VB Adrenaline Podcast

We dive in and cover some sensitive topics that have come up since the "initial blast" of June 15th commits.  Girls are panicking as to why they aren't committed yet and feeling like failures.  Stories of horrible experiences at certain college select camps lead to us talking about how you can truly see what "program culture" looks like now and the programs always show the...

Nearly two years after we met (USA Nationals Las Vegas), great convo with Wisconsin HC Kelly Sheffield, sends me some random dm on X asking me to give him a call earlier this week, and at first it scared me a little bit, but when we finally connected, it led to a great 2+ hour conversation. This podcast is a recap of a good portion of the conversation because we just talked volleyball for 145 minu...

We talk about the upcoming Nebraska vs. Texas match set for Las Vegas in August and how great it is to have college volleyball's most heated rivalry back on again.  I also tell you about my personal journey trying to bring the rivalry back to reality and how months of work and hundreds of hours ended up in an L, but it was a crazy story for this cookie-dough salesman, that's for sure. Th...

In this episode we address the soon to be voted on "5 for 5" legislation and how it will change things recruits this class and going forward.  We talk about what parents and athletes need to do in the next 6 weeks to prepare the best they can and how it may change strategies. We also address the Volleyball Recruiting Calendar and maybe this ruling will finally force a change in that time...

A deep dive into the complex and stressful topic that is College Select Camps.  Which ones do you pick?  How many do you attend?  How do you know when to start deciding and more. Plus a guide for '29s and '30s how should you attack your Summer Camps this year? Then we take a look at what will be a June like no other in the world of D1 Setter recruiting and we can't wait.  More top t...

Season 3 starts with a three topic pod focusing on  1. How do injuries impact an athlete's recruiting journey? 2. Have a plan and be prepared for the negativity that is Social Media when entering the recruiting world. 3. How our PPV formula is meant to simply help show you an idea of your worth in the recruiting craziness to help you get an idea of where you might fit in. Support the show Con...

In town for Kentucky vs. Texas and decided to record at one of UT's biggest tailgate spots.  It's been a while, so I'm just getting caught up on '27 recruiting topics, '28 Class Preview, and what we learned doing the America's 200 Project.  Plus College Volleyball: what we learned. Support the show Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren...

We talk about the basics of recruiting for future classes after watching some of the top recruits in the Class of 2025 start their college careers.....on the bench this past month.  We reflect back on talking with them during their recruiting processes and their stories. 1. Did they take their time?  2. Did they do their research? 3. What can prospects start to learn when watching college vb now?...

Thoughts on First Serve in Lincoln and on to Nashville.  Talk Vandy VB and more opening thoughts.  Plus Class of 2027 recruiting notes and some recruiting prospect updates. On your radar, athletes, some staff shout and show shouts to some coaches, making some great presser comments, and more. Support the show Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadr...

I get back on my kick of trying to make college volleyball more exciting again.  Pumping up the need for better rivalries and more exciting coaching characters in the sport. I point how colorful HC's in other revenue sports fuel rivalries and get "edge spectators" to tune in and spend $ on tickets, apparel and draw additional interest to a program or contest that normally they would...

I talk with Louisville Associate HC Todd Chamberlain about many topics in his career at Louisville from: Talent evaluating, to building their culture, treating people the right way, locking down hometown recruits from Day 1, all coaches having valuable say and knowing who they could get and who they couldn't. He talks about the early years of building to get a step better and how they struggl...

We explain the other half of the PPV Pyramid and how it came to be.  There is the athlete PPV Chart and then the program PPV Chart.  Recruitology is the study of volleyball recruiting and it's patterns and predictability.  I break down who is rivals with who, what programs tend to recruit where and and why the actual athlete PPV score doesn't matter as much as the Level does.  This is a...

We dive deep into some sensitive subjects, dealing with hot topics in our world of recruiting and helping athletes and families have the experience that is best for them. We tackle topics like athletes being unable to attend Select Camps due to club practice, overpractice, and too long a season, as well as the insane month of June for 16s. Then we dive into our yearly topic of WHY would any club e...

We talk about the happenings of Spring around volleyball, and that definitely includes college volleyball. We bring in Anders Nelson, head coach of Vandy Volleyball, to talk about Year 1, how things are going with his new program, and everything exciting leading up to their August start date.  What an exciting time in Nashville.  Then we bring on C.C. McGraw of Louisville to talk about everything...

Matt Ulmer sure has had a busy week.  The former Head Coach of Oregon gave college volleyball plenty to talk about last week when he took the Head Coaching position at the University of Kansas.  The last week has been slightly hectic, but the new leader of the Jayhawks is taking it all in stride and he took a few minutes to talk this morning. He describes the process, WHY KANSAS, his immediate goa...

We sat down with Louisville Sophomore Setter Nayellis Cabello who was named ACC Freshman of the Year and also helped guide the Cardinals to the NCAA National Championship Match in December.  She has also been horribly overlooked by the national volleyball media during her prep and young college career, but that doesn't phase the energetic Floridian one bit.  Her upbeat, care-free attitude is...

Texas commit Genevieve Harris talks with VBAdrenaline about her early years of volleyball and her extremely competitive nature.  She talks about how she was misjudged by some as a bad teammate, but rather than getting upset or angry she used that to see things from others point of view and become a better leader, player and friend.  It also helped grabbed the attention of some of the top programs...

VCN 2028 Libero Averi Bridges had a memorable USA Nationals last July.  In particular, on amazing match vs. WAVE Volleyball.  The standing room only crowd may not have come to watch her play, but when they left and following a social media post a short while later, the trajectory of her volleyball career was drastically different.  Learn the story of how the Nebraska 'bro used the match of he...

Mac and Darren dive into an intense episode.  They recap the reaction to Mac's terrific article on athletes dealing with negative posters on social media.  This leads to an emotional discussion on fans lack of reaction to a serious reaction and also a talk about "chat boards" and more. Then they dive into talk about the upcoming Transfer Portal and VBAdrenaline's coverage of th...

Mac and Darren tackle one of the biggest myths in the recruiting world: "It's a bad thing for prospects to share schools they have interest in." We give several reasons why we believe this is completely false, why it is actually a great idea for prospects to share schools that they like, and how easy it is to do it on our site. We also address the importance of courage to use levera...

Macs on the road so Darren takes it solo and covers a variety of topics.  First, the office staff posted a friendly "Stadium List" that got messy with Big Red Kool-Aid.  *Next we dive into the Creighton Debate as Selection Sunday approaches *Then we break down Champions Mindset and how Nebraska uses it better than anyone, but EVERY program could do most of the things they do every day. ...

The team breaks down a wonderful time of year in volleyball: Preview our LIVE Signing Day Show and content, which is full of interviews and much more, this Wednesday. We talk about the stress that is November on college coaches. Mac breaks down the successful first week of the Str8 Talk Recruiting Site and the comments we have received from parents and athletes. Nebraska fans were restless, thinki...

We welcome Mac Podraza to the team and man is there some recruiting tea to catch up on!  We try and dive into the "new NCAA recruiting rules" and that gets messy.  We talk about Purdue's newest 2025 flip of All-American Libero Aniya Warren and try and break down her decommitment and process behind (again this gets messy). We talk about our new staff (yes I finally have an actual TEA...

Marlie Smith is not only one of the top 2027 Setter prospects in America, she is also a National Champ an All-American and just may be the most educated expert when it comes to the recruiting process of anyone in the country.  Why???? Because her entire life has basically been about college recruiting, from birth her father has been a D1 men's basketball assistant coach so she has lived and b...

AVCA Director Jaime Gordon is the guest and he talks First Serve Classic and so much more about the event and the teams involved.  Plus we dive into the 2024 College season, what's ahead for the AVCA and we even talk a little NCAA Preseason Top 10.  Great informative episode and gets you pumped for season ahead. Support the show Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with D...