style stuff.
Nebraska, yeah.
Nebraska for example, would be agreat, I'm sure those girls are
getting paid a lot of money.
And that's and.
Great.
I'm happy for them, but it's alittle bit different when, you
do your own little stuff and Iknow those girls do the same
(11:42):
thing with they'll do branddeals and posts and everything
like that.
You do get a little bit of both.
That's what it looks like for mepersonally.
I've just done some brand dealsstuff.
I haven't been super involved inNAL like crazy.
But I have done certain thingsand I have liked what I've done
I will get more into thatprobably out, out outside of
season.
It's hard to do a lot of branddeals and take pictures and do
all this extra stuff when you'rein season, but I've done a few
really fun things and I'vereally enjoyed that.
(12:04):
So yeah, that's been cool on theNIL aspect.
What was the other thing?
We had portal stuff and we had,yeah.
Let's talk about agents, and Idon't know if you have an agent,
but I'm sure you're dealing withteammates that do tell me where
that's changed because this,you're talking to an old dog.
I've been a head college coachsince 2001, and for many years I
(12:25):
never had to worry about agentsbecause they weren't allowed.
Now they're allowed.
Is there a role for agents andhow important is it for you and
athletes like you that aremaking that transition from one
school to another because youhave a year of eligibility and
you get to use it.
So how important are theseagents to you?
(12:47):
Me personally, I don'tnecessarily have a specific
sports agent.
Obviously I work with Sue still.
And then I also have an NILagent kind of vibe, but I don't
necessarily have a specificsports agent that's going to.
Follow my career and kind ofpull strings and stuff like
that.
For me there.
I know that's also very commonin kind of the bigger sports,
like I said, football,basketball, women's basketball.
(13:08):
That is very common.
I'm sure it is again, it's verysimilar in the NIL aspect is the
bigger teams will have thesesports agents and the bigger
NIL, me personally, I know a lotof international people might
have some sports agents'causethey do wanna play for their
national teams when they getback to their countries.
I know that's pretty common.
But there, there isn't a hugerole, at least in my personal
experience, but I know it doesplay a role in other sports and
(13:30):
other people as well.
So I don't know too much aboutit.
I can't speak on it too muchpersonally, but I do know that
there is an aspect of it incertain sports more than there
is others.
Fantastic.
I'd rather you didn't knowanything about it.
So that makes me happy.
Exactly.
I just think this is your life.
This is your future.
And you should be able to call acoach and say, coach, I'm
interested in you and I'd liketo know if you're interested in
(13:52):
me.
And that's where therelationship should be.
And I think we've lost a lot ofgreat coaches because they're
not able to build relationshipsanymore with the people they're
interested in.
And, so no worries on that.
But let's talk about the portal.
Because that's, that is a verypresent day thing that, that all
(14:12):
kids have to be concerned with.
What has the portal meant toyou?
'Cause can you officially go onthe portal this week?
Or do you have to wait to see?
I'm in the portal.
I'm already in the portalactually.
Okay.
You're in the portal.
Okay.
Yeah.
Grad transfer portal is a bitdifferent.
That portal opened October 1st.
I entered the second week ofOctober, and I've been in it so
far.
(14:32):
It's been pretty interesting sofar.
Like it's, it just feels likeanother recruiting process.
It honestly, it gives mereminders of when I was going
through high school a littlebit, but.
This time I just have a lot moreexperience in talking to people
and also my volleyball career.
So there's aspects that aresimilar and there's aspects that
are different.
Grad transfer is very different'cause, there's like grad
programs that you have to enterinto and obviously the portal is
(14:54):
open for a longer period oftime.
So that aspect is different, butI know people that have entered
the portal in their undergradand it's.
It's a bit different'cause thereis specific timelines that you
have to enter in and then thereis like more rules within that.
I know there's more dead periodsand stuff like that that you
can't talk to coaches in as wellas coaches if you do enter the
(15:14):
portal, can take away certainthings from you if you're still
at that school.
You can't, you might not be ableto practice, you might not be
able to use the facilities.
You might lose your scholarshipfor the time being.
That's completely up to thecoaches and your relationship
with them.
That can also happen for gradtransfers, but it's less common
I think.
Like for me, I had two teammateslast year that did grad
(15:35):
transfers.
One of'em transferred toVillanova and one of'em
transferred to Creighton.
They're both playing there now.
They're doing great.
Ava and Anna.
They're probably both gonna makethe tournaments, so good luck to
them.
But yeah, so that's kinda thesame with me here.
Like grad transfers are verydifferent and my coaches are
incredibly supportive of whereI'm gonna go with that, and I'm
(15:55):
very fortunate to have that.
They like, oh yeah, you shouldenter the portal and if you need
us to call anyone or anyonewants to call us please let us
know.
I'm very fortunate to have thatrelationship with my coaches and
I'm really glad that they're sowilling and able to help me with
that.
S very different when you'reolder versus younger and
switching schools and checkingnew things out.
But my experience as a gradtransfer so far has been pretty
(16:16):
good.
What's so great about yourstory, Sophie, is you could have
transferred a long time ago.
You could have left, you couldhave seen if the grass is
greener on the other side, likea lot of kids try and do, and
they don't fight through thoserelationships to make them
better and fight through, toearn their opportunity that they
crave.
And it says, again, it says alot about your character and how
(16:36):
you were raised to that.
You stuck it out at Cal and now.
There's that little gift at theend to say, now you can go
somewhere else and get amaster's degree if you'd like
to, and have another year andplay somewhere else.
What's the conversation beenlike once you got in the portal
in terms of how have you beencontacted?
(16:57):
What's that conversation looklike?
And again, you don't have togive us specifics, but walk us
through how that feels and howthat, the specifics of that's
been.
Yeah, I've gotten a lot of textsand I've gotten a lot of emails
and that's the major form ofcommunication.
And then from there, I kind ofhop on the phone with different
schools.
I just have normal conversationsand right now, because it's so
early in the process still, I'mjust having get to know you
(17:18):
conversations and, they'll watchmy games, I send them film, that
kind of stuff.
And then from there it's beenhonestly a really good
experience and I've had a lot ofgood conversations so far and
I'm happy to continue thatprocess.
And then sometime during the endof the season, hopefully going
on visits and stuff like that.
I know some schools are waitingtill the end of season all as
well to start recruiting.
Personally in no rush right now,but it's been pretty good so
(17:41):
far.
And yeah I'm excited to keepgoing with that.
And the conversations have been,productive and, I feel good
balancing that with season aswell.
So that's been one of my majorworries was like, oh, how much
can I balance with this?
And it gets busy sometimes withthe calls.
Oh, I'll have practice in themorning, then classes, and then
it's four 30 and I gotta hop ona call till five.
And then I'm like, oh, now I caneat.
(18:02):
So now I gotta balance.
You gotta remember you're ahuman being sometimes, right?
Schedule's pretty packed, butyou gotta remember to eat and
sleep.
But yeah, everything's beenreally great so far with that
process.
I would've been one of thosecoaches.
'cause the a CC is huge now.
And you also played in the PAC12, so there's a lot of coaches
that know of you and probablyrecruited you outta high school
(18:23):
and have been keeping an eye onyou.
I would've been one of thosecoaches.
If I didn't get you, or I'vebeen watching you play these
last four years and I knewyou're gonna be available, I
might pick up the phone and justsay, Sophie, we want you Offer
us on the table.
Let me know when you wanna talk.
Have you gotten some of those?
Yeah.
I've had conversations withcoaches.
I did have outta high school.
(18:44):
I haven't had a Here's youroffer right now.
Yeah.
I think that is less common thanpeople think, but I do, I have
had really great conversationswith coaches I've had in the
past, and I've even reached outto coaches I've called before
and been like, Hey it's been aminute.
Yeah.
Good for you.
I'm in the portal.
And as much as it is coachescalling me, it is also me
(19:07):
reaching out to people just likeI did outta high school.
It is very different.
And I think what you askedearlier about I could have left,
I could have tried other things,and I think there was such an
appeal to stay at Cal because ofhow great the academics is and.
I'm not one to shy away from achallenge, obviously, like we
talked about.
So I did stick it out and we'vehad up and down seasons, but.
(19:27):
I've been really grateful for myexperiences here and I am
excited to, explore otherthings.
Like I've had a very highlyacademic school and obviously I
wanna keep academics, but I'malso open to schools that are
really big into their sports.
Not that Cal isn't super biginto their sports, but there are
programs that invest a lot andI'm excited to explore those
options as well.
So I'm interested'cause you dida great job of explaining
(19:49):
recruiting earlier about, figureout who you are first.
Figure out who you want.
You're a completely differentperson four years later, have
those priorities and valueschanged from when you were seven
to 16, 17 and what you'relooking for next?
Yeah.
I think they have, there aresimilar aspects like I do want a
big school, I want big sports.
I want to stay in a competitiveprogram.
(20:11):
I wanna stay in the Power fourconferences.
So there is that aspect of itthat's been pretty similar since
my high school experience.
But I think what I want.
A academic grad program is verydifferent.
I think outta high school I waswanting to do psychology.
So now I'm in a completelydifferent realm.
And I think that's veryinteresting.
And also just the role that Iwould play on a team is very
(20:31):
different.
'cause I will be the oldest outof the group, I'll be a grandma.
And playing that role versuscoming in as a freshman is very
different.
And I, that's been a questionI've asked to coaches, what do
you see my role as a moreexperienced player?
It's interesting to do thataspect as well.
Are you getting good answers tothose questions.
I, I like the answers, just whenpeople are looking for grad
(20:52):
transfers, it's normally to be aleader that can make a
difference even for a shortperiod of time.
And I do feel like I can playthat role on a lot of different
teams wherever I end up.
So I'm excited to see thatprocess as well.
Are you finding some coachesthat say, we need that from you.
We need you to come in and beAuntie Sophie.
Grandma Sophie, we need you tocome in.
We need your leadership, we needyour toughness.
Are you hearing some of that?
(21:13):
There's been a few schools thatare really looking for someone
to come in'cause they have ayounger team and so they do want
to see someone give as much asthey can to a program when
they're an older player.
Yeah.
Is that scary for you or a redflag for you that they're
younger and they need leadershipor is that exciting for you to
have that opportunity to go inand be that leader?
(21:33):
I think it's exciting.
I think it is like a uniqueexperience.
'cause I am a senior on thisteam and I have my like senior
leadership kind of stuff.
But hopping into a whole newteam where they might have a
team dynamic.
And I'm coming in and they wantme to be a leader, I think.
It is going to be somethingthat'll be a new experience to
navigate, but it's a challengeand an experience that I'm
excited to potentially do.
(21:54):
I don't shy away from that.
I'm excited about it.
Even if I go onto a team thathas older people as well, I
think I can fit right in.
So wherever I end up, I'm justgonna be myself and give as much
as I can to that program.
I love it.
I so much appreciate your timetoday and I wanna respect your
time.
I know you got big prep for SMUlater this week, and you get
(22:15):
them at home, which is exciting.
I want to dive in just a littlebit about the mental side of the
game, especially being a femaleathlete, being tall, being six
four tall.
Social media wasn't a part of myworld when I was your age.
I didn't have to worry aboutsomebody filming me.
(22:36):
I didn't have to worry aboutsomebody posting something on
me.
I didn't want no one couldscream at me from 3000 miles
away and hurt my feelings.
What has that been like for youand who have you become through
all that?
Has it changed who you are?
Has it changed?
Is it, have you learned.
(22:57):
What you really are and who youreally wanna be through some of
that.
Yeah.
Being in the public eye as anathlete, there's a lot that
comes with that.
And you always are beingwatched, and I've always been
pretty mindful of what I put onthe internet.
I wouldn't put anything that Iwouldn't want the world to see.
A lot of my content isvolleyball related, but I also
post my life.
And so obviously there's thingsthat.
(23:19):
It can be like, oh, it could bea concern that someone could do
something weird with thisinformation or, comment some
something rude.
And I've had that experience,there's been people that,
comment on, my height, myappearance, whatever it may be.
And at the end of the day, thoseare people hiding behind a
screen.
And I've always known that andit is what it is.
And I hit delete and I keepgoing with my life.
And I know that's hard for a lotof people to do but you have to
(23:42):
remember that.
You are so much more than whatis just on the internet and
people don't know who you areface to face and whatever
comments or whatever that maybe, that has no value to your
life because.
Your soul and who you are andwho you surround yourself with
is what is important.
And nothing on the internet isthat deep.
(24:03):
And you just gotta keep yourhead up.
And I think obviously over timeI've developed that confidence
and it's easier said than done,but you do really focus in more
on what's in your real life thanwhat's online.
And I think that is the biggestthing that you can do for
yourself, because whatever'sonline.
Nothing's real on the internetfor real.
Just focus on the people rightin front of you and the things
(24:24):
that are right in front of youversus what's on Instagram or
TikTok or whatever it may be.
And then just be confident inwho you are as yourself and what
you do.
And.
You're, you get one body, youget one, life and you gotta live
it to your fullest.
And just value the things thatare right in front of you.
I think in staying present anddon't get lost in these
loopholes online and.
(24:46):
Whatever.
'cause most of socials, almostall of social media is not real.
So I don't know if I could havehandled it.
I'm such an empathetic person.
So I feel everything, I, yeah.
Something bad happens in theworld, I feel it.
It, sure.
We're, I can tell that's a bigpart of you and some of your
answers today.
How much everything is acollective for you and you care
about your team and how you goabout your business and you
(25:09):
share everything.
I had a rough week.
I got a lot going on in myfamily and I work with a lot of
teenagers and college kids and Ihad a day the other day where it
seemed like I had five phonecalls and it was emotionally
just knocked me out.
And at the end of the day, I'mjust, I got tears in my eyes and
(25:29):
I'm trying to help all thesekids and trying to be strong for
them and strong for parents thatare going through something.
And and I called my brother andI just said, I just need to vent
a little bit.
I need to share with you what'sgoing on in my heart.
You don't have to do anythingwith it.
I just need to, I just need toshare it with somebody.
No.
Have you learned that about thisgame that you're playing?
(25:52):
Yeah.
The struggle that you, in thatyou gotta go to those people,
whether it's mom and dad, or agood friend or a teacher, a
coach.
Have you learned to share andget that stuff off your chest
and make sure people know you'regoing through it?
Absolutely.
And I think that was somethingthat was really hard for me.
'cause I'm not, I'm an emotionalperson, but in my own space I
(26:12):
don't really like to put thatonto other people.
And that's just how I've alwaysbeen.
Yeah, me too.
Yeah, it's hard.
Yeah.
It's hard.
I just, I've never been like,like I always tell my teammates
if you see me crying, it'sprobably because of volleyball
and I'm frustrated with probablymy injury more than I am
frustrated with actuallysomething else.
'Cause I don't know if myteammates have ever seen me like
for real cry unless it's beenabout like my injury.
(26:34):
So I do think I have teammatesthough, like people, I'm very
close with.
My class, specifically, mysenior class I'm very close with
and they've seen me go through.
Everything in all four years.
And those are the people Ireally do lean on.
And I've had amazing, likemental performance coaches that
have helped me through a lot aswell.
And I, that was hard for me toget into at first, but when I
(26:55):
found the people that reallymesh well with me.
It was really helpful.
And like I said, my parents havebeen my rock, so just finding
your people is what's important.
And like you said, like as muchas I am a tough cookie, I do
need my own space sometimes.
So yeah.
Just finding that is, is reallyimportant as well.
Let's close, give a piece ofadvice to those young ladies
(27:18):
coming up and wanna play collegevolleyball.
Give'em some advice.
I would just say keep working.
Like everything that you gothrough and all the time and
effort that you put in will payoff and there are good things
always coming your way.
And just enjoy it like.
You have such a uniqueopportunity and play such a
unique sport that is evergrowing.
And there's so much more comingwith volleyball.
(27:40):
And just be grateful for theopportunities that you're in.
And again, like I said, withoutmy injuries, be grateful every
single day that you have theopportunity to step on a court
and touch a ball.
'cause a lot of people don'thave that.
And there is such a genuine,unique, special thing about
volleyball and the relationshipsthat you build.
So just be grateful for it and.
(28:01):
Stay in the present.
Great advice.
You're wonderful, Sophie.
You're gonna be a rock star inyour life.
If you're not, you're alreadythere.
But I'm so excited you get tokeep playing and I'm praying and
wishing that you get the next15, 18 months of health to
figure out how good you canreally be and show the world
(28:21):
your potential.
Thank you.
I really appreciate that.
That means a lot.
This is awesome.
I.
What an incredible conversationwith Sophie Scott.
She's such an inspiration.
I only wish I would've had someof her courage as I battled
injuries during my collegecareer.
She has never lost that love ofthe game or the pursuit of the
significance of the game.
If you're a parent of a teenagegirl, this would be a great
(28:44):
listen for them and a great rolemodel for their future.
Sophie's courage, her gratitudeand the way she honors the
people who've lifted her upalong the way is something every
athlete can learn from.
If today's episode inspired you,head over to coach matt
rogers.com and check out thevolleyball recruits journal and
all of our coaching andrecruiting resources available
(29:04):
to you every day.
Until next time, stay focused onwhat you can control.
Stay humble and keep chasingsignificance.
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