There is a lot of confusion surrounding the rules for when and how college coaches and student athletes can interact, and to be successful in your recruiting process, you must understand these rules.

First, a few quick definitions:

Contact -- A contact occurs anytime a college coach says more than hello during a face-to-face connection with a college-bound or high school student-athlete or his/her family off the college's campus.

Contact Period -- During a contact period, college coaches may have face-to-face interactions with student athletes and their parents, and they may watch a student-athlete compete, visit their high school, send emails or call a student-athlete and/or their parents.

Evaluation Period -- During an evaluation period, college coaches may watch student-athletes compete or practice, visit their high schools and call them. A college coach may not have face-to-face interactions with a student-athlete or their parents off the college's campus during an evaluation period.

Quiet Period -- During a quiet period, student athletes may only have face-to-face contact with college coaches on the college's campus; however, coaches can email, call and text athletes during this time.

Dead Period -- During the dead period, college coaches may not have face-to-face contact with student athletes or their family, watch the athlete compete or visit their high school. However, coaches may still communicate via email and telephone during a dead period. Avoid campus visits during the Dead Period, as the coaches will be unable to sit with you.

Women's Indoor & Beach Volleyball NCAA Recruiting Calendar:

August 1 - December 4, 2016: Contact Period; except November 7-10, which is a Dead Period

December 5-13, 2016: Quiet Period

December 14-31, 2016: Dead Period, except for two instances listed below, as explained by the NCAA:

1. Coaches attending the AVCA annual awards banquet may have incidental contact with two-year college prospective student-athletes being honored at the banquet, provided no recruiting conversation occurs. (See NCAA Bylaw 13.02.5.5.1.)
2. Thursday of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship through the Sunday immediately following the championship (December 15-18). An institution's authorized coaching staff members (see Bylaw 11.7.6) may evaluate on only one day and may attend only one event on that day during this period. Such an event shall occur within a 30-mile radius of the site of the championship. Coaches from the same institution who attend such an event shall attend the same event on the same day. Coaches shall not attend events that occur at the same time that any intercollegiate competition in conjunction with the NCAA championship occurs: Evaluation Period

January 1 through July 31, 2017: Contact Period, except for three time periods below:

• January 1-13, 2017: Quiet Period
• April 10-13, 2017: Dead Period
• May 1-26, 2017: Quiet Period

Finally, there's one additional exception, as explained by the NCAA: "In those states that play the high school volleyball season in the winter, contacts and evaluations shall be permissible January 1 through the Friday prior to the Presidents' Day weekend tournaments."

To see the men's recruiting calendar, click here.

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Kara Hill is a noted recruiting specialist and the founder of My Recruiting Solutions.