How To Tell A College Coach You Are Interested?
Recruiting is all about being proactive and reaching out to programs in the hopes of forming relationships and taking the next steps to land an offer. If you are at the beginning of the recruiting process, you’re probably wondering how to communicate your interest in a particular program.
The best way to tell a coach you are interested is by sending them a personalized email that includes your academic details, athletic stats and a link to your highlight film.
College coaches receive tons of emails, text messages, and phone calls from prospective athletes and high school programs, but they don’t respond to all of them for a number of reasons. It’s highly important that you understand not only the best ways to reach out, but also the right things to say and do to make college coaches aware of your interest.
What Are The Best Ways To Reach Out?
The internet and technology today make reaching out to coaches easier than ever, and there are a number of avenues that can be taken to get in contact with them. It’s important that you first understand when the time is right to reach out and which points of contact are best for getting in touch with coaches.
Finding The Right Contact Info: You’ll want to make sure that when you do reach out to coaches, you’re using the proper contact information to reach out. Coaches, like any other profession, will probably have separate emails and phone numbers for work and personal life. Make sure to use their phone number or email address that is affiliated with their job in the school’s athletic program, unless otherwise directed – coaches will expect to receive recruiting interest here. This contact information can almost always be found on the school’s website in the athletic staff directory.
When To Reach Out: Recruiting can be a long process that takes place over the course of several years. The best strategy is to reach out to coaches as soon as you identify a genuine interest in his or her program. Recruiting starts so early in today’s world that there is serious value in reaching out early and often as a way to get ahead of the competition and gather attention as early as possible. There are no NCAA restrictions on when an athlete can initiate contact with coaches, and you should take advantage of this liberty by reaching out as early as even 8th or 9th grade if you have the interest. There are, however, NCAA restrictions in some divisions that dictate when coaches can initiate contact or respond to players, so you should keep this in mind as it might affect how long it takes to hear back. Regardless, you shouldn’t let this stop you from being proactive and timely in your communication – getting on top of it earlier will get you on the radar and position you well for success in the process.
Emails: Email is the most common and accessible form of communication with coaches. It’s extremely convenient but also allows you to maintain some formality, and you can include several things such as highlight tapes and recruiting profiles. Most coaches prefer to use email for early communication so this is usually the best way to initiate contact and express interest.
Phone Calls: Similar to email, a coach’s phone number should be easy to find in the school’s athletic directory. Phone calls are a great way to express interest because it takes a step even further than an email and shows that you’re willing to put in the effort to explore opportunities. However, you should try not to initiate contact with a phone call as it might catch coaches off guard or put you in a situation where you aren’t prepared to say the right things. The best practice is to start with an email, and follow up with a phone call at a later time when it is more appropriate and you’ve already had some communication with the coach.
Letters: Written letters are somewhat outdated, but it can be effective to use this strategy for a few reasons. A hand-written letter reflects more sincerity and commitment than an email or phone call in most cases, and some coaches might find appreciation and value in this. Similar to phone calls, you should try to avoid a letter being your initial contact with a coach. Emails are often more appropriate ways of starting communication, and they’re easier to keep track of as a letter can easily get lost. Letters can be a great way of complimenting emails and phone calls because they can make you stand out from other recruits and show how serious you are about making an impression and forming a relationship.
Recruiting Sites: There are tons of recruiting sites and agencies, and today most coaches use these as commonplace to analyze and communicate with recruits. These sites can be a great resource for showing your interest in different programs and gaining outside support for putting you in touch with coaches.
How To Write An Interest Email?
Emailing is a great resource because it allows you to introduce yourself, be professional, and share important information about you as a student-athlete. Below we have suggestions on what to include and how to best convey interest.
Personalize: Coaches receive tons of emails from prospective recruits. They are unlikely to respond if your email is generic and doesn’t reflect genuine interest in the form of a personalized message. Make sure to address the coach, talk about specific aspects of the school and program that interest you (prove you did your research), and include a detailed introduction about yourself and how that ties back to your interest in the program.
Athletic And Academic Information: The first thing a coach will want to learn about is your athletic ability and your academic record for eligibility purposes. If you don’t include these things, coaches are very unlikely to respond because they simply won’t have any knowledge of how you could fit the program. Be sure to include your position, current or former team(s), and notable accomplishments. Additionally, make sure to attach a link to your highlight videos and online recruiting profile if you have one. This gives coaches a quick and easy way to conduct an initial evaluation of you and is a great way to attract mutual interest. List your GPA and test scores if available, and again try to tie this back to your interest in the program by referencing how you would be a good fit for the school academically and why the school itself appeals to you. By including all of this information, you will prove to the coach that you’re a strong candidate for the program and you have a genuine interest in the athletics and academics offered.
Include Various Contact Points: It’s highly necessary that you include the contact information of your current coaches. The main reason is that if you’re emailing a coach before they’re permitted to respond, they have to reach out to your coach to arrange a time for you to call them and talk. If you don’t include this contact info and the coach isn’t allowed to respond, they will have no way of getting in touch with you and your efforts likely won’t amount to anything. Your current coaches can also be great advocates for you and further express your interests to college coaches, so having these references can be very effective. Lastly, you’ll obviously want to include your own contact info in your closing including your name, email address, phone number, and address, sothe coach can ultimately respond to you and further the communication.
Future Plans And Competitions: If a coach is interested in you, they’ll want to know where and when they can come watch you play. For this reason, you should provide a schedule of your upcoming games and events. This will also demonstrate that you’re seriously interested and hopeful that the coach will evaluate you further. You can also include some details about your training programs and plans for practice and improvement. Coaches will interpret this as a sign of commitment and devotion to bettering your game and taking advantage of the opportunity you’re seeking.
Formatting And Style: Aside from the information in the email, there are a number of things to remember before you send. Read and re-read your email to make sure it is free of spelling and grammar mistakes. Format it in an organized manner so that there are distinct sections with different bits of information. Be professional and respectful with proper greetings and closings such as “Dear Coach” and “Sincerely.” Lastly, make sure the overall tone and style of the email reflects you in a humble and considerate manner. This comes in the form of expressing gratitude to the coach for taking the time to read your note, and making sure not to sound overly confident or arrogant when describing yourself and your accomplishments.
The way you write your email and address the coach is equally as important as the content you provide to express your interest in the program. Remember that the way you form your email is a reflection of you as a person, not just an athlete, so it’s extremely important to demonstrate the personal qualities that coaches value. Be sure to include all necessary information described above but also be polite, grateful, and respectful in every way possible.
Things To Keep In Mind
Express Interest Early: Remember that 1) there are no NCAA restrictions on when athletes can initiate contact with coaches and 2) recruiting starts earlier every year. Take advantage of this by reaching out as early as possible – the sooner you’re on the program’s radar, the more likely it is that you’ll get the proper evaluation and build a relationship.
Start With Email: Though there are many ways to communicate with coaches to express interest, the most appropriate starting point is email. It’s efficient, convenient, and gives you the opportunity to say and present everything you’ll want the coach to see in his or her first evaluation of you as a person and player.
Be Personal And Specific: The best way to demonstrate genuine interest is by showing that you’ve done your research and have specific reasons why you might be a good fit in the athletic program and school as a whole. Stay away from sending the same generic templates to multiple schools, coaches will realize this and not take your interest seriously. The best way to gain mutual interest from coaches is to show that you’re genuine, grateful, and value the opportunity.