When Should You Reach Out To College Coaches?
One of the most important parts of recruiting is building relationships. It’s unrealistic to expect college coaches to begin reaching out to you to create a relationship, especially if you are targeting a successful program. You will have to reach out to college coaches yourself to get on their radar. But when should you reach out to college coaches?
Generally, if you are interested in a college, you should reach out to the coach as early as possible. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. When you reach out to college coaches depends on what stage of recruiting you are in. If you are just starting your high school athletic career and don’t have the skills you need to play at the level you want to in college, it’s best to wait until sophomore or junior year. But if you are playing at the varsity level in your freshman year and getting interest from coaches, feel free to reach out to your top schools.
If you are targeting a Division I or Division II school, you’ll want to keep in mind the NCAA regulations for coaches to contact student-athletes. Division I and II college coaches can’t respond to a student-athlete until after June 15 of their sophomore year or September 1 of their junior year. This restriction may be a reason why you don’t get a response after reaching out to a coach. However, the NCAA doesn’t limit student-athletes from reaching out to coaches, so you won’t face any consequences for emailing or calling a coach.
What To Do Before Reaching Out To College Coaches?
If you don’t think you’re quite ready to start reaching out to college coaches, there’s plenty you can do to prepare for the recruiting process. Even if you are confident and ready to start emailing college coaches, here are a few things you should consider doing to help you stand out from other recruits.
Research Schools: The best way to begin the recruiting process is by thinking about what you want out of your college experience. It’s essential to think about the athletic, academic and social aspects of the universities you’re looking at. Different people have different priorities when looking at colleges. For example, it may be necessary to you that the school is large, while others prefer a small school. Researching schools can help you determine if the team is a good fit for your personality and skill set.
List Of Coaches To Email: Once you’ve identified your top schools, you can put together a list of coaches to email. Doing your research before reaching out will help you find specific things that you like about each coach and school. Personalizing your communication with the coaches, whether it’s over an email or the phone, will show the coach your dedication to their program and willingness to put in the time to learn more.
Develop Skills: Another thing you can do before reaching out to college coaches is to focus on developing your athletic skills. You may be targeting a school that is a little bit out of your reach or beyond your current athletic ability. By honing specific skills, you can improve your overall performance and move up to the level you’re targeting.
Once you feel confident in your abilities and can match them with players on the team you’re targeting, you can reach out to the coach. Communicating with the coach what your skills are and how you can add value to the team is a great way to make an excellent first impression on the coach.
How To Reach Out To College Coaches?
When you should start reaching out to college coaches also depends on which form of communication you choose. You can send a coach an email, give them a call or even DM a coach on social media. It can be intimidating to reach out to college coaches, but it doesn’t have to be, especially if you are familiar with the different methods of communication.
Email: Email is the most common way to reach out to a college coach. This is the best way to introduce yourself to a coach and include links to your highlight video and athletic stats. Email is also a great way to schedule times to call a college coach or set up a meeting during an unofficial visit.
Phone Call: Reaching out to a coach by phone can be stressful, but it’s one of the best ways to express interest in their team. It’s less common for recruits to call coaches, so by reaching out over the phone, you stand out from other recruits. A phone conversation is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you have about the recruiting process or get feedback on your stance in their recruiting class.
Through Your Current Coach: Another way to talk with a college coach is to rely on connections through your current high school or club coach. If you aren’t getting a response from a college coach or want a personal introduction, you can talk to your current coach to see if they can set up a meeting for you.
Texting: A more casual way to contact coaches is to send them a text. Texting is useful for communicating with a coach you already know reasonably well. Always remember to be polite and respectful when texting a coach and keep communication within reasonable business hours.
Social Media: Social media can be a useful tool in reaching out to college coaches. You can send coaches a DM on social media to introduce yourself the same way you would send an email. The advantage of social media is that the coach can see your highlight clips on your social media and follow you to keep up with your progress. When communicating with a coach on social media, it’s a good idea to be more formal than you would be with your friends.
All of these different ways of contacting a coach all have distinct advantages, but they can all accomplish your goal of building a relationship with a college coach. By reaching out early and consistently, you can establish a rapport with a coach that will serve you throughout the recruiting process.
How Often Should You Reach Out To College Coaches?
If you’ve decided to start reaching out to college coaches, you may be wondering how often you should be in contact. You don’t want to be annoying or pushy, but you don’t want a coach to forget about you. So how often should you reach out to college coaches?
Introduce Yourself: When you first reach out to a college coach, you should start by introducing yourself over an email and wait to see if you get a response. This first contact is crucial because it provides an opportunity for a coach to learn more about you. In this first email, you can tell the coach you will follow up with a phone call to get their feedback on your highlight video.
Follow-Up: If you haven’t heard back from a coach within a few days, it’s appropriate to follow up with another email or phone call to check-in. If you aren’t hearing back from a coach at all, you may want to move on to targeting other schools.
Keep Coaches Updated: To further build a relationship with a coach, you should reach out consistently to update them on your athletic progress. As you improve your athletic performance or get new test scores, you can email the coach to let them know what has changed. This further information can change a coach’s mind about you and how you would fit on their team.
Starting to reach out to coaches early on in your high school career can help you get more familiar with the recruiting process as you narrow down the schools you’re interested in targeting. By reaching out to college coaches consistently, you can develop a relationship with a college coach and build recognition of your name and skillset.
Things To Keep In Mind
Parents: Parents sometimes wonder if they should reach out to college coaches to take one thing off their child’s plate. But most college coaches will say that they prefer for student-athletes to contact them so they can get to know them directly.
Highlight Video: Your highlight video can be a significant asset when it comes to recruiting. It helps coaches assess your performance before they can watch you play in person. Linking your video in any emails you send to college coaches will help communicate your potential for the team. It’s also a good idea to keep coaches updated on any new clips or additions to your video.
Coach Perspective: When reaching out to college coaches, remember to keep the coach’s perspective in mind. Think about how they would perceive your email or call, and include information that is relevant to their goals of improving their team or record.