Practice Your Phone Calls with College Coaches
Getting on the phone with college coaches can be an intimidating experience. They are the head of a college sports team, and are taking time out of their busy schedules to talk to you. These college coaches could potentially be your future coach, so you need to make a great impression on them.
The best way to prepare for a call with a coach is to treat it like a job interview. You will want to do some research on the school and the sports program, and find out some information about the coach. This will help you develop a list of questions to ask them when you get them on the phone. Having the list written down will assure that you get the information you need from them and can help keep the discussion on course.
The college coaches will also want to learn more about you and will ask you questions about your most recent season, your training, school, and your hobbies outside of your sport. While it sounds like it would be really easy to talk about yourself, being nervous and new to the experience can cause you some trouble. That’s why we recommend taking some time to practice the conversations you will have with college coaches.
Benefits of Practicing Your Calls to Coaches
As you would with your sport, you need to take the time to practice having conversations with college coaches. Ask your parents, friends, or school counselors to help you practice asking and answering questions that you may come across in your phone calls.
Here is how practicing your phone calls can help you make a better impression:
1) Make the conversation more natural: The more you practice, the more comfortable you will be in conversations with college coaches. When you are at ease, you will leave a better impression on coaches because it demonstrates confidence.
2) Keep the conversation on track: Practicing your questions with someone will help you keep control of the conversation in case it starts losing momentum.
3) Learn as much as you can: Preparing questions and practicing them ahead of time will help you learn how to react to questions and be able to think on your feet. If you get asked a question you’ve never been asked before, practice will help you think quickly and develop a sound answer.
When you start to practice your phone conversations, make sure to schedule time to prepare and to have someone with you as you go through the conversations. As you become more comfortable with the idea of talking to college coaches, the phone calls will become easier and you will be able to enjoy learning about the coach.
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