Don’t Be Late
Of all the recruiting questions we receive, the most common deal with contacting college coaches. This is a major dilemma for senior high school athletes, many of whom come to realize this too late in the recruiting process.
You Can Initiate Contact with a Coach
Many athletes already in their senior year contact us asking why coaches have not found them or contacted them directly since their season concluded. They often proceed to explain that they were misinformed by a high school coach or administrator who told them that they are not allowed to contact college coaches until their senior year or until they register with the NCAA eligibility center.
This is simply not true. Student-athletes who were misinformed have lost valuable time they should have been using to reach out to college coaches either through email or phone conversations.
If you don’t know the coach then they don’t know you or your athletic
abilities.
When Can You Begin to Email Coaches?
Student-athletes are allowed to email college coaches whenever they would like. This does not mean that you should send coaches generic emails that explain how you’ve performed in every game you’ve played since you were five. What it does mean is that you have a way to contact college coaches and make a good first impression, even if it is by email or phone. Keep in mind that some NCAA regulations only permit coaches to contact recruits during certain recruiting periods.
How to Email Coaches
Take time to determine what you would say to these coaches and what your intentions are in contacting them. Make sure that you’re serious about wanting to be a part of their program and email each coach directly. Don’t contact college coaches by sending mass emails. Coaches will see this and be less than thrilled, and chances are your email that was supposed to help you get in contact with coaches will only end up being deleted.
It’s Okay to Keep Trying
Making sure that college coaches will respond can prove to be challenging. College coaches are busy individuals because they are preparing for their regular season play or because they are organizing their strategies for the up and coming recruiting class. In either case, student-athletes need to set a good impression and send appealing and relevant material to coaches if they want to hear back from them.
If you have further questions about emailing or contacting college coaches, then please leave a comment below or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
My name is Isiah Anderson. I was picked by the coaches of Mississippi to be on the all-state dream team. I led the state with the most sacks. I play the offensive and defensive line. Can you help me?
Congrats on being picked for the Mississippi dream team! It sounds like you have what it takes to continue football at the college level. Have you reached out to any college coaches so far? When do you plan to begin college? Just as the advice above provides, you will have to introduce yourself to coaches and let them know that you are interested in their program, let them know your stats and accomplishments, like being placed on All- State dream team, they also want to see your grades and test scores. The hard part is finding the time to contact each coach personally and letting them know who you are.
How can I get the email address of coaches?
Just follow the link above in the third paragraph which is highlighted “contact college coaches” This will lead you to a more in depth video of how to find coaches email addresses.
Please can somebody help me out . how can get incontact with College coaches around Minnsota. thanks Romario
If you know which colleges you are interested in you can easily log onto the athletic webpage and locate the coaches contact information. I would be happy to help you locate this information once you have the colleges in mind. What division level are you thinking about attending?
When can coaches contact you?
Great question Megan, Some coaches especially at the NCAA division I level have specific contact periods of when they can contact recruits. Which level and which sport do you play so that I can give you more specific information.
When is it appropriate and what grade level should an athlete start contacting prospective colleges 9, 10, 11,or 12? Can I start introducing myself sooner.
Rae,
Its best to start reaching out to college coaches your freshman year. Start by introducing yourself and explaining your interest in their program. From their you can keep them up to date with your progress and send them updated video footage of you playing.
Have you started contacting any coaches? Do you need help making the first step?
what should my resume look like? I know what a job resume looks like, but is there a format to use for college coaches to show my stats, awards, and accomplishments? What do I include?
Chris, You are on the right track. Make your resume similar to a job resume, you will should include a cover letter telling the coach why you want to be a part of their team plus your top attributes either academically or athletically. Next, create a layout where you the coach will be able to quickly and easily view your sports stats and awards.
You can include references in terms of your high school and/or club team coaches. Make sure to also include your academic information. Let me know if you need more help with this. It’s important to remember to make it your own, but include all the necessary information.
I’m currently trying to get recruited to attend Louisiana State University, but the problem is that my coach hasn’t helped me not one second of the way to help me so I can have a possibility to sign in February “2013″. It’s now November 21st, 2012 and I wanted to know is it too late to try and email one of the coaches at Louisiana State University, to see my chances of being recruited? Also, what I also wanted to know is what all am I supposed to include in the email when I send the email to one of the coaches?
What is your sport? It is very late for a big university like LSU but you want to contact the coaches right away. Without knowing your sport, it is hard to say exactly what you need to send. You want to make sure the coaches can get a sense of academics, test scores and your athletic ability (this can be your best times in track or having a highlight video for sports like Basketball or Volleyball). Please let me know your sport and I will try to help you as best I can.