NXTVB

What actually separates the athletes who get offered from the ones who don't?
For the 50th episode of the podcast, Susan sits down with a good friend and one of the most talked-about names in college volleyball right now: Coach Jason Borchin. Jason was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Cal Poly during their Cinderella Sweet 16 run in 2025, and just weeks later, he was named the head coach at the University of Nevada.
Jason takes us behind the scenes of the whirlwind that was Cal Poly's postseason: upsetting #5 BYU and #4 USC as an unseeded team, interviewing for the Nevada job the Monday after the tournament ended, and uprooting his family with three young kids in tow. He shares what made the Cal Poly team so magical, from a culture of celebration and authenticity to the philosophy that "the right kid beats the best athlete," and why letting players be fully themselves is what unlocks the confidence to win.
The second half of the conversation is a masterclass in recruiting. Jason walks through what actually separates athletes at the finish line of a coach's target list, the "genuine interest hack" that gets him to invest more time watching a recruit, and why copy-paste emails get ignored while a personal, well-researched email can move an athlete up the board. He also shares what it looks like when an athlete is willing to wear her heart on her sleeve, and why that vulnerability is often the difference between an offer and a pass.
If your daughter is on a college coach's radar (or trying to be), this episode is exactly what she needs to hear.

Chapters
00:00 – Celebrating 50 episodes with Coach Jason Borchin
02:00 – The whirlwind from the Sweet 16 to the Nevada job
06:00 – Managing chaos, family, and the transfer portal
09:00 – What made Cal Poly's Cinderella team so special
13:00 – Confidence, celebration, and letting kids be themselves
17:00 – Being underestimated as a mid-major program
19:00 – "Cal Poly kids": the right kid over the best athlete
23:00 – Building the same culture at Nevada
26:00 – What genuine interest looks like on a recruiting call
33:00 – Why copy-paste emails get ignored
About the Guest:
Jason Borchin is the head coach of the University of Nevada Women's Volleyball program, named to the role in December 2025 after helping lead Cal Poly to a historic Cinderella run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Over nine seasons at Cal Poly, he served as recruiting coordinator and associate head coach, helping the Mustangs win back-to-back Big West titles and earn multiple NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to Cal Poly, Jason coached at Notre Dame and Sacramento State, and he brings 18+ years of coaching experience across the intercollegiate, high school, and club levels. He and his wife Jessie (who advises athletes at NXTVB) have three young children.

Connect with Jason:
Nevada Wolf Pack Volleyball: @nevadavolleyball
Coach page: Jason Borchin at Nevada
Connect with Susan:
Check out the website: www.nxtvb.com
Follow on Instagram + TikTok: @hey.susank

What's the first thing you should say when your daughter comes home from a camp, tryout, or tournament totally deflated?
In this episode, Susan shares a simple but powerful tool she learned in her life coaching certification called the Ratings Game. It's a set of scaled questions parents and coaches can use to help an athlete process a tough day without spiraling into "I'm not good enough" thinking.
Susan walks through exactly how the tool works, from asking your daughter to rate her performance from 1 to 10, to the crucial follow-up question of "Why isn't it a 1?" that gently gets her focused on what she actually did well. She also shares how to handle the "I don't know" answer, how to reflect her thinking back to her, and a reframe on motivation she calls "gas car vs. electric car," why celebration motivation is faster and more sustainable than being hard on yourself.
If you're holding space for an athlete chasing a big goal, this episode gives you a script you can use the very next time she comes to you upset.
Chapters
00:00 – Behind the scenes at Girls Junior Nationals
02:00 – Advisor vs. recruiter (and what parents often misunderstand)
05:00 – Why college coach interviews matter
07:30 – Doing scary things and building the podcast
11:00 – Where this episode's tool comes from
13:00 – Susan's life coaching certification story
19:00 – Introducing the Ratings Game
20:00 – How to ask the 1-to-10 question
22:00 – The "Why isn't it a 1?" follow-up
23:00 – What to do when she says "I don't know"
25:00 – Celebration motivation vs. lack motivation
28:00 – What would have made it a 10?
29:30 – Reflecting her thinking back to her
31:00 – Focusing on what she can control
Follow Coach Desi on Instagram: @thisiscoachdesi 

Connect with Susan:
Check out the website: www.nxtvb.com
Follow on Instagram + TikTok: @hey.susank

Are you actively choosing your recruiting process, or quietly letting it happen to you?
In this episode, Susan builds on the last two conversations and gets into one of the biggest reasons recruiting timelines look so different from athlete to athlete: different goals create different timelines. She walks through a spectrum she sees almost every athlete fall somewhere on, from the very specific athlete who knows exactly what she wants to the more open-minded athlete who's willing to explore, and explains why neither path is right or wrong, just different.
Susan shares her own story of holding out for a Top 25 or Pac-10 program as a 16-year-old recruit, why she sat on offers from schools that didn't match her vision, and what made the wait worth it. She also tells the story of a former club athlete who chose to commit to the first offer she received from her dream conference, and how having a little specificity with an open mind made for one of the smoothest recruiting processes Susan has seen.
She closes with a powerful reframe: in your recruiting process, you are the driver, not the victim. If you're not getting interest from the schools you want, you get to decide whether to double down, adjust your list, or become the athlete who's good enough for the goal. Leaning into desire rather than fear is what changes everything.
Chapters
00:00 – Why timelines feel like a verdict (and shouldn't)
01:30 – The recruiting spectrum: specific vs. open-minded
03:00 – Why clarity moves you forward faster
04:00 – Specific athletes, smaller pools, longer timelines
05:30 – Susan's recruiting story: holding out for the Pac-10
08:00 – When backup offers become teachers
09:30 – Why two athletes' timelines should never match
11:30 – The West Coast Conference athlete who said yes to the first offer
13:30 – Choosing your process instead of being a victim to it
15:00 – Leaning into desire over fear

Connect with Susan:
Check out the website: www.nxtvb.com
Follow on Instagram + TikTok: @hey.susank

What if your recruiting journey was never supposed to look like anyone else's?
In this episode, Susan continues the post-June 15th conversation with one of her favorite analogies for recruiting: the road trip. She walks through what would happen if 100 families started in San Francisco with the same goal of getting to New York City, and why none of them would arrive in the same way, on the same day, or in the same vehicle.
She explains why recruiting is actually even more unpredictable than that, since athletes aren't even starting from the same place, driving the same car, or trying to reach the same destination. Susan digs into the comparison trap that's stealing confidence from so many families, why looking at your bestie's journey is still just a snapshot you can't fully see, and how the spectrum between very specific and very open-minded athletes creates very different timelines (and why neither is wrong).
She closes with a powerful reminder that every successful recruiting story has one thing in common: the athlete kept moving. If you've been quietly comparing yourself to teammates, classmates, or strangers on social media, this episode is the windshield-shift you need.
Chapters
00:00 – Borrowing belief when you can't quite believe it yourself
02:30 – Every recruiting journey is unique (and why that's hard to accept)
04:30 – The road trip analogy: 100 families, same destination
07:00 – Different vehicles, routes, and obstacles
08:00 – Why recruiting is more like West Coast to East Coast
09:30 – The comparison trap (even with your bestie)
11:30 – Specific vs. open-minded athletes
13:00 – The goal isn't to arrive first
14:00 – Stop looking out the side windows
15:00 – Choosing the right kind of recruiting support

Connect with Susan:
Check out the website: www.nxtvb.com
Follow on Instagram + TikTok: @hey.susank

What if June 15th wasn't a verdict, but a flashlight?
In this follow-up to last week's episode, Susan goes deeper on what June 15th actually reveals and how athletes and families can make sense of what they saw (or didn't see) once the day passed. Through two memorable analogies, a tunnel and a big box with multiple doors, she paints a clear picture of what's actually happening behind the scenes of the recruiting process and why most athletes are still in the middle of their journey, not at the end.
Susan walks through why the days before June 15th feel like walking through a dark tunnel, sharing a personal story about taking her three young sons through an abandoned train tunnel in Truckee. She explains how June 15th is essentially the lights coming on in the middle of that tunnel, finally giving families clarity on how far they've come, what's ahead, and what direction to go next. She also calls out the social media trap that makes a small percentage of athletes feel like the majority, and offers a "Bill Nye, not Judge Judy" approach to assessing what the day actually revealed.
If June 15th didn't unfold the way your family hoped, or you're trying to figure out what to do with the information you now have, this episode will help you reset, reassess, and move forward with clarity.
Chapters
00:00 – The power of being a little delusional
03:00 – Validating the post-June 15th emotional roller coaster
05:30 – June 15th is just information
07:30 – Recruiting before June 15th: walking through the dark
10:00 – The Truckee tunnel story
13:30 – When the lights come on
17:00 – Doors, mirages, and the rare easy paths
19:00 – Why social media spotlights the few
22:00 – Bill Nye vs. Judge Judy: assess, don't panic
24:30 – Why recruiting doesn't end on June 15th
Click HERE for the link to NXTVB Support 
Connect with Susan:
Check out the website: www.nxtvb.com
Follow on Instagram + TikTok: @hey.susank