Can Parents Reach Out To College Coaches?
The recruiting process is a pivotal time in a student-athlete’s life. It’s understandable that parents want to be heavily involved in this process, whether it’s contacting a college coach or researching schools with your child.
Parents can reach out to college coaches for recruiting purposes. There are some restrictions on periods when college coaches can respond, so don’t be concerned if you don’t get a response right away.
Parents should keep in mind that student-athletes should take the lead when communicating with college coaches. Your student-athlete is going to be attending the school and playing on the team, so they need to develop a strong relationship with the college coach.
When Can Parents Talk To College Coaches?
Parents understandably have a significant role in what decisions a student-athlete makes. They are usually the ones paying for whichever school a student-athlete decides. As a parent, being well-informed and supportive is key to help your student-athlete to be able to navigate recruiting successfully. Ideally, your student-athlete should take the lead on communicating with coaches, but there are opportunities for parents to talk directly with college coaches.
After They’ve Met Your Child: Introducing yourself to a college coach at an event or tournament when they haven’t met your child yet isn’t the best time to talk with a coach. Coaches have a list of recruits they’re interested in after viewing their highlight film. A smarter strategy would be to help your student-athlete send out highlight film to schools they’re interested in and have them follow up with phone calls to college coaches. Once a coach knows your child, you can make a strong impression by introducing yourself as their parent.
On An Unofficial Visit: Parents have an opportunity to introduce themselves to a coach when they accompany their student-athlete to an unofficial visit. Parents or student-athletes must pay for the expenses of this visit, but the school can provide three free tickets to an athletic event. Unofficial visits usually happen between the student-athlete’s sophomore and senior year of high school.
On An Official Visit: After a student-athlete starts their senior year, the school can invite the student-athlete and parents on an all-expenses-paid trip for up to three family members. An official visit is an excellent opportunity for parents to ask questions relating to admissions and financial aid.
All these opportunities are great places for parents to take on a decisive, supportive role in the recruiting process. Coaches understand that parents want to be involved, and they want to get to know the family of a recruit. As a parent, make sure that you’re allowing your child to take the lead on communicating with the college coach. Coaches are ultimately recruiting your student-athlete.
How Can Parents Help Student-Athletes Reach Out To College Coaches?
It may seem like a good idea to reach out to a college coach through email or phone and promote your student-athlete as a parent. But, this can make it hard for the college coach and your athlete to connect and develop a relationship. Helping your child understand how to navigate recruiting and then letting them reach out makes a great first impression on college coaches.
Research Schools Together: Start by putting together a list of schools that you and your child think would be a good fit. You’ll want to consider things like which division they want to play in, the size of the school, how intense the program is, the school’s location, and how much financial aid is generally available. Talking about your student-athlete’s preferences and priorities is a good way to make sure you’re all on the same page before diving into the recruiting process.
Brainstorm Questions Together: Before contacting a college coach or attending an unofficial or official visit, take some time to brainstorm questions that your family has about the school and sports program. Student-athletes may want to follow up with college coaches after emailing their highlight film, and preparing for this phone call can help calm any nerves.
Create Talking Points: If your student-athlete has already sent a college coach their highlight film, following up with a phone call is a good idea. Work together before the call to establish a few things that your student-athlete should say to the coach and then let their personality shine through on the call.
Practice What To Say: Practicing a phone call or conversation with a college coach can be a good tactic to reduce anxiety around these situations and help your student-athlete know what’s coming. Your child needs to be a good fit for the team on all levels, including personality. By allowing them to take the lead, the college coach can get a better sense of who your child is and whether or not their program is the best for them.
Take A Step Back: The best thing you can do for your student-athlete is to take a step back. By letting them take the lead, you allow them to show off their personality and develop the skills needed to navigate life after high school. You want your recruit to be able to showcase their leadership, time management skills and hard work ethic. Doing all the work for them limits their ability to be independent and show off for their potential coach.
Support Them When They Get The Offer (Or Not): Being there for your child no matter what the outcome, is truly the best way to help them through the stressful recruiting process and transition to college life.
The transition to college is one of your child’s first steps into the real world. You’ve been part of their athletic and academic journey up until this point, and it can be hard to give up the reins. By encouraging your child to be independent, you set them up to succeed throughout their college experience.
When Can College Coaches Respond To Parents?
If you decide to reach out to a college coach with a question, they may or may not respond. College coaches are bound by NCAA recruiting rules and can be restricted if they can communicate with student-athletes or parents during certain times. For Division I, this is dictated by what year the student-athlete is in.
Sophomore Year: At this time, coaches cannot reach out to student-athletes or their parents. For every NCAA sport, parents or student-athletes must initiate communication with college coaches.
Junior Year: College coaches can start to make contact with student-athletes and their parents beginning in the summer of the player’s junior year. There are limits on how often coaches can call players, depending on which sport your student-athlete plays.
Senior Year: During a player’s senior year, college coaches are allowed to have even more contact with players and their parents. Coaches can make phone calls more frequently, visit the student-athlete’s high school and meet face-to-face with parents.
Division II: A college coach can contact a recruit once a week, starting during the summer of the student-athlete’s senior year. They can make three off-campus visits and invite athletes and their families to campus for an official visit at this time.
Division III: There are no restrictions on college coach contact at this division. NCAA regulations don’t apply to Division III schools.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a student-athlete or parent, you won’t commit a communication infraction by reaching out to a coach. There are regulations on when coaches can respond, though, so if you don’t hear anything back, that may be why. Check out the NCAA recruiting rules for more specific information on when college coaches can respond to contact from student-athletes or parents.
Things To Keep In Mind
At the end of the day, as a parent, you want your student-athlete to receive a spot on the team’s roster or a scholarship offer. By guiding and supporting your student-athlete, you can help them find the right team and school for the next four years.
Topics Parents Should Ask About: Because most parents are contributing financially to your child’s college of choice, it’s expected that you’ll have some questions about financial aid. It’s also common to ask about the admissions process and timeline. You may be wondering about some of the logistics of the on-campus experience, like student housing and dining halls.
Avoid Taking The Lead: Be careful of over-communicating with college coaches. You want to come across as supportive and involved, but not so engaged that you come across as a helicopter parent. Avoid taking over the conversation during an opportunity to talk with the coach one-on-one during an official visit. It’s also important to let your child promote themselves and their talent on their own, so avoid overhyping their abilities.
Rely On High School Resources: Your child’s high school coach can be a great resource if you have questions about the recruiting process or specific schools and programs. Sometimes college coaches will even communicate about potential offers or visits for your student-athlete through high school coaches.